The first year of college can be very overwhelming. Freshmen are faced with newfound independence and an opportunity to become whatever they choose. But the responsibility of independence may cause some apprehension.

Luckily, many students agree the best advice for incoming freshmen is to relax. Upperclassmen say college is the only time to make and change decisions without receiving criticism for it. Freshmen can explore career options and course offerings without making permanent decisions about who to be or what to do with the rest of their lives.

Garret Stevens, a sophomore majoring in biology and political science and a former Avanti for Bama Bound, agrees that an academic plan doesn’t have to be solid.

“I think some of the greatest advice we give freshmen is that they don’t need to have it all figured out when they first get to the University,” Stevens said. “It’s while you’re in college that you’re supposed to discover your interests and pursue them. Coming here with a detailed plan of your next four years will just add to your stress if things don’t work out how you anticipated.”

Becca Ansorge, a senior majoring in English, learned a few lessons at UA before her graduation this summer.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and don’t waste a second of your time here,” she said. “Save your money, but don’t save too much of your money. Be responsible, but not too responsible.”

The University offers tools to help plan the next four years. DegreeWorks, which can be found on the myBama website, has a planner where students can map out the classes they need to take in order to finish in four years, a GPA calculator and a “what if” function that allows students to see what classes are needed for different majors and minors, in addition to other tools.

“Looking back at my freshman year, I feel like knowing [you don’t need a definite plan] would have saved me a great amount of anxiety about changing my major,” Stevens said, “but more importantly, it would have made me feel better about taking classes that appear useless on my transcript but helped me discover my passions.”

Other students, like Morgan Ridinger, a sophomore majoring in advertising, wish they had gotten more involved.

“I wish I had known how important it is to get involved, so you meet people and make friends,” she said.

Freshmen have involvement opportunities specifically geared towards them, such as First Year Council, an organization where participants serve as the voice of the freshman class, to Student Government Association and Freshman Forum, where students develop leadership skills and participate in community and campus involvement.

“Go outside your comfort zone,” said Fifi Wang, a sophomore majoring in political science. “You might find that you actually enjoy things that you never pictured yourself doing. Also, when it comes to applications, it never hurts to apply. The worst thing that will happen is that you won’t get whatever you applied for.”

The Week of Welcome, which is going on now, is a great way to make new friends, and Get on Board Day, on Aug. 31, is another way to meet others with similar interests.

“Get out of the dorm room. Meet people. Go to events,” said Becky Reamey, associate director of student development. “There are a number of events hosted throughout Student Affairs but also with the Honors College that we host particularly for freshmen. Within the Honors College, again, we have a freshmen mentoring class [that is] a way to meet people and also have an older student that can give them advice.”

Studying abroad, whether for a semester, a summer, or an entire academic year, is also something to start thinking about as a freshman.

“Starting to think about summer plans is a big deal,” Reamey said. “Don’t wait too long to start thinking about internships and opportunities around campus.”