Five Tips for Incoming First-Year College Students
Sadie Meyer is a 2026 graduate of Syracuse University, a valedictorian of her graduating class, and the student speaker at Syracuse University’s 2026 commencement ceremony. Sadie shared the best advice and tips from her time in college for incoming first-year students.Â
Starting college is exciting, and it can also feel overwhelming. You’re leaving behind what’s familiar without knowing who you’ll meet, where you’ll belong, or how you’ll grow over the next four years.
As a recent college graduate, I’ve been thinking about what I wish I’d known when I first stepped onto campus. Some of the most important lessons had nothing to do with choosing classes or decorating my dorm room. Instead, they were about finding community, saying yes to opportunities, allowing others to invest in me, and trusting that growth can happen in unexpected ways.
Here are five things I would tell every first-year student to consider:
1. Write yourself a letter
As a first-year student, I participated in Syracuse Hillel’s FreshFest, which welcomed me to campus even before classes began. While there, incoming students were asked to write letters to their future selves – to be opened four years later, during our last week on campus. At the time, it felt almost impossible to picture who I would become as a graduating senior, so I filled my letter with questions.
Will I find my people?
Did I pick the right school?
Am I still friends with my roommate?
Then, in giant capital letters across the page, I wrote: DID I GRADUATE?
At the time, every decision felt enormous. I worried about classes, fitting in, and whether I was capable of handling the demands of college life. Looking back now, I realize the first-year version of myself had no idea how much growth was quietly waiting ahead.
You might feel like I did in that moment: nervous, scared, unsure of what’s next. My advice to you: Write the letter.
Write down the fears that feel so big right now, the person you hope to become, the life you imagine building. One day, you’ll reread those words with tenderness for the person you used to be, and pride for the person you’ve grown into.
2. Say yes to unexpected opportunities
One of the strangest parts of college is that those around you may recognize your potential long before you see it yourself.
Before I believed I could be a leader, someone encouraged me to try. Before I thought I was capable of taking on major responsibilities, the staff and students at Hillel trusted me to succeed. Before I knew how to advocate for myself, I was given opportunities to advocate for others.
Over time, those small moments changed the way I viewed myself.
Confidence is sometimes built in those quiet experiences, through small risks, first attempts, awkward introductions, and opportunities you may not feel prepared for.
Say yes anyway.
Growth can begin by simply showing up to a Hillel Shabbat dinner, introducing yourself to someone new, or raising your hand when your instinct might otherwise tell you to stay quiet.
3. Accept help from people who care about you
There are times when campus feels enormous. It’s easy to believe you’re on your own.
³Û´Ç³Ü’r±ð not.
Some of the most meaningful relationships you’ll make in college may be with your mentors. Look to build a support system with Hillel staff, professors, student leaders, and your friends, anyone who sees the real you.
Honestly, the people who changed my life most during college were often the ones who noticed when I was overwhelmed before I said anything out loud. And for me, that was always the staff at Hillel. They checked in after difficult weeks and remembered details about my life. They saw me as a whole person who they actively and intentionally cared for
Let people help you. One day, you’ll realize those relationships shaped your college experience just as much as any class did.
4. Build communityÂ
Fitting into a community should never require you to become less of yourself. It can feel tempting to tone down certain parts of your identity in new spaces, especially when you want to belong, but the communities and relationships that matter most will make room for your whole self.
Find the communities that make you feel grounded, whether that’s at Hillel or through academic groups, sports teams, artistic spaces, volunteer organizations, or friendships that slowly feel more like family. At the same time, allow yourself to engage with the broader campus community around you and bring a little of yourself with you. I found I felt most comfortable when I brought my Jewish identity into non-Jewish spaces, like my sorority.
Some of the most meaningful parts of college happen when different parts of your life begin connecting with one another. Belonging rarely appears all at once. Usually, it’s built over time through small moments of showing up as yourself.
5. Let yourself growÂ
When I first arrived at college, I thought success meant surviving my coursework, forming friendships, and making it to graduation. What I didn’t understand yet was that my time at college would completely reshape the way I viewed who I was.
Over four years, I became more confident, grounded, resilient, and willing to trust my own voice. The person graduating today is not someone my first-year self could have fully envisioned. But looking back, I realize I have grown into the person my friends, mentors, and professors always believed I could be.
You don’t need to know exactly who you’ll become. You don’t need to have your future mapped out in detail. Some of the most meaningful growth happens quietly, gradually, and unexpectedly.
So when you walk onto campus this fall carrying thoughts about whether you’ll succeed, whether you’ll belong, or whether you’re ready for what’s ahead, know this:
³Û´Ç³Ü’r±ð already becoming someone your future self will one day look back on with gratitude.