What can you expect from your freshman year...
My biggest advice would be to be prepared to work from Day 1! I had a hard time with that. In high school, which is one of the most difficult public schools in Massachusetts academic-wise, we would normally have a one to two week "transition" time from summer vacation to school time. That doesn't happen here! It really took me by surprise when the professor gave a little "who I am, what this course consists of, and this what the syllabis says" then launched into his lecture and assigned a boat load of work that night.
I would also advise you attend Boiler Gold Rush (freshman orientation, BGR). That is a good way to get to know your fellow freshman and the layout of campus before classes begin. It is usually held the week before classes begin.
Another big shock came when I came from a high-school where we had only 400 people across all 4 grades (average of 100 in a graduating class). I was surprised to learn that I'd have at least many in a class! Or it seemed as much.
Since I knew no one going here, I had to basically start over and make new friends. Although my roommate and I hated each other (and couldn't be more polarized opposites), I made friends with my neighbors across the hall and next door. Those guys become my roommates for the next 3 years.
Another way I learned to make friends is by joining clubs. At least here you are allied by the same common interest so it's easy to strike up a conversation.
Yes, I did get homesick sometimes but since I had been away from home for prolonged periods of time before this wasn't as bad as it was for some people.
All in all, I found everyone here (aside from a few bad apples) to be very nice and accomidating. Your freshman year professors go out of their way to try to make the transition easier. However, like I said before BE PREPARED TO WORK FROM DAY 1!! Since all your courses are consoldiated into a 15 week period the professors and TAs have no choice but to breeze through the course material. They don't have time to screw around like in high school where it was okay to spend two weeks on how to divide fractions.
I guess that's all I have from here. I hope this has been helpful. If I remember anything else, I will post it! I added some more information in the previous thread.
At any rate... have a good day!