FOMO and other first-year fears

From lonely Saturday nights to Ivy-induced panic, first-years face more than just the fear of missing out. Here is a look into the anxieties we do not post on Instagram, and why they are more common than you think.

Artwork by Natalie Shao/The Barnard Bulletin

By Sahima Mittal

December 13, 2025

It is 11 p.m. on a Saturday, and you are sitting in your pajamas, highlighting a reading that is due Monday. The night could not get any worse, right? That is, until you open Instagram, flipping through snapshots posted on your classmates’ stories: your roommate at a frat party, your favorite senior at Amity Hall, and the semi-famous Columbia influencer halfway across the world. 

The fear of missing out (FOMO) hits fast here. Suddenly, every plan you were not invited to feels a lot more exciting than it actually was, and every group photo feels like evidence that you are somehow doing freshman year wrong. The pressure to make memories — immediately, photogenically, and with ten new best friends — is real.

But that is the trick of FOMO: half the time, you are not missing out on anything except sweaty basements and overpriced drinks.

You are not the first victim of this plague. While it may seem like everyone is having the college experience except you, I am here to prove otherwise. 

To investigate this phenomenon, I spoke to 30 Barnard and Columbia freshmen about their first-year fears besides the classic FOMO. If any of these sound familiar, congratulations: you are a perfectly normal freshman. 

Fear of Being Inferior (FOBI) 

Otherwise known as impostor syndrome, many have expressed college “feeling like an Ivy League” when exam season rolls around, referring to that moment when campus starts to feel a little too smart, a little too intense, and leaves you wondering if admissions made a typo with your acceptance letter.

Campus pressure does not just come from the coursework — it also comes from the constant visibility of everyone else working. Sylvia Moores (BC ’29) explained it best: “There is this unspoken pressure in class, which is amplified by seeing students study everywhere on campus.” When Butler is packed at 10 a.m. on a Saturday while you are embarking on your “Sex and the City” marathon, it is easy to feel like you are the only one not being productive. 

Furthermore, listening to others boast about their high school accomplishments — the valedictorian, the national debate champion, the 15-year-old prodigy who cured cancer — can leave you feeling a bit substandard. “I think that Columbia has an unnecessarily stressful reputation,” said Montgomery Maze (CC ’29). “I just feel like, from hearsay, I was more worried than I should have been.”

When thoughts of falling behind, inferiority, and failure run through your mind, know they have made their rounds through every student that has come before you. Yes, even those who cure cancer!

Fear of New York City (FONYC) 

For all the non-New Yorkers out there, how is your “Gossip Girl” or “Suits” fantasy working out for you? Chances are, you have realized that dodging rats, sprinting to catch the 1 train, and paying $7 for a latte does not exactly scream “main character energy.” “I was convinced the city would swallow me whole,” joked Jaina Mody (BC ’29). “I watched a crime documentary before coming and saw all kinds of stuff — pickpocketing, subway incidents, the works.” 

As it turns out, the chaos grows on you. Although the sirens and pigeons can be overwhelming, there is something electric about walking home at midnight with a slice of dollar pizza and the skyline glittering above you.

Fear of having no friends (FOHNF) 

“I was scared of not finding my people, in such a big college, that too. Like, what if everyone had a group, and I didn’t?” said Siyang Ding (CC ’29). One of the more popular fears, this one tends to creep in right after orientation. Full dining hall tables, group selfies, inside jokes — and then you.  

“As a freshman, I was worried people were not gonna like me because I come from somewhere different … the state of Arkansas,” Bailey Van (CC ’28) said. “I actually ended up making friends in unexpected ways and have been so glad I got to know the community I have now!”

The unexpected ways Van made friends are a common experience. The random elevator chats, late-night study sessions, and shared complaints about the Hewitt food lead to the best friendships.

So, if your Friday night plans include your duvet and DoorDash, do not stress. There is a good chance you will meet another Taco Bell lover to share meals with.

Fear of being broke (FOBB)

New York might be the city that never sleeps, but it definitely does not come cheap. Between overpriced coffee, shopping in Soho, and Uber rides, watching your bank account dwindle faster than your dining dollars is a shared trauma. “I love Sweetgreen, but the $20 salads are draining my bank account,” confessed Samantha Grooms (BC ’29). 

But being broke in college? Kind of a rite of passage. You will soon learn that the best nights are free — sitting on Low Steps, sharing express snacks from JJ’s, and making countless memories with people who somehow become your comfort circle. Some of the most fun moments come from things that cost absolutely nothing: cheering way too loudly at Midnight Breakfast, dancing at Big Sub before the sandwich even arrives, or laughing through a club meeting you only went to for the free cookies. Half the time, the memories are not from spending money; they are from showing up, getting involved, and letting campus life carry you along for the ride.

At the end of the day, every first-year fear feels huge until it does not. Somewhere between your first all-nighter, your first club meeting, and your first “Wait, I actually live in New York City,” things start to make sense. So whether you are battling FOMO, FOBI, FONYC, FOHNF, or anything in between, just know you are figuring it out exactly the way everyone else did — slowly, awkwardly, and with one small win at a time.