Kristie Lorette is a feature writer for CareersandEducation.com. Review more of her work and read about using a Career learning center and explore her thoughts on online degree programs and online colleges.
A college mentor is a student that is older than you and has experienced the years of college that you are about to embark on. A college mentor may be a senior who takes a freshman under his wing and shows him/her the ropes. A mentoring program helps to make newcomers to the college feel more welcome to the school and a little less lost. With someone to show you where they can shop for groceries or where they can park your car on campus, newcomers feel less anxiety about being new to a situation.
One advantage to having a mentor is that you now know at least one person on your college campus. If you are going to a school where you do not know a soul, at least with your mentor you have one person that you recognize and that recognizes you. Another advantage to having a college mentor is that they have already experienced what you are about to experience. Someone who has already gone down that road will be able to give you advice that may help you from making mistakes and provide you with a better perspective on how you should handle something. Finally, a college mentor may be older than you by a few years, but they are in your age group. You may feel like they understand you better than an adult like a counselor or a professor that is much older than you are. A mentor is more like your peer than other types of authority figures at the school and so you may feel more comfortable with them.
So, how do you find a mentor?
Contact your school and find out if they offer a mentor program. If you already know what you want to study or major in, you should contact that particular department in the university. Mentor programs usually have a questionnaire that both you and mentors fill out. This is like a profile that they use to match individuals that have similar interests, backgrounds, etc. This is so that you (the mentoree) feels more comfortable and at ease with your mentor. If you know the area that you want to study, then your particular department may have someone who is majoring in the same field. This is one more thing that can you and your mentor together and provide with an even more personalized level of service.
Once you are paired with your mentor, you will feel more at ease with your transition from high school life to college life. Your mentor may open up doors of opportunity for you that you may not have known existed without him or her as your guide. You may find the mentorship program so helpful and beneficial that when you become a senior in college, you may want to give back to an incoming freshman by becoming a mentor yourself!
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