The fabled first years have recently started their college experience in a partially in-person, partially online environment filled with high expectations, hopes and challenges ahead. In their first two months of college, students have transitioned to a new, more intense way of studying, learning about other cultures, finding new friends and trying to find a sense of home at NYUAD.

One of the first challenges that many first years have faced is getting accustomed to a more rigorous workload than they were used to in highschool.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be this tense. I told myself... ‘Please do not start putting off work and start doing it the moment you get it’ because it gets more intense over time, but it is something I am getting used to,”explained Nasheed ur Rehman, Class of 2025, who is aspiring to double major in Bioengineering and Mathematics.

Timothy Chiu, an undecided but potential Social Science major also pointed out the flexibility that college offers: “There is definitely a ton more to do in terms of workload, a ton of readings is probably the most surprising part, but I guess not having a set schedule, meaning consecutive classes like in high school, gives you a lot more freedom which is nice.”

Firas Darwish, an aspiring computer engineer and the first year representative in the NYUAD Student Government, compared his high school curriculum to that of NYUAD: “It's definitely difficult, especially coming from someone who took at least for the last two years of school the International Baccalaureate diploma program which is a standardized course,” he stated. “I think the standardized nature of that curriculum makes it so that you'd always know where to go in preparation for certain tests. But I think with NYUAD that courses are structured and cater to the professor's liking. A lot of times there isn't sort of that standardized method.”

Josh is an aspiring bioengineering major from South Korea. Josh’s real name is Yongbin Ko, but he chooses to go by Josh so that it’s easier for Westerners to pronounce. His NYUAD experience so far is similar to his highschool experience as he went to boarding school and is, thus, accustomed with being far from home and to living in a dorm. Finding yourself in a new environment is always a struggle. The biggest challenge when you join college, perhaps, is getting accepted for who you are, as it takes time for others to really start appreciating your quirks. NYUAD students are privileged in this respect because their get-to-know phase starts early, months before the college starts – during the candidate weekend. “During my first few weeks on campus, I was with a group of people that I had met on the Candidate Weekend, but then you go into D2 and meet new people, so I have new contacts, but I am still close to people I have met during the CW,” shared Rehman.

One unique thing about being a first year student at NYUAD is that besides finding yourself in an unfamiliar environment you are also exposed to tens or even hundreds of new cultures and cultural practices with which you may not be acquainted with. “I think with every incoming NYUAD student, there's always the hesitancy that you're going to accidentally offend someone, because you are maybe a little unaware of certain cultural practices or cultural traditions. So, I think, especially during Marhaba, there was that little period where you're still trying to sort of get a hold of where people are coming from, talking a little bit about their culture,” explained Darwish. “After there were a lot of moments where I was exposed to other people's background and realities, I wasn’t aware of, and it was just through those discussions, that we were sort of able to come to know each other's cultures and cultural differences and whatnot.”

For some students, the privilege of trying out new cuisines is one of the most fun parts of NYUAD.

Chiu said, “I have learnt a lot about foreign cuisine since one thing people really like to talk about is food. You ask them about what they like and what they don’t like, what they like to eat and what they miss from their home countries.” Rehman shared a more personal story related to food as he said, “I have never tried Mongolian food but coming to D1 I had a go at it, and it was fantastic. Then there are also intimate moments with your friends in the dorm where they cook up a random snack from their home country. So, for me the best way to meet new cultures is by trying new foods.” Darwish also elaborated on relating to the type of discourse on campus, as a result of NYUAD’s diversity. “I think I was a little shocked, especially at NYUAD with respect to some of the conversations we're having,” he expressed. “I think what the university does a really good job at sometimes is creating an environment for students to have discussions that would be a lot harder to have outside the university.”

Rehman was also impressed by the hospitality that people from different cultures showed him. “One of my friends pulled out a kettle of Arabic coffee and he served me a cup,” shared Rehman, as he thought about how welcoming people at NYUAD are. Studying in a different country, away from home, makes it difficult to keep up with all the things happening at home. Remaining in touch with family and loved ones back home may get difficult, and as first years transition into college life, they find a variety of ways to do so on their own terms.

Chiu elaborated that he remains in contact with his loved ones mostly through Facetime but also through group chats. “I try to set up a time to talk and catch up. And with family, it's easier but having friends all over the world, in Europe and America and the Americas and Asia, it’s a lot tougher that way since the time zones are so spread apart, but we manage,” he explained. Josh empathized with the latter, explaining how it’s often difficult to video chat because of the time difference.

Darwish and Rehman’s families live quite close to campus, but they still need ways to remain in contact with family since they decided to live on campus. Rehman explained that he usually opts for WhatsApp, but he also sends his family members Google Meet invites every day, while Darwish remains in contact by asking them how they're doing and keeping up with whatever projects or passions they've been pursuing.