How to Survive Your Freshman Year, The Podcast

Each year, more and more college students are reporting that they experience mental health problems. There is a silver lining to this: the stigma is fading and more students are willing to acknowledge their struggles and seek help. As you'll hear in this episode, mental health issues can take a wide range of forms. We'll hear from a Yale expert on the topic as well as three students who each have their own unique stories of struggling, seeking help, and overcoming.

In our culture, college is as much about partying as it is about anything else. On this episode, we hear from a medley of freshmen year vets who describe their schools’ party scenes, run-ins with the law, and the effects of too much alcohol. We found that partying is different on every campus, alcohol can be less than conducive for perfect health and excellent academic achievement, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with not partaking in it.

Colleges provide many more accommodations than most students realize. Whether you've identified as disabled your whole life or just feel like something's a little off, your school can help. On this episode, we talked to four freshman year veterans who sought out help for their unique medical challenges. Each faced their issues with creativity, courage, and persistence. Your school is there to help you and if you reach out, you will get the accommodations you need. As you'll hear, these simple arrangements can make all the difference in the world. All you have to do is ask.

For many, starting college means leaving the comforts of home for the first time. Whether you're moving down the street or across the world, this can be an intimidating experience. We talked to freshman year veterans who moved all kinds of distances for their college experience. We wanted to know: How nervous were they leading up to the big day? And how did they handle it once it finally came? We heard a lot about excitement, homesickness, and personal growth. Hear their wisdom and diminish your anxiety. They did it, and you can too.

We have come to understand the modern-day college campus as a hormonal jungle populated by young people, recently unhinged from the supervision of their families. It's not always an easy thing to manage. It's normal to be nervous upon entering this world, but this podcast is here to help. We talked to real life veterans of this chaotic brew of competing motives, moralities, biological urges, and social pressures to get their brutally honest stories and advice. Listen and be entertained, educated, and comforted. They all made it through, and you will too.