University of Rhode Island Top Questions

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

Lauramarie

To get involved

Taylor

Get some sleep!! and eat food!

Ashley

I wish I knew how to plan out my classes better for these four years of my undergraduate degree.

Erin

Before I came to the University of Rhode Island I wish I had been more aware about the space in a dorm room. Growing up I always had my own room which was decent sized so it was okay to have many things and it came as a shock to me when I was moving in with how much stuff I had. Only bring things that you need to college at first, or want desperately, but be careful of the excess "might" needs.

Emma

The course selecetion at URI is extremely self directed for a liberal arts major. I sometimes wished there was more structure so these students could be guided to take a wide variety of classes in different subject areas.

Ashley

I wish I knew living on campus makes making friends alot easier.

Samantha

I had decided to live with my best friend from high school upon coming to this school. I put myself in a social bubble throughout the first semester of my freshman year of college because I thought that I had all that I needed. However, I know now that this school has given me so many opportunities to meet new people and make even more lifelong friends.

Devon

Before attending the University of Rhode Island I wish I had known that the weather was going to be so cold. As silly as that sounds, the weather in the New England states can be brutal.

Lisa

I wish I had known how much fun I was going to have and how much I was going to learn so I wouldn't have been so worried.

Brittany

I wish I knew many things before attending the University of Rhode Island. First I wish I knew how vital it was to have a pair of rain boots. My first week of college it rained so much and I had nothing to keep my feet dry! What made it worse is that URI is one big hill, so when you go to class the rain is streaming down like a river and soaking you to your knees! Also I wish I knew not to sell your textbooks back to the bookstore because they don't give you anything!

William

To work harder at school. I received a 3.4 first semester freshman year which has kept my gpa down despite getting a 4.0 for two semesters

Samua

I wish I was more ready to take chemistry. The chemistry department is not the greatest and coming from a school with not so much emphasis on chemistry and other classes, did me a disservice in college.

Lia

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Chelsea

Before I came to this school, I wish I had known that it was going to be a difficult transition. When I was in high school, I could not wait to leave home and have all the freedom I wanted. When I came to college, I instantly realized all that I had taken for granted. I missed my family incredibly, and all the stability I had once known in routine had changed. High School students certainly need to realize how good their lives are in the moment and respect the journey that life takes them through.

wynton

That there was such a large number of programs that the departments supply for you so that you can pursue your own interests.

Alicia

Before coming to my school I had researched it online and visited four times. There is really nothing I did not know about the school. I Love it at URI and fully knew what I was getting into when I chose this school.

Denise

Coming into the university of rhode island, i wish i would have known about how much distractions there were going to be in college. I would have prepared more and settled down and really thought about who i wanted my roomates to be. They are my friends and that is even making the distractions worse. my determination is my drive to success.

Neisa

I wish I had known that college is only hard when you are not doing what you are supposed to. Once you can learn to follow directions and listen carefully, it is easy.

Amber

I wish I knew what I was exactly getting myself into, for instant the speed rate in which materials are taught or that you cannot skate by without either getting the book or even reading the material inside the book. I was lost my first semester but I found my way and I learned from my mistakes, so in all I'm glad I didn't know what I know now, and I wont ever go back in time to fix my mistake because I found a good technique to study and it helped me grow up.

Christina

How important SAT scores are and how much the colleges of specific majors depend on them. Also how important each exam grade is towards your overall class grade.

Jill

Before I came to University of Rhode Island, I wish I had known more about the cost of attending college. It is tuition, fees, books, bus passes--everything needs to be considered.

Michela

I somewhat wish that I had known about the class registration before coming to this school because it is somewhat annoying having to take a boring class versus an interesting one.

Victoria

I wish I had known the importance of actually studying and reading course material thoroughly. In high school, I could get away with cramming the ight before a test, but in college it is necessary to steadily and continuously study.

Meredith

What I wanted to study.

Catherine

I wish I knew that they were going to increase the tuition every year and every semester.

Tiara

That transfer students basically have no chance of getting dorm living.

Kathryn

I wish that I had explored my options further before committing to a major. URI was originally my back-up school. I applied to mostly fashion schools in NYC, but ended up deciding that that was not right for me. I spent my first two years working towards a business major, but just recently decided that Wildlife and Conservation Biology is where my heart is. I have always loved wildlife and nature, but initially I was driven by future salary. Being financially comfortable is still important, but I have realized that being passionate about what I do far outweighs that.

Laurie

I do wish, before I came to the University of Rhode Island, that I had visited colleges and known what to expect of my school socially, academically and institutionally. I didn't explore colleges enough and didn't even know the basics; weather I wanted a small or big school, an urban or rural setting, ect. For me, I was very lucky, in that after applying to 15 colleges and choosing URI, I realized that I chose the perfect school for myself. Now I can say with full confidence that I would never trade anything to be anywhere else.

Sydney

I really can't think of anything I wish I had known before coming to this school even though there is one thing that I am not too crazy about, and it is the cafeteria food. I wish they could spice it up sometimes, the food is often bland. Besides that I love my school.

Felicia

i wish i would have known that freshman are noisy.

Jenna

That I would be sucked dry of money.

Kelly

I wish I had known how isolated it was. There isn't a lot of activity around the school. I also wish I had known how social the school was. I didn't feel there was a lot of school spirit and even though there are a lot of extra activities, they hardly get the recognition they deserve. Also the financial aid and enrollment services are very difficult to work with and very unorganized.

Carolyn

I wish I had known not to worry about making friends. I made the greatest friends in the world here and it was far from difficult as long as you get involved.

Meagan

I wish I had known how much money it would cost me for books and other assortment of things. Everything is so expensive when you are on your own. I wis I had a ball-park of how much money I would have to spend, I probably would have saved more over the summer, or got a second job.

Dean

I wish I had known the amount of work you have to put in and the adjustment from high school that needs to be made.

Maya

how rural it is and how hard it is for people without cars.

Ellen

That the tuition was going to go up over $4000 dollars by my junior year. It's ridiculous. I pay over 3 times as much as instate and it's annoying when they complain about their bill going up by $400 when mine goes up by like $1700. Also that there is almost no school spirit. No campus life. I wish I went to a big 10 school with football games and all.

Kayla

Lack of on campus housing

Jeremy

Where to leave as an upperclassmen on campus.

Maria

I wish I had known how to network with professors and peers.

Sarah

How I was going to pay for it

Courtney

I wish I had known how hard the work load would actually be!

rachel

you really need a car so start saving now!!!!

James

nothing

Shawn

I wish i would've known how to balance my schedule between classes, activities and work. It was really a problem during my first year and caused me great amount of stress.

rachel

I got pretty much what i expected

Nicole

I think that I knew everything that I needed to. The tours and orientation were great at helping adjust to college and feeling comfortable here.

Ashley

I wish I had known how much fun it was going to be! I was so nervous coming into URI as a transfer student that it took me awhile to fully embrace everything it has to offer and to really put myself out there. It would have been awesome just to "know" that everything was going to be great but I actually think it made me stronger having to adapt and deal with a new environment and find things out on my own.

Brittany

I wish I had known more of what major I'd like to study. I think it is important to have a passion for something before choosing a major and/or a college. I could have chosen more classes I wanted to take instead of taking classes just to get a credit out of the way. I eventually did find a perfect fit for my major, but being undecided my first year was pretty taxing.