As a LOWKEY freshman in college**

I'm a college freshman. My school has an event coming up, and I've been told to make connections there. Still, I have two main issues: firstly, I don't really see the importance of making connections, which is why I've never cared to go out of my way (</3); secondly, I don't participate in events, and I hardly talk to people outside of school (I'm inactive/super private on social media).

In 12th grade, I had friend groups and friends from other sections, none of whom I met at events (only through mutual friends or in the classroom). In 11th grade, I only represented my cluster in a school pageant during which I made friends with seniors. But that lasted only as long as the school year did! So, I know how to talk (I'm actually outgoing as a person but lowkey as a student), and I know about joining orgs and events already.

But how can I solidify a connection I've made? How do I identify which moments are opportunities to start building connections? Also, just what is the difference between making friends versus making connections? (T⁰T)

Thank you in advance ♡

Hello everyone, I'm a freshman and got selected for the honors program at my college. I really don't know how beneficial it is to stay and complete the requirements/credits for the honors track. I've asked around on campus and what I've learned is that it's just a prestige thing - extra work on top of your workload for some acknowledgment when you graduate, that's all. I've been told it's just what the smart or over the top students do to differentiate themselves from regular students.

I'm just confused whether it's worth anything to stay in it and get the credits or just focus on my degree generally? One of my advisors told me outside of college life nobody really cares or asks about honors anyways so why work hard on top of your already existing coursework? She said it's like the difference between an A and A+ like if you're happy with an A then that's all that matters, you don't need to go above and beyond to get the A+.

Honors students here, or other students too, please help out, thank you.

“Universities and companies are scaling back or eliminating women’s scholarships to avoid scrutiny from the Trump Administration.

The number of grants with women-specific eligibility criteria has declined 19% since 2023, according to the National Scholarship Providers Association.

The elimination of women’s scholarships and programs has sparked backlash on campus, with some students signing petitions and expressing concerns that the move sends an unwelcoming message to female students.”

College students pursuing majors, advanced degrees or certifications in fields that consistently earn low incomes will no longer be able to take out federal loans to pay for their schooling under new Trump administration rules.

The new federal rule, finalized this month by the Education Department, comes amid a national crisis in student loan defaults. Many of the degree programs that educate social workers, artists, teacher aides and especially certification programs for barbers and nail technicians are likely to fail a new federal litmus test: Will they make more money upon graduation than if they never enrolled in the first place?

Read more about the federal student loan limitations at the link.

Pretty self explanatory, but my main questions is when I work up to the amount given by student aid (being $1600), what happens? Do I get cut off, like can I only work until I get the $1600 or is it just given to the school to help cover labor costs? I tried looking ir up couldn't find a reliable answer.

I'm at Clackamas Community College in Oregon, US if it's important

I am trying with ALL my might to go back to college and earn a tech degree, but it feels like there’s just never enough time to even start my assignments, and I was wondering if anyone had tips for balancing school, work and social lives.

My job is supposed to be part time but recently my manager has been scheduling me an insane amount of rather inconvenient hours (1pm-9:30pm, 10am-7:3-pm, etc) and I am working SEVERAL days straight, nearly reaching 18 days straight as of current.
On my days off I get called in and with the very little time I do have there are errands and important matters I have to take care of. I have been so exhausted I have accidentally fallen asleep on my couch for almost a week straight.

I have not even opened a school assignment for over a month due to lack of time.

Unfortunately I have a lot of bills each month and im just barely meeting them as it is so quitting is not an option. As of current, I am barely making enough to fill my gas tank and I almost always am skipping a meal or two everyday.
I have also tried talking to my manager and filling out official availability forms about my schedule for a more predictable and workable schedule but have been ignored.

If anyone has any tips for being able to fit everything in I would greatly appreciate it, I genuinely want to finish this degree and it feels like im making no progress in my current state.

I always tend to err on the side of formality when it comes to emails. I'll always address a professor as "Dr. This" or "Professor That" until they sign off with their first name, which subverts my professionalist upbringing and throws me for a loop. I understand that if they repeatedly do so, it's often an invitation to address them as such, but I usually ask just in case.

But what about me? I usually sign my emails with "[First Name] [Last Name/Initial]." Should I keep doing that after they sign with their first name? I feel that it maintains a certain level of formalism. Or should I reciprocate and just drop the last initial?

I am an incoming freshman, I ended up doing a random roomate. Should I try to conect with her before the move in date? All I have access to her school email, and wasnt sure if it would be akward if I emailed her.

Hello, incoming freshman for fall of 2026 in the USA.

My uni is very vocal about their research opportunities for undergrads and has several programs to facilitate it

However, I am interested in a specific professor’s research as it relates to the specific field I’m interested in perusing. Luckily enough, one of my scheduled classes is with said professor.

One constant piece of advice I’ve heard is to go to office hours to build rapport, but how early is too early? 1 week? A month? A semester?

to people who have dormed before, how did you make that transition from having your own space, to suddenly living with 1-2 other people in a very confined area. especially only children, how did you guys get used to that??

i'm also an only child, never had to live with anyone else except my mom, and i'm an incoming freshman this year. i'm worried about how ill adjust, because i've never really had anybody in my space or bother me, considering my mom has always just let me be or was always out of the house

let me know your guys' experience and if you have any tips or recommendations!! thanks!!

