3 Ways to Prepare for Freshmen Year: A Crash Course Getting Ready for College-Living

By Jody Bell

The summer following high school graduation can be hard ‒ you’re awaiting moving away from home and trying to prepare for college life while soaking up the last bit of family life. Apart from this is the intimidation of college preparation; of course it’s exciting ‒ but it also is suddenly so much more real. It can be overwhelming thinking about all the different skills that go into college life  ‒ from your ability to network with professors, to doing your own laundry.

We understand it can be difficult even understanding where to start thinking about your new upcoming college life. That’s exactly why we’ve put together 3 easy ways you can practice some of those adult-ing skills that you’ll need when you’re living on your own. 

1. Nail down some cheap, easy, meals

When you’re living in a dorm with limited cooking space/materials, you’ve got to get a bit creative with your meals.

Whether that’s microwaved fried rice, or an omelette in a mug, there are plenty of resourceful (and surprisingly tasty) recipes out there that can be made with just a microwave and a few ingredients. We recommend doing your own research and writing a mini cookbook on a notes app on your phone. Make sure that these recipes have overlapping ingredients, are tasty, and can be made with whatever resources you have available in your dorm room.

Another great option if you want to take this a step further is through meal prepping. If you’re on a particularly tight budget or schedule, or just don’t have easy access to a grocery store, meal prepping can be a great option for you. Each week plan what meals you are going to cook and do as much preparation in advance as possible ‒ whether that’s making the meal or just gathering the ingredients.  

2. Develop a morning routine and a night routine

When you move away to college everything changes ‒ your environment, social life, and routines. 

All of this change can be unsettling for some people, and the best way to counteract that is through a consistent routine. You can’t quite map out your whole college day before you even get there, but you can start to practice healthy and mindful habits each morning and evening to develop a beneficial and consistent routine for yourself. By forming these routines early, you will be able to carry them into college to provide yourself with some consistency and comfort in the form of a healthy habit. 

3. Practice keeping to a budget while getting a summer job

It’s fairly expected to get a summer job right before college ‒ but, by learning personal finance as you earn money you’ll end up taking away a lot more from the experience than just a few more bucks in the bank. 

College life is all about budgeting ‒ whether that’s budgeting income from a job/allowance each month, or spreading out a large sum of money over the semester. So, when you get your job this summer, really keep an eye out for your income and understand exactly how much money will be coming in each week. From there, figure out your weekly expenses ‒ if you still live with your parents, consider movie tickets or lunch dates with friends as expenses. Then think of your realistic savings goal ‒ how much you want to financially bring into your first year of college. Work backwards from this number to see how much you need to save to make this goal feasible before you move into your dorm. Lastly, if there are any major expenses or “wants” that you want to bring into college (a tv for your dorm, or a gaming console) build a budgeted savings plan for these purchases as well!

Each of these actions could be shaped into your pre-existing daily routine as easy, valuable, and meaningful steps you could take to prepare yourself for college. While it may be easier to stay rooted in the comfortable and easy routine and mindset you have maintained throughout high school, college is going to force you to change your perspective, schedule, and life. While that may be scary, it’s also going to be what leads to your growth into an adult ‒ remember, it’s outside of our comfort-zone that we become the people we are destined to be. 

Jody Bell, 19, is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate of Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, after-school, entrepreneurship program for girls 12-21, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators. More info at www.girlswithimpact.org