North Carolina State University at Raleigh Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Clare

The people you meet on the first days of school may not be your best friends. Everyone gets so caught up in making new friends and belonging to a group that you may find a few months down the road that these aren't the right people for you, and that's okay! It's important to find people to connect with, and they may introduce you to people who could be your group. The best thing you can do is be flexible with your friendships; if it isn't working out, it's okay. There are hundreds of other people on campus that you haven't met yet. And since you're not forced to see people you don't want to every day like in high school, it's much less awkward and uncomfortable.

Ashley

The most important thing I wish I knew coming out of high school was effective study methods. Many people who go here including myself cruized through high school without the need to study too much for classes and find themselves struggling to effectively study for classes here that are more intense then those in high school. However, I have learned much better study habits and many people at the University have made that transition as easy as possible and taught me many different ways and tricks to study.

Melina

I wish that I had known how much more information was going to be crammed into each semester compared to what I was learning at community college. It is extremely difficult to truly learn the massive amounts of information we are taught (not just memorize for exams). If I had known this, I would have taken more community college courses at a time so that I could have lighter loads once I transfered to NCSU.

Jeremy

I wish I knew how much fun I was going to have here. I knew it was going to be challenging academically and a big change from living with my parents, but I didn't know how I would fit it. I took a big risk by not going to college with any of my high school friends. I really liked the campus and the engineering program, but I worried a lot about what I would do outside of class. My classes are great and I am having a blast. It turns out I worried for nothing.

Samantha

I wish I had known the differences in study methods. There was a huge difference in how to study for high school and studying for college. In high school the course work is not as intensive as college. College expects more out of the student and there is more teaching yourself than the professor teaching you.

Lydia

I wish I could apply the professional work ethic I hold now to the work I did in college. I was in what we called a "grueling" design program; one that often required us to stay in studio all night and work til dawn to complete deadlines. Now, I complete more work in a week than I was ever asked to complete in a semester. I wonder now what my reason was for staying overnight in the studio - was the work really that hard, or was I really that lazy? I like to think I've grown since then.

Danielle

Before I came to this school I wish that I had done a little more preperation with my extracurriculars. Volunteering at things that interested me and just getting to know more about myself before coming to college.

Kiara

I wish I would have none exactly how big this campus is .

Taria

I think I honestly knew everything I needed to know before I came.

Connor

Leaving high school and beginning my first semester in college was a complete culture shock. I thought I was ready for the next challege. I wish I had been more responsible for more than just my school work before going to college. It has been difficult to conduct tasks dealing with finances, schedules and getting to all my classes on time. Once I became 18 I became an adult inside of a teenager state of mind. Learning to adapt to campus life without anyone to catch me when I stumble is hard. I would have challenged myself more!

Peyton

Prior to coming to NCSU I wish that I had known how big the campus was. I understood this was a large campus, however it did not register to me until I was nearly running to my classes my first semster due to the distance between them. I quickly learned when planning out your classes, you should have an understanding of where all of the classrooms are. If you do not do this then you will be scrambling to get there on time... and professors do not have mercy on tardiness.

Lauren

I wish i would've known how you have to watch the time and make sure you get where you need to be.

Billy

I wish I had better understood that even though a student can pass a class, the value that a student derives from coursework and how much a sudent learns is on the shoulders of the student. I have seen too many times that someone will complain about useless schoolwork or that their classes did not actually teach them anything. If I could change my experience in any way, it would be to have that made clearer to me sooner. Personal lessons aside, the accesibility of the faculty should be emphasized, and duly taken advantage of.

Sarah

I wish I knew that it was hard to get access to things online. What I mean is, sites for clubs are usually completely out of date, the dining halls don't post which hours they serve which meals and never show a list of ingredients for the food. Flyers and spray paint or anything in person for that matter aren't effective in my case, whatever the circumstances, online works the best for me.

Morgan

I wish I had known what major I wanted to go into. First year college is somehwat helpful but ultimately sets you back in comparison to other students in your future major.

Kristy

Before coming to this school it would have been nice to know how to study. I flew through high school with flying colors. I excelled in the majority of my classes and was the top of my graduating class. I assumed that college would be just as easy. I was wrong. I had a lot of adjusting to do when it came to my study habits.

Learyn

The number of clubs can be overwhelming, and I did not prioritize well. I wish I had known to just try out several clubs before committing my time to any of them. That way I would have a better idea of what I wanted for the longer term. I would suggest that first you look for the professional societies that match with your major. Then look for clubs that related to your major. Finally look for clubs that just seem interesting. Between these three criteria find some clubs that have overlap and those are the clubs that will be fulfilling.

Casey

I don't have anything in particular that someone had not already told me. I talked to a lot of people about college and I have cousins in college as well. So between all of them, I got a pretty good picture of what it was going to be like.

