A Letter From A Sophomore For The (Remote) Freshman

Dear Furture Freshman

My name is Arjun Vats and I am a sophomore at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!). I’m sure you’ll be very disappointed if you’re not able to attend college in person in the fall. Trust me, it’s the most enjoyable time you could have ever had, and the loss of a whole year of campus life has been hard to stomach. But that does not mean all is lost, actually quite the opposite. Berkeley has decided to have remote options for most classes and Harvard and several other colleges have shifted to a completely online semester. Depending on where your particular college falls on this scale, you will either be enjoying freshman year from the comfort of your houses or out on campus. So, if you are one of the people who choose to remain at home and take online classes, think of this as a sort of tutorial to navigate the whole process.

My experience with remote classes was a mixed bag. Most content was available in the form of recorded lectures or live streamed through Zoom. The worst part was getting used to living on American time in India. It means long nights and classes continuing well into the early hours of the morning. Initially it was hard to focus on the academic content and keep up with assignments. The Professors too realized this, and deadlines were extended. They’re really there to help you and if you’re facing any problems be sure to talk with a GSI or Professor and concessions will be made for you. The disruption to academics was so great that Berkeley had to change the default grading option to Pass / No Pass, essentially making it easier to complete classes without the stress of the pandemic impacting your GPA. I don’t think this will be the case for Fall 2020 as the decision to shift to online instruction has been taken before the beginning of the semester, nevertheless faculty will do their best to curate content to suit online instruction. This will mean recorded lectures and classes on Zoom or similar providers. Maintain a good work ethic and strong WiFi and you should be good to go! 

After a couple of weeks, one begins to settle into a rhythm. Keep plugging away every day at your work and think of the positives. Being at home means you don’t have to think about stuff like finances, laundry and food. It’s the ideal way to ease into college academics without having to worry about other things that make campus life challenging. Take this as an opportunity to test the waters of college academics. Take a heavier course load if you can conjure up the motivation, trust me you will be able to handle it without all the considerable distractions of freshman life. It is very important to stay motivated. If you feel like you’re going to have a hard time coping with online classes, which can be pretty taxing with numerous submissions and odd hours, create systems to adapt in the beginning few weeks of the semester. Try and take a comfortable enough course that’s not overly strenuous but not too easy either. 

I’m sure you were all looking forward to gaining true independence and experiencing life outside the bubble we’re all brought up in, but it’s a fact that colleges will try their level best to bring a great college experience to you. Most campus societies and clubs will commence online operations and while it is disappointing to not be able to meet new people and make friends and connections, most work can be accomplished online. Joining college groups on social media can help one feel connected and even online class, club and society groups are a great way to make friends and integrate. You will find like-minded people with shared interests and soon you’ll have your own community on campus. 

Take up social issues that are plaguing the world and do something about them. Use social media to your benefit. All of us have a lot of power and capacity to effect change. Engage yourself in volunteering and help the community.

It’s always wise to keep researching about resources related to your interests and major that are available at your college. Drop them an email and introduce yourself. Prepare well for when you reach campus and the transition will feel seamless. These may include student associations, sports and competition teams, official organizations such as the international office etc. 

I wish all of you the very best and would like to add-keep your spirits high and know that you will be on campus very soon where you will get to do all the normal college stuff. Don’t have any regrets and make an effort to whole-heartedly immerse in the online learning experience without losing productive time. Life after high school is also about adapting to sometimes unflattering and alien situations, so just treat this as another situation to conquer and learn from-and conquer you will.