Transition to College: 13 Things Students Say About It
Spread the Knowledge. Share: 
What did CollegeData students find most challenging about their freshman year of college, and what helped them adapt to college life? Here are the results of CollegeData’s Transition to College Survey 2025!
Making the shift from high school to college isn’t easy for everyone. Many students face not only academic challenges but also social, emotional, and financial challenges. If you’re going through this transition now or will be soon, we think it might be helpful to hear from students who have first-hand experience making this important life-stage adjustment.
In June 2025, we surveyed* registered users of CollegeData who had just completed their freshman year of college. Read on to find out what surprised them most about college life and what helped them adjust.
When asked "What aspect of college were you least prepared for,” the responses fell into four main areas: academics, financial issues, social issues, and life balance. Below is more detail on how students responded within each category.
Students Said They Were Not Prepared For College Academics
Many students have trouble acclimating to the pace and rigor of college-level work. In CollegeData’s survey, 46 percent of respondents said they felt least prepared for the academic side of college. This is down 13 percent from last year’s survey, in which one third of the students surveyed felt least prepared for college academics.
Of the respondents who said they felt least prepared for the academic side of college, 15 percent were surprised by how academically rigorous their classes were. “Classes were extremely hard and way different from high school,” said one student. “I was used to skating by with A's in high school with minimal work," another student said. "In college, the amount of work that it took to pass my quizzes and exams was, frankly, overwhelming.”
Eleven percent of students said they weren’t prepared for the academic workload, while another 9 percent said they were challenged by the amount of studying and writing required in class.
- “I wasn’t prepared for all the work I had to do. I often spent all day doing homework, assignments and/or notes.”
- “I was surprised by how much studying there was to do. Memorization will not cut it.”
- “I really was working all the time my first year, and even though I expected college to be harder, I was not quite prepared.”
Adjusting Socially Was Fairly Easy
In last year’s 2024 survey, almost 20 percent of the students said they had trouble adjusting to some social aspects of college, specifically, living away from home, meeting new people, and living with roommates. In 2025, just 9 percent of survey respondents said they struggled to adjust to these factors. Only 4.5 percent felt living away from home was the toughest adjustment; 1.5 percent felt it was meeting new people, and 3 percent cited living with roommates.
- “It’s hard to keep up with the people you meet,” one student explained. “You have a lot of surface-level friendships but nothing meaningful.”
- “Having friends living so close by was great but was exhausting because I couldn’t find my own personal space sometimes,”
And then, there are the parties.
- “The amount of alcohol people drink is insane,” remarked one student. “I was never immersed in that culture at home, so it was a huge culture shock to me coming into college.”
Homesickness Happens
In a separate question, we asked the entire survey group about homesickness and how often they experienced it during their first semester or quarter of freshman year. Twenty-six percent of all students surveyed said they felt homesick “occasionally” (feeling homesick from four to eight times during the semester/quarter) or “often” (more than nine times during the semester/quarter).
- “I am really close with my family so being away was difficult. I am 8 hours away from home so the visit was a hassle. After a few months of being away it started feeling more normal but at the start, it was definitely hard.”
- “I made myself busy with school to distract myself from being homesick. Calling my parents and friends helped me stay sane.”
Most students surveyed, however, (74 percent) said that they rarely experienced homesickness or didn’t experience it at all. “I was most surprised by how easy it was to be away from home and start the beginning of my adult life.”
It’s Tough to Find Life Balance
While college can present many exciting social and academic opportunities, all of this can be hard to juggle, especially for incoming freshmen. Add a part-time job, family responsibilities, participation in clubs and/or sports, and you have a lot of balls in the air. It’s therefore not surprising that 20 percent of respondents said that they found it difficult to find life balance during their freshman year.
- “While I’m used to working hard academically, I found the social life on campus very tempting and had difficulty striking a balance during the first semester.”
- “It wasn’t so much the parties on campus, but the amount of interesting activities that I wanted to take part in.”
- “There were many times where I chose to hang out with my friends and ended up having to stay up really late as a result to finish homework.”
College Costs And Managing Money Were Another Challenge
Another 20 percent of the students we surveyed said they were unprepared for the financial aspects of college. Of this group, 12 percent said they were least prepared for managing their own money and 8 percent said they were unprepared for some college expenses.
More Freshmen Said They Used A Budget
Having a budget can help students keep track of their spending. This year, 66 percent of respondents said they used a budget at some point during freshman year.
However, even when students use a budget, they are sometimes thrown by the , which include transportation, school supplies, entertainment and other non-tuition costs. Since students do not typically pay for these costs directly to their college and because they can fluctuate, they aren’t always easy to track. One involving interviews with 150 college students found that 80 percent had encountered an unexpected indirect expense at least once during college.
Colleges usually include some indirect expenses in their Cost of Attendance estimates, but indirect or hidden costs can vary depending on your school, major, and lifestyle. Some of the unexpected, un-budgeted or under-budgeted expenses students reported in this year’s survey include
- textbooks
- campus events
- online homework platforms and workbooks
- food (dining out, take out, coffee, boba and snacks not included in the meal plan
- medical and pharmacy bills
- dorm décor and supplies, such as bedding
- personal grooming and toiletries
- ride-sharing and transportation
- laundry
- car maintenance
- computers and computer repairs
- gas
- pet expenses
- travel
One student didn’t expect to spend so much on entertainment and clothing to maintain a social life. “I faced the dynamic of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ and the tempting high life of my peers. I was shocked by the wealth on display.”