Matthew

The best way to meet people is in clubs and orginzations if not in class

Cory

I wish I knew exactly what I wanted to study in college

Erinn

Time managment.

Kaitlyn

I wish I had known about all of the opportunities available for freshmen. I found out about things like Caldwell Fellows and some other scholarhship opportunities too late.

Rebecca

There are many opportunities, but you have to make the effort to find your "nitch" and get plugged in. Once you find that place you can really get to know people and feel like you belong even though the school itself is huge.

Ian

I wish I had known more definitively what I wanted to major in. I started off as an Aerospace Engineering major but have gone through many changes such as Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and I have finally settled on Political Science. I believe that this degree will serve me well in society and in the US Air Force.

Ashley

I wish I had known that there are not many video editing and production classes offered at State. Other than that State is awesome! I love it I am from Minnesota and coming to NC State was one of the best choices I have ever made. Make sure you are ready to complete a rigorous academic schedule at a fast paced level. I feel that although it is tough I will leave NC State with an excellent education.

Dana

I wish I had known more about getting involved on campus to find friends with similar interests. It was hard for me to meet people and find something to do on campus in the beginning of the year, and I wish I could have found organized events to attend. Knowing a bit more about how college classes are and how to set up my schedule would have been helpful also. Preparing myself more for my major with a summer job might have also helped.

Po

I knew UNC is the top 5 public Univeristy in the Unite State before I attended school

Lindsey

I wish I would have known a little bit more about what it was like to make such a big campus your own and how to find more of the student organizations that are here on campus.

Jessica

What I wish I had known before I came to this school is how to manage my time and the best ways to prepare for exams.

Donald

One thing that I wish I had known before I came to this University is what major I actually wanted to follow. The first semester of my freshman year, I enrolled at NCSU in the College of Design. The College is very competitive but wasn't for me. Due to the uniqueness of its courses, my transfer to another major has not been smooth. For the sake of saving money and time, I wish I had known what I wanted to study because I think that would have granted me more success for my first year at State.

Sarah

Before coming to NC State, I wish I had known exactly what I wanted to major in so that I could prepare to take more advanced courses by covering their prerequisites. Being in the College of Management, I have a general idea of what I want to do in the future and can therefore take some basic business courses. By taking courses that are geared toward an exact major, I would feel more comfortable with my schedule and feel more focused for a specific goal.

Tyler

I wish I knew that you have to take the easy classes with the easy teachers at the college rather than anywhere else. I came into college with 27 hours of credit and it doesn't matter because the junior level classes I took dragged me down. I wish i knew how to pick easy classes and wasn't so ambitious. If you hit a ditch, NC State will try it's hardest to keep you in it.

Emily

I wish I had known how difficult it would be to go off-campus without a car. There are buses, but it's not as convienent. I also wish that I had known that there isn't much focus on the arts. There are some plays and events, but not nearly as many as I would like as a design student.

Sarah

I wish I had known more detail about the extent of my program and its concentrations.

Estefania

I wish I would have known how big campus was

Blair

I haven't attended NC State yet. I'm very much looking forward to it. I just transfered from Kankakee Community College in IL. I just wish I would've known better than to slack off earlier in my college career so I didn't have to wait until I was 25 to start really focusing on my goals and dreams.

Ethan

I wish I had known more about how to study in order to achieve higher test scores with less time spent on studying. It would have been very beneficial to have had more background in essay writing, especially lengthy papers and the research involved.

Srini

I wish I had know about the campus a little bit more and about the different coures offered.

Emily

That there is a 15 minute walk everywhere. And that Fountain Dining Hall is not that great.

Ashley

I wished that I would have known that financial aid would be difficult.

Candace

I wish I would've known that it wasn't as redneck as I thought it was before because it would've definitely been my first choice then.

Neal

How many frats and sororities there were

Colleen

I wish I had known that in the long run, everything will always work out for the best and that there is no need to get super stressed out over the small stuff. I was lucky to have a great freshman advisor who taught us all in the college of textiles basically everything we needed to know before coming to school.

Jeannine

I wish I had known how large the classes were. I wish I had known to go to a smaller school where kids were focused on learning and not goofing off or disrespecting professors. I wish I had known that some of my professors couldn't quite speak English well, especially in classes like Economics and Accounting.

Nicole

If you just jump right in there, it will be a lot easier transition.

Christopher

Yes. I wish I would have went to a smaller school.

Terrence

I am the first in my household to attend college. I wanted to have someone who I could relate to that would have made my transition a little more smooth. I wish I would have known how to really work with a planner and manage my time the best way possible.

Cory

Stop procrastinating, take math seriously, learn trigonometry, go to community college for the first two years.

Ashley

I wish I would of known more about everything the school had to offer in terms of programs.

Tanesha

That the professors mainly grade on exams, and papers. There is nothing else to help you with in most cases. The tests don't ask verbatum questions they ask you to apply things and it makes it difficult.