Success is not solely determined by results and outcomes.
As your student progresses through their degree, their goals and ideas of what their success looks like will change and develop as they do.
Here are three common experiences of first-year students.
Trying new things
UWaterloo has many opportunities for students to try new things — this is part of the holistic student experience.
Your student might join a late-night intramural recreation team or use their time off during Reading Week to travel with new friends.
Their schedule and priorities may change in this new environment.
Making new friends
Trying new things might be how your student meets new friends.
Living in residence, participating in class or getting involved on campus are other ways they might meet new people.
Your student may find meeting friends easy or challenging. Building a support system on campus is important for your student’s success.
Exploring identity
New students arriving at university are often exposed to new values, cultures and beliefs.
Part of this new experience will be learning how other belief systems coexist with their own and refining theirs accordingly.
Questioning and exploring previously held beliefs is common and is how young adults start to form their self-identity.
What to watch for
There may be times in a student’s search for identity when they explore a riskier path that can lead to negative consequences.
If you notice any of the behaviours listed below, encourage them to explore health and well-being supports.
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Overloading their schedule: getting involved with every activity available without thinking about how that might make the transition to university more difficult.
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Focusing only on academics: refusing to take breaks because of an overt concern about how difficult the work might be.
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Skipping classes excessively: you’ll only know this if your student tells you, but it might come out as “I don’t need to go to class today” or “I already know the material, it’s okay for me to miss that class.”
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Financial concerns: rapidly decreasing funds or running down their WatCard balance early in the term.
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Consistent or recurring illness: may signify physical health concerns, such as not eating a proper diet, not getting enough exercise, etc.
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Lack of academic integrity: working with peers to complete individual assignments or cheating on tests.
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Partying too much: understand early signs of substance abuse.
Common challenges
What counts isn’t so much the challenges a student faces, but how they choose to confront those challenges and what they learn from each experience.
Below are some common challenges first-year students express or experience, plus suggestions for how to support them.