Moving up: Transitioning from High School to College

Our Giving Youth a Voice hosts discuss their questions with a first year college student and a college graduate about what arriving to college entails, what resources are available, and chat about what high school graduates have to look forward to in college. 

Transcript

Brianna
Welcome to the Giving Youth A Voice Podcast where we share information to youth by youth. Stick around to hear what we've chosen to share with you in this episode. Check out more information and resources about the Neshaminy Coalition for Youth at our website nc4youth. org. That's nc4youth. org. There you can find our program and resources and become a member for the betterment of our community. Also check out our Facebook page to see our latest news and events. Give us a like. I'm Brianna, the host of episode, and please enjoy. 

The transition from middle school to high school and high school to college is a scary thought that you only really just think about until you actually get to transition up. The idea of giving insight as to what transitioning from middle school to high school and high school to college is actually like so it can give the realistic subject instead of this scary idea that so many people go into high school and college having. As someone who already went through the middle school to high school and just graduated high school, I think that it would be a good opportunity to not only gain the insight myself as to what it's going to be like going from high school to college. 

Lauren Foisy (Older Lauren) 
Hi everyone, I am Lauren Foisy. I will take older Lauren as my title. In a past life, I was a resident assistant at Penn State University and it was a great time. So I'm excited to share some tidbits and information to you all about what that experience was like and I'm excited to answer your questions. 

Lauren (Younger Lauren)
My name is Lauren. I'm the, I guess, younger Lauren. I graduated in a Neshaminy high school in 2024 so I just finished my first year at Penn State. 

Adrianna 
So I'm Adrianna. I am transitioning from eighth grade to ninth grade. What do you wish you knew before you started college? 

Younger Lauren
I wish I knew how to manage my time a little bit better when starting. I got a little bit better in this spring semester when I get homework done and all that but definitely time management is a good one. Sleep schedule, because you're still not used to having like let's say three classes a day and then you you're free the rest of the day like what do you do at that time? So time management is a big one, and then I wish that in high school maybe there was a better way of people portraying college because it's not as scary as you think it is. You're just a little bit more independent and have to figure some things out by yourself or like for example you can ask your RA or like fellow students for advice. I felt a little overwhelmed when I first got to campus just because Penn State is so big. I think orientation made it feel a little bit better when walking on the campus in the fall because I got to experience walking to my classes or like walking to specific dorms. So made it feel smaller I guess in a way and then advice I would give to arriving on campus is definitely make connections with your RA. They're there to help you and answer any questions you have like we had an app where we could ask questions about moving in or we'd have floor meetings for each semester or when moving out and then also they also have events for your floor or just the building in general. And go to them but sometimes they offer like food activities and it's a great way to meet people in your building. So that's how I met some of my good friends now so definitely try to get involved your first few weeks on campus. I know it can seem overwhelming but don't be stressed because you have a lot of time especially I'm discussing like moving in and unpacking and all that you have time to get all that done and organize your side of the room and find your roommate. Yeah, just take your time, relax, stop a second maybe get something to eat from the dining hall because the dining halls are pretty good, depending on where you go they're really good, take a second to relax, and get all your nerves out and then continue to meet some new people. Always introduce yourself, that's also a big key, like if you find someone on the elevator. I had a few of the guys that lived all my floor because I lived on a co-ed floor that I saw them in the elevator and they like said oh I'm so-and-so and gave me like a handshake, and then did the same to my roommate when we would be in the elevator. That's a good way to meet some new people so you don't feel alone or by yourself. 

Patrick
How would you make a big campus into a smaller campus? What are your thoughts on that? 

Younger Lauren
So to make a big campus feel like a campus, definitely like I was saying introduce yourself to other people because they could become your best friends, you don't know. Definitely join some clubs, so I joined Thon which is our biggest philanthropy where we raise money for childhood cancer, so that was a big important thing to me because I'm going for elementary education. And then I also joined a sorority, so that made it seem so small because I had this group of girls that I knew like I'd go to them if I had questions or needed advice rather than like this big school, like it just made like a second home for me. 