15 Percent Said They Ran Out Of Money
We asked students whether, at any point during their freshman year, they ran out of money or did not have enough money to pay for a necessary expense. Fifteen percent of respondents said they faced this situation. “I generally did not have enough money to manage a day-to-day lifestyle of regular expenses halfway through the school year,” one student said.
Some students who ran out of money or did not have enough money to pay for a necessary expense during their freshman year said that they . Many college students, once they turn 18 or 19, have the opportunity to get a credit card in their own name. Credit cards offered to students typically have very low credit limits and are meant to help students develop responsible spending habits and start building credit.
Thirty-five percent of the students surveyed said they used a credit card during their college freshman year, primarily to pay for groceries, dining out, and gas.
Ways Students Saved Money In College
When asked about the strategies they used to save money, 31% of students said that focusing on their needs instead of their wants helped them the most. “I kept telling myself ‘Do I really need that?’ and it helped me save money,” one student said.
Becoming aware of their and attitudes about money was also helpful. Fifteen percent said they tracked their spending, either with a budget or a money- tracking app to save money. Others just took a closer look at why they spent money when they did. “A simple recognition has helped me minimize the power of status envy,” said one student. “Conspicuous consumption is a poor way of getting what [you] want. No one is impressed with your curated lifestyle as much as you are.”
What Helped Students Prepare For The Transition From High School To College?
We also asked our survey-takers to look back at the summer between high school and college and tell us the one thing they did during that time that . Three answers stood out: attending freshman orientation, working over the summer, and taking a summer class.
Almost 22 percent of the students surveyed found freshman orientation to be helpful in preparing them for college because it provided them the opportunity to get familiar with their campus, understand academic expectations, and meet other students.
However, 19 percent said working over the summer — either full- or part-time — helped them prepare for the demands of being a college student, improved their time management and organizational skills, and gave them insight into a prospective career.
- “Working part-time helped me create discipline and better manage my time.”
- “Working over the summer allowed me to fund college and extracurricular activities.”
Another 17 percent said taking a college class over the summer was the most helpful. “Taking summer classes [...] helped me get some credits out of the way and see how college coursework really is.”
What On-Campus Resources Did Freshmen Use And Find Most Helpful?
Most colleges offer a variety of resources to support students and ease their transition to college. These include mental health services, career centers and writing support, just to name a few.
Which services did students take advantage of most freshman year? More than half of our respondents (51 percent) said they used the financial aid office the most. Professor’s office hours followed close behind with almost 50 percent. In third place was study groups with 37 percent. Respondents were able to select more than one service.
When it came to which campus resource freshmen found most helpful, 22 percent said the financial aid office, followed by 18 percent who said tutoring and academic support services, and 12 percent who said study groups.
What Life Skills Do You Need To Succeed Freshman Year?
College is often a student’s first step into adulthood and first experience living away from their parents or guardians. Even for those students living at home, college requires a higher level of organization, communication, and accountability than high school. When we asked students what life skill they used most or wish they had mastered prior to freshman year, the winners were time management (31 percent), money management (20 percent), and stress management and self-care (18 percent). These results were almost identical to last year’s. “Being away from home and taking charge of my time and routines was more difficult than I had imagined. I had to be more deliberate about what I wanted to do.”
It’s Normal To Have Some Doubts About Your College Choice
Some students enter college with outsized expectations and soon realize that their “dream” college isn’t so dreamy after all. If you end up feeling this way, you’re not alone. Twenty-five percent of students in our survey said they felt disappointed or dissatisfied with their college “occasionally” or “often.” It’s not uncommon to discover things about your college that are disappointing or different from what you expected. On the flipside, 84 percent of the students we surveyed reported “never” or “seldom” feeling disappointed or dissatisfied.
Be Patient: It Can Take Time to Adjust to College
It can take students an entire year (or more) to feel comfortable living away from home, acclimate to college classes, make friends, and adjust to the new independence that college brings. Here are some things CollegeData students have said helped them survive the transition from high school to college:
- “What helped me adjust to living on campus is staying busy with school so that I never felt lonely.”
- “Think about certain passions you’d like to pursue in college so you can hit the ground running with clubs and research opportunities and such.”
- “Make sure you only register for courses at times you know you can handle.”
- “College often involves juggling multiple responsibilities, so getting accustomed to managing time effectively, setting priorities, and staying organized can ease the transition and set a solid foundation for academic success.”
- “Develop healthy habits and know how to take care of yourself before having to deal with the stress of school.”
- “Fix your sleep schedule and be prepared to live independently by learning vital life skills such as cooking and cleaning.”
- “Network with current college students, ask for course resources that they used.”
- “Look into clubs and potential activities to join.”
- “Work on professional email-writing.”
- “Be open-minded to new possibilities.”
- “Making friends and interacting with professors on a personal basis helped a lot.”
- “Having a good group around helps living on campus feel like home, also having things that remind you of home and keeping in touch with those at home.”
- “Learn to do laundry!”
Whether you’re feeling anxious about starting college soon or you’re in the process of acclimating to college life now, we hope you’ll keep these survey results and student experiences in mind, so you know that whatever you might be going through, you’re probably not alone.
*Methodology: Survey results presented in this article were generated from an email survey of CollegeData registered users sent to college freshmen and students attending college in 2024-2025. A total of 65 CollegeData registrants completed the survey. Responses were provided anonymously. Data presented in all figures has been rounded to the nearest whole number. Percentages may not always amount to 100 percent.
