According to BYU-Idaho's Newsroom, approximately 5,500 first-time freshmen entered the BYUI campus in this semester alone.

If you're one of the new freshmen still trying to find their way around campus (or if you've been here awhile), here are some tips that will help you hit the ground running as a first-time college student.

Know what success looks and feels like

Todd Kelson has been teaching biology at BYU-Idaho for 28 years. He talked about the importance of learning what success looks like in the classroom.

“I want [students] to ... have confidence in getting a job that will support them and their family," said Kelson. "I’m hoping that by having success here, they will recognize it, so when they get into a future career, they’ll know what success looks like and feels like.”

Success in school doesn’t always mean straight A's

Kelson highlighted finding success in college and shared a deeper look into what success looks like.

“I always emphasize to my students, success does not mean that you’re getting an A in the class,” Kelson said. ”There’s people like me that got a B average or a little bit higher in college, and then go on to be very successful later, because they learned how to think. And that is what's important, learning how to think.” 

Kelson described the difference between learning what to think and how to think. Learning how to think is critical because you take that thinking with you outside of school.

Learning how to think

“All of my classes so far have kind of worked together, and they’ve overlapped," said Ryan Larsen, a biochemistry major. "And those connections can matter to life. I mean, I had a full-blown conversation in this cafeteria over biology and how it affected how we see things and how we do things, and personally, I would say that’s the point of loving what you’re studying, right? If you actually do, you’ll think of it outside of school, not just in school.”

Larsen described how he has learned the value of learning how to think as he has begun to make connections across classrooms and even outside of school.

Focus on the student-teacher relationship

“I feel like one of the secrets I’ve had when it comes to having success in school comes down to a student-teacher relationship,” said Nathan Seegmiller, a psychology major.  

Seegmiller said that he meets with his professors as soon as possible. He learns about their expectations and shares his goals with them, so they can help him throughout the course. 

The front row student mentality

“And then another thing is where you choose to sit," Seegmiller said. "You can’t always sit at the front of the class; sometimes it’s full, and that’s okay. But you can still interact with the class. Even if you’re not physically a front seat student, mentally be a front seat student.” 

Seegmiller said that you can still raise your hand to ask questions and meet with the teacher after class. This will show them that you’re a front-seat student even if you’re sitting at the back.  

It is okay to be vulnerable

According to Larsen, it's okay to be vulnerable and acknowledge what you don’t know.

“You can be comfortable with being imperfect. It is a part of nature.” Larsen said.   

Be a self-driven student

“I feel like sometimes students wait for a teacher to tell them, 'This is what you need to do to study for the test.' Some students wait for somebody else to form a study group.” Kelson said.  

Kelson said that successful students don’t wait for other people; they take the initiative.  

“So I think that those self-driven students are the ones who will do well, because they know what they want and they’re willing to put in the time to get there,” Kelson said.

There’s a lot to balance when you start the college experience. These are just a couple of tips to get you started, so that instead of feeling like you’re floundering, you can hit the ground running.

Welcome to Rexburg.