A study estimates that around 30% of undergraduate kids in US drop out in their first year, no matter the reason behind this, one thing is for sure – for these kids they realized that everything in the university that they attended, was clearly not for them. First time that you get to see your acceptance letter from your top choice university, that moment itself is once in a life time experience & stays as a lifelong memory with you, however this excitement is so overwhelming that it can get you off track and most kids carry this feeling into their first semester, by this feeling I simply mean – being relaxed, having a sense of achieving everything in life already, an understanding where you think you are ALL SET IN LIFE!

The consequences of such an attitude is seen at the end of first semester or in some cases after the first year is concluded, below are few criteria’s that international students and their parents should work upon before starting with first semester.

1. Acceptance is just the start – First and foremost students should get over the excitement and come back to the reality, if you are making silly mistakes like not submitting pending documentation such as immunization certificates, final transcripts, standardized scores if any or complying with the steps mentioned under your university student login then clearly you have not got over your excitement, keep a check on your pending tasks is as important as submitting your ED application, remember – if you are not able to complete all your academic and housing check-ins before arriving to the campus, then you will utilize more time on non academic activities thereby affecting your GPA, acceptance is just starting your educational journey and not reaching your career goals! Do not compromise your GPA initially just cause you are not able to focus on tasks at hand.
2. Connecting Universally – First semester you will come to know where is what and who is who, from attending classes to one on one faculty meetings, stepping into your allotted dorm room to taking a physical campus tour, making friendly acquaintances to identifying clubs and activities, getting to know the rules to what will happen if you break them. You have to be complete in sync with not only your academic but your non academic schedule, you have to be on your toes and be highly proactive as the day will pass swiftly, the only way to achieve this is to be universally connected & be alert on not only with what will happened today but also on what will happen tomorrow. Do not compromise your GPA initially just cause you are not universally connected with your campus environment.
3. Controlling social habits – International kids can only attend their studies being enrolled as a FULL TIME student in USA, that means that you cannot take less than specified number of credits in a semester (usually 12 is the minimum number of credits per semester) else your F1 visa might get revoked, first semester is completely NEW to every incoming student, with no exceptions, new is the culture, pattern, traditions, people, practices and study itself. United States is know for teenage parties, If you are going to stick to what you like more, such as giving more time to your social engagements then you might miss classes, shuffle your major and minor, you might postpone your per-requisites and delay starting core major classes etc. Do not compromise your GPA initially just cause you are giving more time in your social engagement.

Your first semester GPA is also counted when measuring your cumulative GPA at the time of graduation, it is observed that first semester classes are mainly general or liberal art based, meaning that you might not like the first semester classes as much as you will like your major classes, which is likely your subject of interest, they will start from your second year and a student tends to perform better in subjects that they like, hence in order to keep your GPA from tanking in first semester you will require your best effort and utmost concentration.

Finally if your GPA is compromised in the first semester your do not get the start that with help you in your education journey & internships, so your first semester will require your best attention and concentration during your entire undergraduate journey.

Satyam Khanna