Navigating Campus Life in Jordan: Tips for New Students
Last Updated: 27th of May, 2025
Welcome to Campus Life in Jordan
Whether you graduated from high school abroad and now want to study here or you graduated from high school here and are entering this new stage of life, Welcome to Campus! As a dental student studying here, I’ve never realized how much of a transformation going from school to university is. It can differ from individual to individual how much of a shift it is to you personally. This depends on several factors, including how much you enjoy school if your friends attend the same university, how you feel about change and others. Whatever the case may be, I’m here to give you a helpful guide on how to make your first year of university, even better than you imagined.
The Guide to Excite You for The Year!
It can be difficult to go through a transformation such as going from school to university, especially when you dislike/fear the idea of change. Sometimes it’s the feeling of losing control of your life that makes you feel lost. The good news is that if you read these carefully and apply them, you will hopefully feel more confident and excited to start the new academic year while balancing it with your mental health and well-being.
This is What You Should Do
Everything gets better as long as you believe in your abilities and focus on self-improvement and personal development, while also learning from your mistakes and moving on in the process.
- Face your fears
- Realize that no one cares
- Be yourself, don’t try too hard
- Be selective with your circle
- Getting lost is useful
- Ask people, they will help you!
- Create a study routine
- Stop caring about what other people think
- Stick to your principles
- Learn to say no!
- Learn how to communicate
- If you don’t like your major, change it in the first year!
- Don’t be hard on yourself
- Own your mistakes
Face your fears
We are leaving this idea of living in a comfortable bubble behind now. Write down things that you want to get better at, but you fear attempting, such as socializing, saying no, asking for help, spending time alone, and so on. It can also be something as simple as saying here in a louder voice when attendance is taken. The only think holding yourself back from growing is the limit you set for yourself and the choices you make accordingly, so choose action and stop thinking too much about others’ reactions.
This leads me to my next point, which is no one cares as much as you think they do. That’s not my opinion it’s just reality. When you internalize that and start focusing on what YOU think rather than what others think, you will feel more relaxed and open to accepting people’s kindness and help.
Be yourself, don't try too hard
No one likes desperation except people who benefit from it, such as snarky people and narcissists. Just be authentic and enjoy the present moment. There’s a difference between being rude and simply having your perspective on the world. If people around you don’t respect that, you don’t need them.
Be selective with your circle
When you act like your authentic self, naturally, you will attract people who do the same. As the saying goes, “You attract what you are.” This way, the exchange of effort and love is equal and mutual. If it is not, you don’t need that either, and you should remove yourself from such situations slowly because this can affect your academic performance and mental health negatively in the long run.
Getting lost is useful
We find our path by getting lost. As humans, we need to expose ourselves to new situations and get lost constantly to improve and grow. Failure is not the opposite of success, it is a part of the journey. So forgive yourself and try to grow from your experiences. This does not mean going to university on the first day without knowing where to go and what to do. It just means that getting lost is inevitable, and if you want to benefit from it then you need to accept that to be able to learn and move on.
Ask people, they will help you!
If you need anything, know this, people are usually super supportive and helpful and try their best to make you feel more welcome. If you have a bad concept or idea about people in university, whether that’s from the stories you’ve heard or the experiences you”ve had, I can tell you that not every person is the same. If you focus on the good in people you will find it, don’t worry!
Create a Study Routine
This depends on what works for you and what type of learning technique fits you the best. I love planning my life and writing down goals and everything else on the notion (free version is enough). It’s what worked the best for me in planning out my study sessions and organizing the tasks I want to get done. How many hours of studying/day can you handle? Work out your lecture schedule for the semester and then make a routine around that.
Stop caring about what other people think
Firstly, because as we said, they don’t care as much as you think they do. However, sometimes people can say hurtful things without even noticing. When you start internalizing the idea that you cannot control what other people think or do and you can only control how you act or react to them, you will become much more unbothered and realize that it’s just their opinions, not facts. Do they think your shoes do not fit the outfit? That is their opinion, doesn’t make it a fact, and that’s okay.
Stick to your principles
Every person has principles that they think they will always stick by, like praying on time, eating healthy, or simply sticking to a study routine no matter what. When you forget about your principles you will lose respect for yourself before anyone else, this will create low self-esteem and insecurity. Write down the principles you have that are non-negotiable and try to stick to them as best as you can. It’s okay to sometimes fall into a slump, we all do, but don’t let it ruin your path to achieving your ultimate goals.
Learn to say no!
On the other hand, learning to say no even when it feels uncomfortable increases your self-respect and the respect others will have for you. At first, it’s hard to say no but eventually, it will feel easy and people will get used to it.
Learn how to communicate
Some people don’t know how to communicate properly due to several reasons. However, it is very important to learn communication skills in any major or life in general, so learn to be emotionally intelligent when talking to people. Communicate how you feel and think with those around you and listen to what others have to say, even if you don’t agree with them sometimes.
If you don't like your major, change it in the first year!
This does not mean that you should know by the end of the first year and just decide. It means that the sooner you find the major that suits you best the better, so ideally it would be throughout the first year. However, if you haven’t figured it out that’s okay too. It’s nearly impossible to know what suits you immediately after finishing school when you’re still on a journey to finding yourself. So if you think your major suits you that’s such an amazing blessing!
Don't be hard on yourself
Getting used to a new environment with new people and new experiences can be both challenging and rewarding. No one is perfect and no one is meant to be perfect, except God. So ease your mind, and trust the process. Learn to be self-forgiving and cut yourself some slack. Rely on family, relatives, or friends whenever you need someone to vent to. You got this!
Own your mistakes
The only way you can move on from what happened yesterday is by taking responsibility for it, learning from it, and then moving on. Successful people keep talking about how they made their first million, but do they ever talk about their first million mistakes before getting there? No. This is why subconsciously we demonize mistakes when in fact, they are a normal part of the process. So go with the flow and do your best.
If you have any more suggestions or found this helpful let us know down in the comments!
