I feel very unprepared to go to college. I’m the first in my family to go to college and I have no idea what to expect. I know my highschool is good in preparing students for colleges. I’m able to take AP classes and do extracurriculars. But is that really enough to prepare you for college? Lately, I feel like I have been sucking at everything ie my classes. I just feel like I’m going to go Rice University and be the dumbest on there. I understand that it is hard to excel in everything, but the people who go to Rice are brilliant and I’m going to be left behind. I’m just afraid that I won’t be able to handle Rice coursework because I’m basically struggling through AP Calculus and AP Chemistry.
Is there any advice you guys may have for a future college student? What is college like?
The folks over at the Rice University admissions office are smart people. Their entire job is to craft incoming classes for the University by analyzing applicants holistically. By admitting you, they are making a very clear statement - that they believe you competent and intelligent enough to succeed at their institution. Bar extreme extenuating circumstances, you will most likely do quite well at Rice if you remain dedicated to your studies and maximize the opportunities you have both inside and outside of the classroom.
Congratulations on your acceptance and good luck. 
They would not admit someone that they don’t think would do well there. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and the only way not to be good at something is to not try. When you get to college there will be multiple people that can help you out - peers, your professor, TAs, and even tutors. There are so many resources at your disposal. I had the same feelings as you did last year, matriculating at a difficult school while feeling unprepared, but all I have to say is it turns out fine, the majority of my grades have been A’s. College is a great place to turn everything around and I find myself more self motivated, responsible, and empowered in a college atmosphere because you’re not juggling 6 other classes and ECs at the same time.
Best of luck
@preamble1776 Thank you! That makes me feel a little bit better
@shawnspencer Thank you for your advice!
It will take you a very short time to figure out you are not the dumbest one there when you arrive on campus.
And likely the ones who will prove that to you will be upperclassmen not freshmen.
As for struggling in AP courses, retake the courses at Rice, start with Calc 1 and Freshman Chemistry. Both repeat the material the AP courses covered.
To succeed in college:
- go to class - do not cut class
- try to sit close to the front - in the first 3 rows if possible - it will help you pay attention
- study a little bit every day - read your notes for each class you took that day when you get in at night - don’t wait until the last minute and cram
- avoid partying too much or falling in with the wrong crowd.
Many students even at good schools will party too much or not work hard enough. Just work hard and keep your head on straight, and you will do fine.
- do all the events possible at freshman orientation to try to meet people
- Keep up to date on your grades and if you are having issues go to your professor’s office hours
- Try to form a study group
- Go to the writing center to get help with papers
All solid advice, especially #3. You’ll find that 1 and 2 vary depending on class (I’ve cut a class to study for another class), but it’s all still credited advice.
4 I take some issue with, but stay out of the wrong crowd. Partying is absolutely fine, and you'll find that a lot of students with 4.0's party the hardest. If you can party with a crowd of smart/outgoing people, it's a bit like networking. Something something something learn more through an hour of playing than a year of conversation.
- Get to know your professors. Talk to them on the first day and tell them that you’re excited for their class. If you’re talking to your journalism professor and your a government major (substitute in whatever prof’s/major you have), make them think you’re extremely interested in their subject by relating it to something in your field. My journalism professor last semester was big into privacy issues, so I got into a few conversations with him about the IC and Snowden. I didn’t need it, but that’s the best way to get a grade bump/reference. My research methods prof was into racial cleavages and voting/empirical research, so I let her know of my interest in research. It may sound like I’m telling you to fabricate interests, but I’m not; just find some common ground or create some if there is none so they see a bit of themselves in you.
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Accept the fact that you cannot excel at everything. Do your best.
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See if there are resources for first generation students. Often schools will have special resources (seminars, etc) for these students.
You will not be the dumbest or the brightest. That okay. The temptation is to always rank yourself against the top 1% and forgetting about the bottom 99%.
Be prepared to accept that your peers will be as smart as you, some may have had more resources throughout their secondary school years as well. It is very easy to feel intimidated at college, but focusing on what you want to do and completing your work to the best of your ability is what you should focus on. It’s really easy to feel defeated when you try to constantly compare yourself to others. Rice will definitely have a lot of counseling services and tutoring for students that you can take advantage of, so don’t feel hesitant at all to ask for help if you feel overwhelmed, especially at the beginning of college (transitioning is hard).
But remember Rice thinks you will do well there. But also remember that Rice provides many tools to help students…like those for first generation students, counseling, writing centers, professor office hours, tutors, etc. You (and most probably most people) never needed those tools in High School…but don’t make the mistake of thinking yourself “dumb” if you do…think “my goal is to graduate college with a good GPA and I am going to make use of all the tools I/my parents/my scholarship are paying for.”
Look on the College Life forum for the posts about “Academic Dismissal:” or “Academic Probation” and they all are writing about how they didn’t read the material, didn’t go to professor office hours, didn’t try as hard as they could, let this housing/whatever problem derail them, didn’t get a tutor, didn’t go to the writing center…basically did everything on their own, and when things were not going well didn’t change their actions. That is called “magical thinking”…thinking everything will just magically get better instead of taking concrete steps.