The "shocks" of new students when entering university, 18km takes 2 hours

(Dan Tri) - From excitement to confusion, many new students in Ho Chi Minh City soon realize that university is not as "rosy" as they imagined. These challenges are opportunities for them to mature and learn to live more independently.

"Haunted" by traffic jams and spending worries

Once not having to worry much about money, now Nguyen An Duong, a first-year student majoring in Business Administration in Ho Chi Minh City, has to learn how to manage his expenses to adapt to life in a new city.

Duong's living expenses range from 6.5 to 7 million VND per month, including 2 million VND for rent and 4 to 5 million VND for food and other expenses. Despite trying to save, Duong still finds that money is spent faster than expected.

The male student admitted that part of the reason came from unplanned expenses, such as the habit of spontaneous shopping. Besides, the higher cost of living in the countryside also made Duong confused.

“Snacks and breakfast are more expensive. A bowl of pho in the countryside costs about 35,000 VND, but in the city it costs 40,000-50,000 VND,” he said.

Without a personal vehicle, Duong has to spend a significant amount of money on transportation by ride-hailing service.

Not only Duong, the problem of personal financial management always makes many first-year students struggle. Many of them are not used to planning their spending so they easily fall into the situation of "meningitis", even being cheated when paying a deposit for a house or buying used items online.

Traffic problem is a concern of many students when going to the city to study (Photo: Trinh Nguyen).

Besides, commuting is also a nightmare for many young people. Tuan Anh, a first-year student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, chose to stay at a relative’s house instead of a dormitory to feel more comfortable and free. However, this choice forced him to travel more than 18km every day.

The long commute makes Tuan Anh have to wake up 40-50 minutes earlier and come home later, leaving him with almost no time for himself.

He said: "The first day I drove to school by myself, I got lost in Bien Hoa and it took me more than 2 hours to get home, instead of 35 minutes if I went the right way."

In the following days, Tuan Anh always had to find ways to avoid traffic jams to make his journey home smoother.

Difficulty integrating into life

The living environment of many students has also changed completely. From being protected by their parents, they now have to cook, do laundry, clean by themselves… The loneliness in the crowded city makes many new students feel lost.

“I felt very lonely, homesick and had difficulty adapting to city life during the first days of school,” said Luu Nguyen Van Anh, a student majoring in Cultural Studies.

New students leave their parents' arms for the first time to take control of their lives (Photo: Phuong Thao).

For Thach Tri Khang, the biggest difficulty is building new relationships, something he has worried about since he was in his hometown.

“In the first few days, I could only sit still. After 2-3 sessions, I dared to talk to 2 new friends,” Khang said.

To overcome this, Khang plans to try to proactively start conversations and join a soccer club to expand his network.

Not only the difficulties in daily life, studying also makes many students feel “culture shock”. No longer being “held by the hand” by teachers like in 12 years of high school, in university, students have to read, learn by themselves, and take responsibility for their own learning progress.

On many forums, it is not difficult to find posts sharing difficulties in studying because of approaching new programs and learning methods at university level. This is a common situation when many students still maintain the study habits of lower levels, not used to being proactive in studying.

Be proactive to adapt

After the initial period, many new students gradually found ways to adapt and stand firm in the new environment.

Besides the negative effects of studying far away, Tuan Anh also sees positive aspects.

“I learned how to proactively organize my time and be more responsible for myself, which helped me develop in a better direction during my time at school,” said the student.

Having had difficulty studying when moving from high school to university, Nhat Vy, a student majoring in Journalism, has gradually learned from her own experience. In addition to listening to lectures and taking notes in the classroom, Vy also tries to spend time studying on her own and working in groups to achieve better results.

Unlike high school, students need to be more proactive in studying in a university environment (Photo: UIT).

Similarly, Van Anh believes that each student should learn to integrate and gradually adapt to the new life so as not to fall behind their peers.

According to MSc. Tran Nam, Head of Student Affairs Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh National University, it is completely normal for new students to experience "shocks" and everyone experiences them when starting university.

Explaining this, Mr. Nam said that students who have to suddenly move from a controlled environment to a freer environment will feel confused and disoriented.

According to him, every “shock” can be resolved if students are proactive. For example, each student needs to learn how to plan their spending and avoid impulse shopping. If the family has limited resources, consider taking on a light part-time job.

Regarding studying, Master Tran Nam said: “University requires proactive thinking. Be bold in asking lecturers, join study groups and create a habit of reading materials in advance. Don’t be afraid of being worse than others, the important thing is to improve yourself every day.”

Furthermore, students should seek connections by participating in group activities, clubs or volunteer groups to expand relationships. When feeling stressed for a long time, students should boldly go to the school's psychological counseling room or seek support from a professional.

Entering university, every new student has to face a lot of pressure when learning to adapt to a new life. Although difficult, those first "shocks" in life are important stepping stones in each person's journey to adulthood.

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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/nhung-cu-soc-cua-tan-sinh-vien-khi-buoc-vao-dai-hoc-18km-di-het-2-gio-20251008064830225.htm