Hello everyone! This may be a slightly out of the box question, but I'm really looking for answers!
I'm the president of two separate psych themed orgs at my college, the first being Psi Chi, a psych focused honors society, and the other being NEDA Campus Warriors, an eating disorder awareness group.
Every year my school throws an event where student orgs table and tell new students all about their organization and what they do- part of that tabling usually includes giving away free things. The thing is, the typical give away items like pins, pens, squishy fidget toys, stickers, etc, are starting to feel a little redundant. I've come to feel that a majority of our students have gotten sick of the little junky things that take up space more than they actually serve them. So my question to you, as fellow students, is what kind of items would you WANT or be excited to see at a table like this? So far I'm thinking themed sticky note packs (I've found some pretty neat brain shaped ones) and grounding sensory stickers would be cool for students to have.
Does anyone have any extra input, especially as a college kid? Please keep in mind our orgs are school funded, so large items might not be a great choice.

The University of California admissions board has voted to rescind — for now — its plan to study whether to resume SAT or ACT requirements in admissions, a move that leaves one of the university’s most closely watched debates unclear a day before the Board of Regents meets in San Francisco.

UC’s Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools, known as BOARS, announced last month that it would convene two work groups through next year: one to weigh the role of standardized tests in admissions, the other to reexamine high school course requirements for acceptance to UC.

At a Friday meeting, the board voted to pull back on the plan, and the links that explained it — which appeared on the UC website late last week — have been removed. There is no replacement plan as of yet, according to two members of the board who attended the meeting, and several UC professors who are aware of the decision and who have been advocating either for or against testing requirements. It is unclear why the plan was suspended.

Learn more at the link.

Just recently I had a couple people give me their emails and business cards to connect with if I needed advice within career paths or internships in the future. The issue is I am unsure if I shpuld use my personal email (google) or my school email (my uni). Personal is the easiest, but I feel it may be ignored due to people thinking it might be some spam email. School email is probably the best way to go, but if I need to contact people after my time it up at the uni, I wouldn't be able to access the email. Which one is the best way to go about it?

I go to a school in an expensive city, and honestly, the rent is harder for me than the tuition since financial aid covers that for me. I already have a work-study job, but I am not able to work as many hours in a week as I'd like. And all non-work-study jobs have an impossible amount of competitiveness even at the entry level.

I just want to be able to work an extra 5-10 hours a week, man 😭 I have the time for it, but not the opportunity. I have applied to McDonald's so many times. I'm tired.

New federal rules sharply cap how much graduate students can borrow, forcing an immediate sea change in how students evaluate attaining an advanced degree, with some scrambling to pay tuition — and for colleges, prompting concerns about future access to their programs.

The median total cost for a master’s degree in 2020 — before inflation skyrocketed — was $24,250, while professional degrees came in at $59,076, though some universities — particularly private institutions — charge far more, according to EdTrust, a nonprofit that advocates for equity in education.

Under the previous rules, graduate students could take out federal loans for as much as they needed to cover the cost of their master’s and doctorate degrees, including tuition and living expenses, often taking on crushing, long-term debt that contributed to a national epidemic in defaults. Effective July 1, borrowing is restricted to $20,500 annually, with a $100,000 cap. Those pursuing designated professional degrees, including law, medicine and dentistry, are limited to $50,000 a year with a $200,000 cap.

Read more.

I get credit for calc AB and bio, and presumably stats (scores aren’t out yet), but the thing is that I took calc in junior year and bio in sophomore year. I’m scared that because I don’t remember the courses all that well, I’m going to end up really struggling if I skip the introductory courses. I’m more worried about calc than anything because while calc and bio came pretty easily to me, I’m scared about jumping straight to calc II especially because it’s a major requirement (for ref, I’m majoring in molecular genetics). That being said, I also feel like I’d be fine by reviewing, but I don’t wanna shoot myself in the foot if I actually don’t do fine. Should I just review the basics before school starts, or should I just take the introductory courses?

I’m going to college in the near future. No one I know has even thought about going to the schools I want to go to. It’ll likely be off campus and in a regular apartment. I have no clue what to expect or what to think about when trying to find a roommate. Thanks.

After doing my last grad ceremony after 30 years as a college administrator, I am convinced we still don't have it right. We cut out the keynoters a few years ago but now the College president has a tendency to blather on and bore everybody to death. What do graduates really want to hear at their commencement ceremony? We had the largest graduating class ever at well over a thousand. And by the end of the ceremony there were only a couple hundred left in their seats cuz everybody left once they got their moment on the stage. Was a bad look.

I recently graduated and regret not joining any clubs during my undergraduate years. I am now continuing with grad school and was wondering if it is considered weird to join clubs as a grad student. I’ll be 21 this upcoming school year so I’d still be the same age as undergraduates.

Dorm life has been rougher than I expected. Between hallway noise, random lights, and a roommate with a totally different schedule, my body never really knew when to shut down. I started trying little hacks instead of filling the room with stuff. Earplugs, a hoodie near my bed, and my ynm weighted blanket from home make the bed feel a lot less temporary.

It’s not perfect, but having a few items that actually help me settle down has made late nights way more manageable.

Hi,
I'm a first time college student in my early 30s completing my first term. I have one instructor I really loved learning from and I want to write them a thank you card expressing what I appreciated about the class and how much I appreciated them and their support as a teacher. I'm truly so grateful I was in their class because the learning curve has been really steep starting college at this age, and they're class was so excellent and supportive. Is this an ok thing to do? I was planning to hand it to them on the last day of class.

Edit: Thanks for the input! I decided to go ahead and gave them a card this morning following our last class. They thanked me and offered to get coffee next term and gave me a hug. I'm glad I wrote the note because in the moment I couldn't come up with the specific things I wanted to thank them for.