Older Lauren
I am going to give the Cliff Notes version on what Lauren has said. You get to campus it's a really large campus, doesn't have to be Penn State specifically it could be any campus could be large to you, right? And there's kind of three versions of making that pond a bit smaller that Lauren had mentioned too. So you meet your RA and they have resources and you meet the individuals living on your floor and that makes your living space a little bit better, a little smaller for you to be able to handle, right? And then the next step of that is you can join special interest groups or clubs, and the rule of thumb on that is-- I would say and I've heard so this is not just my advice, this is one that I have done and lived by but also heard from others-- is you joined two clubs at first so something that might be career oriented and then something that might be personal to you and then that's the easiest way to find out if you can balance two clubs and your studies at the same time. And then figure out from there you it's this is your next chapter someone that's at earlier, right? So you can make this your own painting you make it how you need it to be join one club join two and then you can feel whether or not you can take on something else. In terms of your studies, to make that little bit smaller if you're in a specific major already then meet with a professor or meet with a counselor, and then kind of work out either your eight semester plan or you can get a study group from that as well and that'll make your studies feel a little bit more handled, a little bit smaller as well. So those are my like kind of three tiers there. 

Patrick
Nice. I appreciate the answer as well especially because I am attending like a few months so it's your own tips like these helps so thank you. 

Eric
Hi everyone, my name is Eric and I am a senior at Neshaminy High School and Lauren, considering you've already have done a year at Penn State, I'm curious when your thoughts about the difference between high school and college. Maybe there's a couple things that went good or bad that you didn't expect? 

Younger Lauren
I honestly don't have any bad experience. The difference is the majority of time classes take versus your schoolwork and what you have to do outside of the classroom. Yeah, I would say the big thing is just your classes and also the size because in Neshaminy your classroom is full of like 30 students and yes depending on what classes you do take, not necessarily just at Penn State but any university, sometimes there are like 30 to 200-300 like I know up Penn State it can get to like 700 students so I guess being comfortable with possibly being a number in a classroom and you want to use your professor as a resource and ask questions as well as your teachers assistant. So definitely being in contact with them because you don't want to be a number you want them to like recognize your face when asking a question or if you need help because sometimes that they give you like a few extra points and like a homework assignment if you ask for advice so don't be afraid to ask questions. 

Older Lauren
There are many resources on campus when you first start there, if you're very focused on making it to class on time and maybe feeding yourself. Those are like basic needs, right? But there's a couple extra resources and things that people should just be aware of which were helpful for me. So there's usually a university health services location right and they usually have mental health services they usually have like sexual health resources and things like that so knowing that that is a resource in general on all campuses. Most campuses food pantries so at some point during the semester, if you meal plan runs out or if you're a grad student and you're working to feed yourself on top of studies, there's usually resources like food pantries that are able to be that extra little oof because no one should feel food insecure while they're studying at a university. And then they're kind of resource into that is, oh, there's usually career counseling and services as well, or just in general you get assigned a counselor. Sometimes if you're in general education studies, and it's okay to meet with that individual, you're not weird as a freshman to walk into the counseling center and say "hey I just want to talk to somebody because I'm not sure what I want to do yet". Those resources are plentiful at all universities, you just have to figure out which building it's in, and those are cool things that I wish I knew about before I started. So what is in RA, it stands for Resident Assistant but essentially it is a individual who lives on a dorm campus floor residence hall floor and kind of oversees activities and is a resource for students who live there. It could be based off of special interest living area or based off of gender. It's very unique to each university how that is structured if you have the same gender or different gender RA, or if you're in a living space that is specific to either your career path or towards even like a special interest of living, like you are in ecology living house, and therefore all of your fellow residents are ecology majors. And then, for special training to become an RA, there is a class that you have to take, few interviews, and things. It also differs per university, but Penn State wise, you have an interview, if you pass those two interviews, then you take a class and you have to pass the class, and have recommendation from the resident's director who is teaching that class in order to be hired onto a team. And then in that team you're in a supergroup, and that supergroup has usually about 12 to 18 it depends on how large the living area is. Supergroup folks are all in the same two or three buildings so those are folks that you'd be with together to do rounds and to make sure things are safe on campus. 

