Campus Life: What to Expect Your first year of college presents a lot of new experiences: living away from home, meeting new people and managing your own time. Prepare for life on campus by figuring out what to bring, how to handle challenging circumstances and what you can do to manage your workload. No matter how prepared you think you are for college life, you may feel anxious when you arrive on campus—even flat-out panicked. But not to worry. Here’s some advice from those who have “gone before.”