Many freshmen come onto campus the first week of school nervous about what to expect.

To help put you at ease, here are the three most common misconceptions freshmen have.

Misconception 1: Finding friends is the top priority.

For incoming freshmen, especially those who don’t know anyone, it can feel scary not to have a preexisting friend group or a guaranteed person to sit with at lunch.

“Going into high school was pretty scary because you don’t know if people have already become friends with each other,” said Betty Ding ’27

Trust that friendships will form naturally through casting a wide net and meeting a diverse range of people.

“I wish, especially in my classes, I would have sat in different places instead of sitting in the same seat with the same people every day,” said Ashley Vela Perez ’26.

Both Ding and Vela Perez wish they would’ve branched out more and talked to everyone, “even the people who kind of intimidated me,” Vela Perez added.

Some friendships can be quite unexpected, so give everyone a chance. 

Misconception 2: Your teachers will only be relevant in the classroom.

Freshmen should also prioritize getting to know teachers and staffulty. Oftentimes, when one is too consumed by finding new friends, teachers can end up as background noise, but they shouldn’t. Connecting with your teachers can be beneficial to your learning and overall wellbeing at Branson.

“You have all these teachers who also want to be your friends and also want to get to know you, not just as a student, but also as a person; that way they can help you to the best of their abilities,” said Vela Perez. “I think that’s definitely something freshmen should keep in mind.”

Upperclassmen agree.

“I feel like it’s good to build connections early on…. Even if you’re not asking for homework help, they can always help if you’re stressed about a class or something, but they’re always willing to help,” Ding said.

Teachers and staffulty can become an important part of your life at Branson, so don’t overlook them.

Misconception 3: You get overloaded with work right off the bat.

Freshmen often think that they’ll have tons of homework piled up by the end of their first week. 

“I believed I would get so much homework…and I would fall significantly behind,” said Vela Perez.

Fortunately, at Branson, “The teachers all want you to succeed, so they slowly build up the workload over time,” said Vela Perez. 

James Parento ’28 said, “I thought we would get into [work] a lot quicker, and I was surprised at how slowly we got into the academic part,” when asked about a misconception he had of his first week at Branson.

To sum it up, “You should enjoy your freshman year and have fun. Don’t stress too much!” says Ding.