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Afreshman,fresher,first year, or colloquiallyfrosh,[1] is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually asecondary school or at thecollege anduniversity level, but also in other forms ofpost-secondary educational institutions.
In Albania the freshman/woman is called "fruth", which literally means "measles". The etymology of it is "a person that has not yet passed the social measles", social measles referring to the transformation of social skills that usually takes place in the first year of university. Freshmen/women are regarded as socially inept.
In much of theArab world, a first-year is called amubtadi' (مبتدئ; pluralمبتدئون,mubtadi'ūn), which is Arabic for "beginner".[2]
InBrazil, students that pass thevestibulares and begin studying in a college or university are called "calouros" or more informally "bixos" ("bixetes" for girls), an alternate spelling of "bicho", which means "animal" (although commonly used to refer to bugs). Calouros are often subject tohazing, which is known as "trote" (lit. "prank") there. The first known hazing episode in Brazil happened in 1831 at the Law School ofOlinda and resulted in the death of a student.[3] In 1999, aChinese Brazilian calouro of theUniversity of São Paulo Medicine School namedEdison Tsung Chi Hsueh [pt] was found dead at the institution's swimming pool; this has since become one of the most well known episodes of violent hazing and has received extensive national media coverage since that year.[3][4][5][6]
The term "first year" is used for a first-year student at university or college. Thestudent orientation period at Canadian universities is often called "Frosh week."
Mechón ormechona is used for the first-year students ofUniversity of Chile, a term that has spread to the rest of the universities in the country.
The termbrucoš is used for either first-year college or university students or students who haven't yet passed any exams.
Some Asian countries use the same names as used in the United States (freshman,sophomore, junior, senior), among themMalaysia.
In some elite institutions in France, freshman/woman is called "cagne", the etymology of which is from Middle Age French, meaning "weighed down by the books", "lame because weighed down by books."
InGermany, a first-semester student of a university program (Bachelor, Master, State exam etc) is calledErstsemester, or in short and more common,Ersti, witherst meaning 'first' and the-i adding a benevolently diminutive tone. The plural isErstis.
Unlike the wordfreshman, which stands for a student in their whole firstyear, the German wordErsti is exclusively used for students in their firstsemester. Students of higher semesters are accordingly calledZweitsemester,Drittsemester,Viertsemester etc. and sometimes, but rarely, alsoZweitis,Drittis,Viertis, etc.
Students at the beginning of their first year of university are often known inEngland andWales asfreshers; however, the term 'first years' is also used. The first week of term before lessons is widely known asfreshers' week,[7] when there are usually no classes, and students take part in induction events and fairs; but this arrangement is not universal. As freshers are newcomers to the institutions and often experience a period of adjustment as they navigate university life, there are numerous UK websites available that offer support and resources to help freshers with university preparations, such as providing guidance on accommodation, academic advice, social activities, and general tips for a successful start to their university journey.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
Unlike inScotland, this term is not used in reference to pre-university education, the equivalent terms beingyear sevens for the first year ofsecondary school andfirst years,lower sixths andyear twelves used atsixth forms.[15][16][17]
First year (also known asS1 in Scotland) is the first year of schooling insecondary schools in Scotland and is roughly equivalent toYear 8 (Second Form) in England and Wales and Year 9 (Second Form) in Northern Ireland. Most pupils are 12 or 13 years old at the end of S1.
| Preceded by | First year 11.5–13 | Succeeded by |
The first year of primary education inScotland is known asPrimary 1 (P1).
At thefour ancient Scottish universities the traditional names for the four years at university areBejan ("Bejant" at theUniversity of St Andrews) (1st),[18] Semi (2nd), Tertian (3rd) and Magistrand (4th), though all Scottish universities will have a "freshers' week" (as with all British universities) and the term is as widely used with more traditional terms.[19]
Freshman is commonly in use as aUS Englishidiomatic term to describe a beginner or novice, someone who is naive, a first effort, instance, or a student in the first year of study (generally used in bothhigh school and intertiary school university study before the taking of a degree).[20]
New members ofCongress in their first term are referred to asfreshmen senators orfreshmen congressmen or congresswomen, no matter how experienced they were in previous government positions.
High school first year students are almost exclusively referred to as freshmen, or in some cases by their grade year,9th graders. Second year students are sophomores, or10th graders, then juniors or11th graders, and finally seniors or12th graders.
At college or university, freshman denotes students in their first year of study. The grade designations of high school are not used, but the termssophomore, junior, and senior are kept at most schools. Some colleges, including historically women's colleges, do not use the term freshman but use first year, instead.[21][22] Beyond the fourth year, students are simply classified as fifth year, sixth year, super senior, etc. Some institutions use the term freshman for specific reporting purposes.[23]
