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To learn more about the college experience, we reached out to a couple of experts on the topic: Mary Dell Harrington, Co-Founder of Grown & Flown, and Lynne Fuller, Founder of College Flight Path. They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and explain what students should know before enrolling.

"Don't believe the myth that college is the 'best four years' of your life," Mary Dell says. "Most first year students find college to be a challenge on many levels, especially during that first semester."

"While students have the ability to do well in their courses, college academics are very different than high school classes, but not necessarily because they're harder. The cadence of assignments and the free time during which students need to complete them requires students to develop an entirely new set of time management skills," Mary Dell explained. "Teens don't enter college with those skills in place but will need to create them, which takes time."

"It also takes time to adjust socially from being with hometown friends and family to finding a friend group. The shared experiences that transform acquaintances into close friends don't happen overnight but over the course of weeks and even months," the expert continued. "Students should try to take comfort in knowing that they are not alone in feeling homesick or disoriented, especially early on."

Lynne also shared her top five pieces of advice for new college students. First, she suggests getting a blood panel done to know your health baseline when heading off to college. "So many students ignore what healthy eating, sleeping, and movement habits do for them when they are involved in PE, Health, team sports, and intramurals at home, coupled with balanced meals," the expert noted.

"Knowing what your health baseline is before changing your living situation entirely is important, especially if you get really sick that first semester," Lynne explained. "This also leads to having a plan if you get sick, figuring out what the university requires in terms of connecting with advisors and teachers before you run a fever or have been hit by the latest norovirus can be helpful."

"If you plan, then dealing with the steps to ensure you are not docked in your grade due to illness is most certainly worth the preparation," she continued. "Additionally, do not forget to get everyone's contact information to share with a parent via a group chat, that way if someone falls ill there are multiple eyes on your wellbeing."

Next, Lynne recommends building relationships with your future roommate, upperclassmen, advisors, and the alumni network. "All of these people will become part of what you are investing in for your future career," she noted. "It is also helpful to register for pre-orientation programs and welcome events, so you can start to connect with those who are also heading off to school with you."

It's also a good idea for college students to learn how to be independent. "There will not be someone to wake you up, tell you when to go to bed, how to do your laundry (unless you pay for a service), make basic meals (unless you get a Factor subscription), and set social media limits," the expert continued. "These are all important activities that need to be completed unprompted, so learn to persist on your own."

Lynne's next tip is learning how to "reverse calendar" the semester. "Start from finals and work your way backwards through all assignments, quizzes, tests, and papers to figure out when the heavy academic weeks will be," she explained. "If there are hard classes that you know you are taking in the first semester, get organized with a tutor straight away, do not wait! The good ones go quickly."

And finally, she recommends introducing yourself to your professors and establishing a relationship before you have a question or need to make a request of them. "It is better to be proactive than reactive," Lynne shared. "Sending an introductory email can help build relationships and find a mentor."

The expert also has a whole checklist featuring more of these helpful tips on College Flight Path.