<p>yikes…put this much thought into how to get busy when you get to campus, chin up and heart open. Social connections are a jungle for freshman was well as for transfers…Vanderbilt is a very pleasurable college and can be one for independents as well as for Greeks.<br>
Everything you were in high school is out the window and you are on a new starting line. People will surprise you. The general attitude at Vandy is that everyone who got in can do very well and is special in some way. There really is no more focus on how you got there. Yes, you will have lost out on round one of social grouping and pairing. But after freshman year and leaving the Commons lots of people try new avenues anyhow. People who didn’t care that much about extracurriculars in high school might suddenly lead one at Vandy. People who were Officers in high school clubs or edited their school papers will drop out and take up art or engineering and never be joiners in the old way. Athletes in high school will become scholars. High school drones and misfits will turn into social butterflies. You didn’t sneak into Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is not a very permeable institution even for transfers.
This is a drama in your own mind. The real challenge will be testing well among your peers. Use whatever you need to help yourself academically…everyone else does re groups, tutors, peer learning, etc.<br>
Have you moved many times growing up? I had to as a military kid. The key is to take a great interest in others, remember everything you can about others, and realize that it is only human for people to not extend themselves as much as they should to newcomers. Ignore slights, reward any contact with welcoming people. Initiate. Initiate, and welcome some time alone as a good passage in your transition…don’t fight it. Go with it. My sons had little practice at this because they were raised on one place. Even so, Vandy is a friendly courteous place and again, you may be surprised at how well you are welcomed.
By junior year a new sea change sets in…even in sophomore year actually…and everyone is starting to be Over being New to college and is instead focused on internships, research and job opportunities and figuring out how to choose their majors and advisors. You will already feel this in the air. The trauma you all went through to get into colleges like Vandy has started to fade out like Childbirth…seriously. And you will find that applying for things and getting rejections starts up all over again. I think my Vandy son applied for four-five positions freshman and sophomore year (things like ASB or a student gov’t or debate team or team tryouts or a scholarship or an internship) and got rejected 3 times. He was so grateful that he had developed a thicker skin in high school since at first Vandy was not in his top five crush colleges. Everyone at Vandy is sucking up rejections and disappointments as well as loving their academic and peer group vistas. You will be fine.</p>