(Social) Life as a college freshman
during the pandemic

By Tianna Hunt | November 22, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has caused significant changes to how students experience their freshman year of college. Freshman Shantika Bhat (left) is having a much different college experience than Megan Sayles (right), who recently graduated.

Photo Credits: Shantika Bhat and Megan Sayles.

As a high school student, Shantika Bhat had high expectations for her college years. She stated, “For college, in general, I really wanted it to be like the stereotypical, ‘I’m gonna find myself, I’m gonna have so much fun.’” 

However, given the current global circumstances of  the pandemic, there haven’t been many opportunities to gain the full first-year experience. The Johns Hopkins University freshman shared that her school has strict COVID-19 protocols which hinder many social interactions.

With the college being an important contributor to the viruses’ research, they have enforced guidelines to help prevent any chance of an outbreak. These include mandatory masks, vaccine requirements, a space limit on social events, an app that tracks symptoms every 12 hours, and no gathering in dining halls. All meals are prepared to go and a vaccine clinic is stationed on campus for unvaccinated students. Seminars are held virtually with only a small group of students allowed to go into the classroom in-person. 

Though these affect the opportunity to explore and build meaningful connections with people, Bhat admits that they allow her to feel safe and appreciative of how much her school cares. Her peers from other schools with less strict policies have expressed their fears about how schoolmates are approaching the pandemic, but she herself feels quite safe. However, these restrictions often lead to loneliness.

“I’m having a terrible time trying to meet people because of the way things are structured here,” said Bhat. “Everyone seems to have their own group and so it’s hard to branch out and meet new people. The majority of the people here just like to stay in their groups.”

When asked how different her experiences are now compared to how she thought they would be, Bhat expressed that she was not having as much fun as she wanted to. She wants to take more care of herself and mental health. Nevertheless, she is pleased that she has the power to now control her days - a privilege no one has in high school. Taking mainly science-related classes, her day is sometimes filled with 4-hour labs and continuous study sessions. 

“College is just so much more stressful and the workload is just way more. Every week we work and there are big exams,” said Bhat. “With college, you have to study and fill in gaps because the professors don’t clarify everything for you.” Despite this, she’s grateful to have the ability to control her days and what she gets to do.

FReshman Experience, Pre-Pandemic

“Freshman year was fun. It was my favorite year of college,” Megan Sayles, a recent graduate of the University of Maryland. 

Before social distancing became the new normal there were huge gatherings and college parties. Sayles provided some insight into how her experiences were pre-pandemic.

While in high school she had her own expectations of college. A major one was that people would always be around her. Upon starting her first year, she found this to be true. Her peers would always knock on her room door announcing that they were going to breakfast, and asking if she wanted to tag along. Dining halls were often filled with big groups of people and to put it simply everyone seemed to have had a very social social life.

When she wasn’t studying for exams, she explored the opportunities available to her, becoming a college tour guide and showing the beautiful campus she was a part of. She could also be found gathering in residence hall lounges and interacting with her peers. 

Her junior year, however, this all changed and her experiences mirrored those of college freshmen today - or worse. 

Nevertheless, she reflected on her college life saying, “College made me more confident and independent.” She advises other students to get out of their comfort zone and find  people they can depend on. Times may be hard right now, but there is still hope.