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Fears

Meeting new people, getting lost and getting advice from all corners -- the joys of being a first year. Despite these similar experiences, University students begin their first year or remember their first year with different attitudes and advice.

First-year Engineering student Hannah Williams found her move-in experience to Woody crowded but positive.

When she first moved in, Williams said, her most pressing concern was meeting new people. Now she said she is more concerned about the Engineering School's reputed difficulty.

In the same dorm, first-year College student Jane Yang shared a similar concern. Yang said she has heard that college is more difficult than high school and is apprehensive about the course load.

The best advice she said she received from upperclassmen is, "study every day."

Further uphill, first-year College student Tiffany Roberts said that as a track team member she was able to move into Dobie early and avoid the chaos the rest of her dorm experienced.

Roberts said she is getting along well with her roommate, a fellow team member.

"We have a lot in common," she said.

Roberts said she chose the University because, in addition to its competitive track team, she liked its academic reputation.

"I liked how the track coach trained Olympic athletes," she said. "I wanted to be challenged in both fields."

Roberts said her greatest concern is time management. Between classes, weight training, practice and mandatory study hall, she worries that she may not have time for much else.

The best advice Roberts said she has received is to avoid procrastination and to take a variety of classes -- two bits of advice which she intends to follow.

Next door, in Watson, first-year College student Cayman Mooney found his move even easier. Since he already lived in Charlottesville, Mooney said little preparation was needed for his move.

"I didn't bring half the stuff I needed, but I can go back later today," Mooney said. "In fact, I am."

He said that he gets along with his roommate, who "like everyone else," is a recent graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in Northern Virginia.

"It's only been three days so we can't really fight yet," he said. "I figure it takes at least one month to really get on someone's nerves."

Mooney said his primary concern involves trying to get his schedule in order. He wants to add three different classes to his schedule which means he also will have to decide which classes to drop.

Most of the advice Mooney has received has been common sense, he said, such as taking a diverse class load, getting involved and meeting new people.

"I do that on my own," he said.

First-year College student Aditi Palli is living closer to Alderman Road in Lile. Palli said her move-in experience was more hectic than Mooney's.

"Move in was really crowded," Palli said. "It wasn't bad, it just took a while."

Coming from Northern Virginia, Palli said she already knew many other students before school started. Although she wants to meet new people, it is not her biggest priority, she added.

"My biggest concern is being able to adjust to the freedom, being able to balance studies and my social life," she said.

Palli said she already got started on the social aspect when she attended a party on Rugby Road.

Agreeing with Mooney that much of the advice given to first years is common sense, Palli said she hasn't heard anything that "spurred an epiphany."

Further down Alderman Road, first-year College student Geoff Hale said he found moving into Dunglison "a bit of an adjustment."

"I hate to be cliché, but it's the first day of the rest of your life," Hale said. "It's the first day of independence."

Expressing similar concern as Williams and Yang, Hale said he expects college to be a rude awakening after a somewhat lax high school experience.

"The typical advice you hear from the upperclassmen is that you can't approach it like high school," he said.

Living much further down Alderman, first-year College student Kelley Mulfinger said living in Hereford has already given her a unique experience.

"A lot of us went into Hereford with a bad attitude, but now we really like it," Mulfinger said. "People cringe when they hear we live there, but we defend it."

Although she said her first concerns regarded meeting new people, now her primary focus is trying to balance everything.

She was not too concerned, however.

"It seems like we'll all belong," Mulfinger said.

Off Grounds, a different type of first year is adjusting to a new location. First-year graduate student Lance Brown is at the University to earn his Ph.D. in Politics.

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Brown said he chose the University after applying to the top seven graduate schools in his department.

Brown's main concern as a freshman at the University of Southern Mississippi was meeting new people, but he said he knows more people here.

Instead, Brown said, his main concern is the heavy workload.

Drawing on his earlier experience, Brown offered some advice to new first years.

"Pray, concentrate, listen to your professors and mentors and don't feel dumb," he said. "There are people who are going to make you feel like the dumbest person in the room, but the law of statistics says you're not."

In Lambeth, second-year College student Alisa Lankinen said she feels like a first year again.

Lankinen, who transferred this year from the University of Michigan, said she feels more prepared this year. Mainly, she is concerned with completing her requirements and meeting new people.

"I think as time goes by a lot of questions get answered and it's not as daunting anymore," Lankinen said.

Although Lankinen did not know any other University students before coming to Charlottesville this semester, she said she likes her suitemates, two of whom are also transfer students. Lankinen said she plans to meet more people by getting involved in organizations on Grounds, something she advises first years to try as well.

Lankinen's advice was echoed by a fellow Lambeth resident, third-year College student Maggie Samra.

Samra said her main concern when entering the University was that all of the in-state students would already know each other.

Instead, Samra said she found native Virginians anxious to meet new people, and they frequently introduced her to their friends from home.

She said her best advice to first years was to try to make friends outside their comfort zone.

Moving back off Grounds, second-year College student Rebecca Moyer also remembered her fears from first year.

"I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone," Moyer said. "I thought it would be too preppy for me, but I adore it now."

A great roommate helped to make her experience positive, she added.

"She kept it social," Moyer said. "Didn't let me hide in the room too much."

Moyer said she was confident that, with time, most new students will grow to love the University.

Finally, heading back toward the Rotunda, Lawn resident and fourth-year College student Liz Levy has three years of experience to help her advise first years.

Levy said she didn't really have any fears when she came to the University. Her main concern involved staying in touch with friends from home in Savannah, Ga.

Once Levy realized her friends from home would always be there, she said she focused her attention on meeting new friends by joining organizations. From this experience, she offered advice to current first-year students.

"Don't be shy," Levy said. "Get involved and make the most of your four years because they fly by."

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