Freshmen Take 1st Independent Steps

Some Waltz, Others OD on Ice Cream

On their first night at the University of Maryland, Veronica Snodgrass and Tricia Geiger were walking to Route 1, trying to decide what to do, when it suddenly hit them: They were college students, for real.

"We both realized we're not in high school anymore," Geiger said. "We're out on our own, not with our parents anymore. No one can tell us what to do!"

Tens of thousands of new students will swarm to Maryland campuses in the next few weeks, unload iPods, pillows and mini-fridges from their parents' cars, meet their roommates, build lofts, get lost, buy books, make friends and start their new, independent lives.

At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, about 1,200 freshmen will start orientation Aug. 29, where they will hear talks about ethics, sex and alcohol, and play kickball and eat barbecue on the Beach, a grassy area by the library. At St. John's College in Annapolis, the 157 freshmen will waltz, a school tradition. And at St. Mary's College of Maryland, the 542 freshmen will read a book about antebellum life in Southern Maryland, do volunteer projects and get to know professors by sharing hobbies such as sailing, hiking, kayaking and cooking.

Students in U-Md.'s undergraduate entrepreneurship program begin the program with a one-day workshop on starting a company. And a few other students, including Geiger, Snodgrass and others in U-Md.'s Freshmen First program, also got a head start.

This month, about 75 U-Md. freshmen have been taking a three-week class and getting settled into the routine of college life.

"We just want them to get a jump-start on academics," program coordinator Eric Johnson said. "It gives them a little independence, a nice transition from the high school setting. They like making friends ahead of time, getting to know campus before everyone gets here."

Shaina Glover, an 18-year-old from New Jersey, said she felt like a college student her first day in class, when she saw the syllabus. "The time management part was what I had to adjust to," she said. "Not having my mom here to stay on top of me, make sure I'm doing my work, having to take responsibility to manage my own actions, make sure I'm spending my time wisely. I like it," she said. "It's something I knew I needed to do for a while."

And no one has stopped her from going, every day, to Cold Stone Creamery and eating a mash of cotton candy ice cream, raspberry sorbet and jimmies. (Adding green apple to the mix, she learned, was not a good idea.)

Snodgrass, who like her roommate, Geiger, is from Cumberland, Md., said, "It sounded like a great idea to kind of introduce you to the college course load. It also gets three credits out of the way. So I'm taking one less course first semester; I can get used to balancing all my classes."

Registering for classes was confusing and overwhelming, Snodgrass said. She had to figure out what credits she needed for her major, although she hasn't picked one, and plan a schedule.

The roommates are taking criminology and enjoying it.

"In college, classes are so much more fun," Snodgrass said. "There are not all these rules. Everyone assumes everyone else is mature. There's more discussion. You don't have to raise your hand. It's just more fun."

Geiger said she had trouble at first getting used to having so much time: She is in class all morning, but in high school, she was in class most of the day and at practice or games for soccer, basketball and softball most of the rest of the time. "When you finish studying, evening rolls around, we're like, 'What do we do now?' "

Snodgrass said she hasn't been eating as well, without family dinners, but she suddenly started tidying things up. "At home, my room was always a mess. But here I try to keep it clean. People are always in here, and it's hard to find stuff in such a small space."

She said everyone always told her that in college, no one would be there to tell her what to do. "But I guess I never believed it till I got down here, and no one's telling you, like, when to do homework, or anything. It's a little weird," Snodgrass said. "But I definitely like it."