<p>The first year of college is critical for students’ growth and development. A better adaptation process helps students make a quick and successful transition from high school to college. Using a longitudinal tracking design to explore the dynamic complexity of the adaptation process, we conducted a tracking study of first-year students at a highly selective comprehensive research-oriented university in Beijing, China. The results showed that first-year students had high adaptation perceptions of college. Their adaptation remained stable in the short-term owing to the impact of orientation education, but declined significantly in the long term, falling into an adaptation “trap.” First-year students’ adaptation was not affected by demographic characteristics or family socioeconomic status variables other than sex. Students’ preparation behaviors only explained adaptation in the early stage. Positive orientation experiences and individual psychological traits had a significant positive effect on students’ adaptation and effectively counteracted the risk of decreasing adaptation. The study discussed why first-year students fall into the adaptation trap based on tacit knowledge perspective and suggested that identifying factors that influence first-year students’ adaptation may improve the relevance of educational interventions.</p>