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From finding friends to finding a major, Northeastern students share advice for first-year students to ease their transition

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Back to school is exciting and – for some – nerve wracking. What advice would older students give to first year students? Photo by Ruby Wallau for Northeastern University

Back to school is a time of excitement, new beginnings and, for many first-year students, a little anxiety. 

Luckily, there are many students on Northeastern University’s Boston campus who faced the same feelings. 
So what advice would these wise elders give?

Ansa Brew-Smith, a third-year math and physics major, advised the new arrivals to not get into a habit of skipping class. 

“One missed class makes it easier to miss another,” Brew-Smith said. “It can cascade out of control if you let it.” 

Fifth-year student Andy Barnett had advice for all first-year students as well as more specific advice for STEM students interested in highly coveted research positions in labs.

First, more generally, he advised students to find and write down as many resources and free Northeastern opportunities as possible — events, support, services, etc.

As for those research positions, he noted they are competitive and Northeastern students are driven. But that doesn’t mean one should necessarily try to garner such positions as soon as you arrive on campus. 

“Cold emails don’t work quite so well,” Barnett said. 

Instead he recommended going to office hours where professors can see you in person, chat with you about your interests and establish a connection. And don’t underestimate your capabilities.

“They want to see initiative,” Barnett said. “They don’t expect you to know everything.”

Rising fifth-year student Tula Jiménez Singer also advised freshmen to take some time in making friends. She and classmate Deborah Yu noted that many of their deep friendships have come in the course of solving problems together, working on group projects, becoming colleagues on a co-op, and being involved in activities with those who have similar interests.

“You don’t have to run with the first people you meet,” Jiménez Singer said. 

Yu advised new students to “keep an open mind” about their plans and college trajectory, saying it’s easy to get caught up in “black-or-white thinking.” 

“At first I thought that if I didn’t get this one opportunity, or class, or into this one club, then my college life would be over,” explained Yu, who plans to graduate with a double major in business administration and psychology and with minors in computer science and global fashion studies. “But almost everything that has come to me has been unintentional. A lot of things you don’t ever notice in the beginning will be what you’re passionate about.”

Christian Carl, who finished his bachelor’s in data analytics over the summer, concurred that it was important to follow one’s passions in choosing a major — to a point.

“It’s a really good idea to double major. Pick one major that interests you and the other one that is more reliable in the job market,” Carl said. “Then, ideally, find a job that combines the two after graduation.”

Aria Khatib, a rising fourth-year student in chemical engineering, also had some practical advice for freshmen: Do not procrastinate when it comes to co-ops.

“When the cycle starts for co-op applications, make that your priority,” Khatib said. “If you wait, the opportunities will dwindle fast.”

Finally, graduate student Zankhana Mehta said that students should try and “go with the flow.”

“There will be times when you will not know what’s happening, and it can be overwhelming,” Mehta said. “But remember the bigger picture of what you’re here for.”

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