Sanjana Mishra
By Sanjana Mishra
With a new school year on the horizon, many students will soon head to college for the first time. Some may be staying close to home or in-state while others may be venturing out. A few students have some advice to share when it comes to navigating one’s college career and life post-graduation. The following interviews have been edited for clarity.
I wouldn’t stress too much about friend groups. The people that you meet in your first year aren’t always going to be the people that you stay with. Sometimes it takes time, but you’ll find your people. In high school, everyone’s together – you guys start at the same time, you guys leave at the same time. In college, it’s not like that. You have to be okay doing stuff on your own now. You learn to be so much more independent because you have different schedules and you’re busy with jobs, internships, or research. Make sure you also take time to reach out because it’s easy to isolate yourself.
Akshitha Ganta, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Class of 2026)
Don’t be afraid to pivot. There are huge pre-professional student groups like pre-med, pre-consulting, pre-finance, etc. It’s easy to get roped into that career track just because it’s so well-defined and there’s little uncertainty about how to get into those industries. I feel like a lot of people find that they really don’t enjoy pre-med classes or don’t see themselves in medicine, but they’ll just keep pushing ahead. A lot of people run into the situation where they ultimately decide after four years that they really should’ve pivoted earlier. It’s important to be attuned to how you’re feeling throughout college. The best time to explore is now. I don’t think you’ll ever have the freedom that you have in college again.
Navami J., Stanford University (Class of 2023)
Learn how to make sacrifices because ultimately, you have to choose what’s most important to do. In college, there’s so many options. At any given point in time, you can do five different things, whether that’s studying, going to a club meeting, going out with friends, or doing some extracurricular. But you obviously don’t have time to do everything, so you have to choose what’s important to you.
Prateek Mishra, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Class of 2026)
Try not to overthink things and take them as they’re given. I find it easier to just go with the flow than worry about what’s next. Make sure you have a goal in mind that you’re trying to walk forward to. With everything that you do in college, be surrounded by that goal, but don’t forget to have fun either. For me, the only issue with my school was being far. I picked my school because of the program that I was accepted into, which would guide me to my end goal, so if you do end up getting into a school farther away and you believe that it is your best option or opportunity, then go for it. Don’t let distance be a problem.
Sahithi Mothukuri, University of the Pacific (Class of 2026)
Get comfortable being alone. It may feel awkward to sit and eat by yourself in the dining hall, but speaking from personal experience, no one is watching or judging you. Of course, making and cultivating healthy, positive relationships with others is vital, but take the time to be on your own and really get to know yourself. Go on a solo trip to a museum or get some studying done at a café. Be safe, but treat and love yourself.
Sanjana Mishra, Northeastern University (Class of 2026)
Sanjana Mishra is a second-year criminal justice and journalism student at Northeastern University with a passion for storytelling. sjmish04@gmail.com.
