Be Well: How to Prepare For Your First Year in College

<div class="block">Kevin Joyce, Mercy College student affairs, joined Cheddar News to talk about what incoming college students should expect. He noted the cost of college, course workload and overall adjustment to a new life with no parental oversight.</div>

beWell

Kevin as the Vice President of Student Affairs, you know, all too well, the challenges the students face when they go to college. So what are some of the main things that those students are gonna need to be prepared for? Well, one is the cost of college. Secondly, academic workload is different from high school. Yeah, thirdly it's that sense of belonging. You have to learn to adjust to college life and then just maintaining your own health and wellness, understanding how to navigate that. So what resources does Mercy College have as well as other schools around the country have to help students navigate those challenges. We have the ability to offer students federal grants who qualify state grants if they qualify Mercy Assistant grants where they're necessary but also a myriad of scholarship opportunities. And what about some of the other things that you said academically, we provide all our students a mentor, our pack mentoring program. Uh Everyone has a mentor assigned to them through their entire journey. And that's a go to person who can help them navigate to the center for teaching, learning, to study hall to, to do tutoring all the resources they need to improve their academics or help them stay at pace in terms of sense of belonging, get engaged, join a club, join an organization, make friends feeling as if you belong. And that's a very important part of what we want for our students. Feeling like you belong is going to help you succeed and then your health and wellness. Overall, we offer mental health counseling. We have a health office, we offer a food pantry students with its in high school who need additional help can work with our accessibility office, whether it's for additional time for a test or proctoring an exam. There's so many resources available for you to take advantage of and help you adjust to college life. Now, there are a lot of parents out there watching the kids may not listen to them. But what can the parents do to also help prepare their students to go away from college to recognize? It's ok and it's natural to be nervous to have some insecurities to second guess the choices you've made to go to college but don't be afraid and work with their students, ask questions, ask for help and I would tell our students to talk to your parents. Yeah, listen to students. And I tell people that I talk to, I sit in the front of the class. So when you do need help, the teacher knows who you are. They like, oh, I remember you from class. So it's like find friends all over the college that can help navigate this process and journey with you. Absolutely. And, and be engaged, be involved and don't be afraid to reach out for help.