Avery Arata, a first-year marketing major, stood on the sidewalk outside Elliot Hall at Mega Fair, waiting for one of her friends to finish talking to a member of the Vision Dance Company.
Even though she’d only been at Miami University for a week, she’d already established a crew of friends: girls she’d met at her residence hall. One of those girls had left her door open for anyone to come in and introduce themselves, and Arata took advantage of it.
In between classes and trying out all the different dining halls, Arata and crew looked forward to Mega Fair, an event that brings together all the student organizations on campus.
Despite a mountain of homework waiting for her back in her dorm room, Arata and her friends started making their way to the next club table — ready for their first Miami memories.
“I like creating my new routine and finding where I fit in,” Arata said. “It’s been really good so far.”
When first-year students start college, they are often without their home support systems. They have no family or friends to fall back on. This means first-years have to juggle classes, find new friend groups and discover activities and clubs to join on campus all on their own.
Jane Brownell, the senior vice president for the Division of Student Life, says Miami works hard to make the transition from high school to college as smooth as possible for first-year students.
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“A student will decide whether to stay or leave a college most often in their first six weeks on campus,” Brownell said, “so, we put a lot of emphasis on the entry in.”
In the first 100 days on campus, there are many programs designed for first-year students to help them connect with others and become accustomed to university life. This included programming through King Library, pre-semester programs and Welcome Weekend.
One of the Division of Student Life’s primary goals is to connect first-year students with on-campus resources that make this transitionary period easier.
“Ninety-six percent of students take a first-year experience class, whether that is UNV 101 or one of its specialized versions,” Brownell said. “Students are getting out of it what we want them to, [such as] looking at time management and how to work with their advisor and read their degree audit report and focus on their wellness.”
The Division of Student Life also focuses on bringing students together. Brownell says that prioritizing social connections first often helps students decide if they will stay, especially if it encourages them to add dedicated study time into their busy schedules.
“The people who say that they belong [at Miami, when we ask them why they feel that, it’s because they have found an org that they like,” Brownell said. “They have people who care about them. They have people that they have connected to.”
Finding a social place at Miami isn’t the only challenge first-year students face.
College classes are usually vastly different than any other type of class first-year students may have experienced in high school. It is not unusual for many students to struggle with the amount of homework and studying required, or how difficult exams can be.
Paul Urayama is the chair of the Department of Physics. Most first-year physics majors are required to take a calculus class their first year in the major. He says his faculty have noticed that some first-year students are surprised when they don’t do well on their first few tests or homework assignments.
“High school to college in general is a big transition,” Urayama said. “Probably the skill that would be most helpful [for students] to have is time management and to have the maturity in that sense.”
Urayama says that if students are struggling academically, they should reach out to their instructors. If that doesn’t help, students should visit other academic resources on campus, such as the Rinella Learning Center or speak to their academic advisor.
“There are some people who want to stay in physics but maybe didn’t do as well as they wanted to their first year,” Urayama said. “Maybe the reason they didn’t do well that first year is something they’ve adjusted to. There are students who I know that have really blossomed since. If they really enjoy being in the lab, or if they really enjoy that research environment, they’ll usually do fine.”
But with all of these challenges first-year students face, what happens if it starts to negatively impact their mental health?
In research studies done with first-year students, roughly 28% said they experienced some sort of depression or anxiety symptoms. At Miami, there are several mental health resources for students, including the Student Counseling Services, HAWKS Peer Counseling and several student-run mental health organizations.
“There are people here who care,” Brownell said.
Despite the blazing heat at Mega Fair, Arata continued to smile. Even though she’s been enjoying her time at Miami so far, she knows that it could get harder as the weeks go by.
“The transition is a little different for everybody,” Arata said. “Don’t come in like a set plan. That's not what it might end up being.”
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