Brianna
On top of all of this, I think honestly the most important thing on top of working through the fears and going through the transitions is just be yourself. I know that it's going to be scary being an environment with new people that you've never met be the person you are don't water yourself down for anybody just stay true who you are. 

Patrick
It's basically the same, almost the same feeling I had when going into high school after finishing middle school except this time I feel like it's at a much larger scale. It's just that it's more so you're taking that into perspective. I was in middle school for four years at that point and I was about to enter high school which it was like a completely different setting and at this point, it's kind of a similar situation where I've been doing high school for four years, I've gotten like so comfortable and just getting a routine with it. And then all this sudden, I'm told that I'm going to college and then I'm going to have brand new responsibilities, like much higher levels of responsibility and it's a little bit overwhelming at first I will admit that. I had my orientation so I got kind of got to learn new information stuff like that regarding like what I'm getting myself into and also just explore the campus a little bit more which also helped, because I was able to just walk around and get a feel of what walking in between classes is going to be which is going to be a lot of walking, but we'll worry about that when we get there. It's definitely like a similar feeling I had before I just think this is it's a much more stronger feeling because at this point I've completed a lot more I graduated high school now. It feels like I'm taking like a big step into the next phase of life and while some of it is scary at first glance I'm trying to look forward to the positive, and saying this is how I'm going to learn more about myself, challenge myself and see what I want to do there and also after that. 

Brianna
And the thing with high school to college is it's very different from, well, I don't want to say very different, but in a way it is very different from middle school to high school because the difference is in middle school to high school you're still going to be generally with the same people, you're just entering a bigger space and adding people from other schools. The thing with college is you and your friends that you've had for years are going off into different paths and different schools and you're not going to be with them every day like you have been for the past four to eight years. So although I'm like really scared to have to leave all my friends behind as we all go off into a different path-- like Patrick because we've been friends since seventh grade-- it'll be fun to get to go off and do our own things and then be able to catch up with these people later on and see how their college experiences as well. 

Patrick
Yes, it is going to be sad with everyone splitting up in like going on their own paths. I 100% agree with what Brianna saying that you get to go on this like new experience and then you get to catch up with the people that you already know later so you have just more experiences to share, you can tell how much you learn, how much they've grown and changed since last time you saw them. Honestly, the fact that's the possibility that we can do especially because we have now technology that we can like communicate each other online stuff like that, staying in touch is a little bit easier that way I feel so the fact that we're able to do that I think that's really cool. All right, well thank you so much for this conversation for this podcast about grade transitioning, it was educational and very helpful conversation that I think most of us can take with us and apply it to later down the line and we really appreciate it, so thank you. 

Brianna
And thank you as well to both Laurens and Adrianna and Eric for joining us today and giving your insight into our transition podcast. I was hoping that talking about it would help people who are going through it themselves, so I'm hoping it puts a little bit of ease on people's shoulders and helps them transition a little bit more smoothly to whether middle school or high school or high school to college. 

Older Lauren
Thank you for having us. 

Younger Lauren
Thank you so much. 

Adrianna
Thank you. 

Brianna
That's it for episode. Thank you for listening to Giving Youth a Voice. Any questions about this podcast or our coalition can be emailed to podcasts@nc4youth. org that's podcast @ nc number 4 youth dot org. Make sure to follow us on your favorite podcasting app and sign up to our email list on nc4youth. org so you don't miss our next episode. This project is made possible by funding from the drug free community's grant. I'm Brianna wishing you a happy and healthy future see you next episode.