Freshmen come to college "filled with excitement" but after their parents leave and they are on their own, at last, in an entirely new environment, they "don't know what they don't know yet," said Laura Santacrose '11, a resident adviser for a freshman residence hall, speaking on a panel in Uris Hall Sept. 13.

The discussion on the challenges freshmen face was taped by WSKG Radio, the National Public Radio affiliate in Binghamton and hosted by WSKG's Crystal Sarakas; it will air Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. on 90.9 FM in Ithaca as part of the biweekly program "Community Conversation."

The various panelists agreed that "the striking of the first prelim," in the words of Graeme Bailey, professor of computer science, marked a major turning point for freshmen. According to Jen Bokaer-Smith, assistant director of the Cornell Learning Strategies Center, freshmen are often disappointed with their grades on their first prelim or paper. The study strategies they used in high school don't always produce the same results in college, she added.

The solution: Get help.

"Students who ask for help when they need it tend to do better than students who don't," said Bokaer-Smith. Santacrose recalled being unsatisfied with her grade on her first prelim freshman year. But by attending professors' office hours, she was able to ask specific questions and receive individual attention, and her grades improved. "Professors aren't that scary, and they are there to help," she said.

Catherine Thrasher-Carroll, mental health promotion coordinator for Gannett Health Services, emphasized the stress of a new environment with many new challenges and choices, from deciding where to eat and living with a stranger to managing coursework. Students should not only practice stress-reduction techniques, she said, but also "use cognitive strategies to be able to work with disappointments" and to learn and grow despite temporary setbacks.

Bailey, director of the computer science Master's of Engineering program, noted that the point of exams is to teach students how "to solve the problems that are not in the books." They are asked to put together ideas they've been exposed to and to "come up with fresh, novel, interesting" solutions to problems, he added.

It is essential for students not to feel that they're on their own in their first year of college, Bailey added. Discussing efforts to help students get support when they need it, Santacrose talked about going door-to-door and checking up on students regularly. Thrasher-Carroll added that faculty are asked to send the names of students they think might need help to administrators in order to "cultivate a network of support," making mental health a responsibility of the community.

Addressing the issue of helicopter parents, Bokaer-Smith said that students should learn to manage their own time. Parents should "put some of the responsibility for communication on the student," having their child call home instead of the other way around. Parents should check in and offer support, she said, without asking about specific grades.

Bailey described a student's university years as a "serious investment" of both time and money. Ultimately, he added, college is an opportunity to see how people think, where each person can find their own essential mentors.

Joseph Mansky '12 is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.