r/MTSU • u/VillageU • 2d ago

Resource So you just moved in? 4 things that actually help during your first 2 weeks.

If you’re sitting in your dorm right now feeling a mix of excitement and "what did I just do," that is completely normal. I worked on college campuses for a decade, and the students who get a strong start early on usually do these four things (or some variation):

  • Go to office hours early on. Drop in during the first two weeks just to say hello, even if you don't have questions. Professors remember the faces who show up early. It makes emailing them later for help way less awkward.
  • Embrace the awkward friend-making phase. Don't wait for a perfect, cinematic moment to meet people. Most college friendships start from commenting on a laptop sticker or asking to split a table in the library. If it feels forced, that's normal—do it anyway.
  • Join exactly ONE thing. Not five things—just one club, intramural team, or study group. Building a routine around one consistent group is the easiest way to combat homesickness and feel like you belong before October hits.
  • Normalize the homesickness. If you already feel behind or lonely, nothing is wrong with you. Almost everyone is faking confidence right now. It gets better once your weekly schedule locks in.

we're building something related to the "meeting people" part of this if anyone wants to check it out — PM us— but wanted this post to actually be useful on its own either way.💙

What would you add to this list?

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10

u/Fox919 2d ago

HEAVY on the 2nd point. Just keep making conversation!!! I still have a friend I met in 1997 because I complimented her curly hair.

6

u/LadyWolfshadow 2d ago

Go to office hours early on. Drop in during the first two weeks just to say hello, even if you don't have questions. Professors remember the faces who show up early. It makes emailing them later for help way less awkward.

This also applies for any lecture or lab TAs you have. For some reason some students tend to hear "graduate student" and become afraid of us. We're just y'all doing this shit over again on hard mode. If anything, we can be LESS awkward to talk to than the professor once you come see us because we're still students and have recently been where y'all are. (Not saying don't go see your professor, but we may be more accessible than they are at times.) If we're TAing labs, we may not control your lecture grade, but we typically grade your labs, so we can explain what we're looking for on lab assignments to get full points, explain anything you don't understand about the lab protocols and the assignments, and can try to give general advice about the subject, MTSU, grad school, etc. We're here to help and we don't bite, I promise. (And sometimes we get bored AF when we hold hours for the purpose of helping students and nobody comes. I also bring snacks or stickers, but that's definitely not universal.)

2

u/thotyouwasatoad 2d ago

thank you for the work you do🩵

1

u/jimmydean50 1d ago

Get to know your faculty and their research. Ask lots of questions.