The Summer Before

Once you have made it to the summer before your freshman year of college, there are a few things that you need to start working on! Heres something to help you get started on the right track!


During the summer of your senior year, your college should send you your new housing information. This will have the name of your dorm, your room number, and the name and contact information of your new roommate. It is important to start contacting your roommate and getting to know her before you guys even meet up on campus. This will help you plan out what your new dorm will look like and who should bring what. It will also help you guys avoid that awkward “It’s nice to meet you..I guess we are living together now?” moment on move in day.

After you have talked to your roommate and figured out who is bringing what (ex. mini fridge, television, shower curtain, cleaning supplies, etc.), you can start getting all of your college shopping done. However, in order to do this properly and not overspend, you need to have a list of everything that you will need. To help you get started, I have created a dorm room supply list which you can print off at the end of this chapter. You can look at this list, check off the things that you already have, and then go search for the things that you think you will need. This way you won’t buy doubles of things. Also, take into consideration that the dorm supplies you buy before your freshman year will probably have to last you through senior year so make sure that you buy things that you will still like in four years! Some of my favorite dorm room shopping stores are Target, Walmart, and Decor 2 Ur Door for beautiful bedding!

Now, that the start of your freshman year is getting closer and closer, it’s time for you to find ways that you can get involved on campus! It is important to get involved on campus right away because this is the perfect opportunity to meet new people. By doing this, you will be able to get a head start on your freshman year and allow yourself the opportunity to get out of your dorm room during the first week of school! You can take a look at your colleges website in order to find on campus activities and organizations that you want to become part of.

If you haven’t yet, the summer before your freshman year is the perfect time to officially choose a college major. By choosing a major before college starts, you will be able to take a few of your introductory major requirement classes during your freshman year. Doing this will really help to lessen the course load on you during your senior year. Beginning college with a declared major will also help you to not accidentally take classes that you will not need for your degree plan.

One more thing that you need to do before your freshman year is to create a class schedule. At my college, once you officially choose to attend, each student has to visit the campus and create a degree plan. During this time the freshman advisor will help you choose which classes are best for you according to your chosen major. If your college does not do this, you will need to print off a degree plan for your major on your college’s website, determine the best order for your required major classes, and try to get into at least one or two major requirement classes. Also, try to take your math classes during your freshman year so that the information you learned in high school will be fresh!

I hope these tips help you keep things organized! College is right around the corner lovely! Don’t forget to take a look at our list of essentials for this section! In the next section, I will be covering everything you need to know about college scholarships!

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