TDK goes to college thread!

[TDK]

So I'm leaving for college friday (tomorrow, since its technically thursday now), and doing the standard "shit I'm leaving in like 24 hours am I ready do I really want to go to college OH GOD" thing.

I'm going to West Virginia University (its actually a very good engineering school okay, shut up) with the aim of a getting a double degree in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering in 4 1/2 years.

So does anyone have advice for me?

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Are you a drunken lout? For perfecting this persona will be essential to getting an engineering degree.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

So I'm leaving for college friday (tomorrow, since its technically thursday now), and doing the standard "shit I'm leaving in like 24 hours am I ready do I really want to go to college OH GOD" thing.

I'm going to West Virginia University (its actually a very good engineering school okay, shut up) with the aim of a getting a double degree in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering in 4 1/2 years.

So does anyone have advice for me?

Expect to eventually have a nervous breakdown into your first year. High school does not prepare you for the general level of homework you can expect in college. It is doable & after your first year, it won't seem that bad. Its just it'll seem like too much, but you'll get used to it.

At least, that was my experience. And once I started working in the real world, I found that the work load here, was more similar to college, rather than the kid gloves high school gave me.

SWB

[Professor Smarmiarty]

I think it depends on your course. I managed to pull 2 degrees while working 20 hours a week whereas in high school I never had time for a job.
Also the year it gets rough can change too. In chemistry we drop all the hard stuff in 2nd year, in history its 3rd year but all courses will have a sudden ramp in difficulty at one year where we introduce you more to whats actually relevant in research/working. Get through that year and you are fine.

[EVILNess]

Expect to eventually have a nervous breakdown into your first year. High school does not prepare you for the general level of homework you can expect in college. It is doable & after your first year, it won't seem that bad. Its just it'll seem like too much, but you'll get used to it.



Be super careful here!

If you have lots of GPA dependent money to go to school with you can find yourself with no money if you end up getting all Cs the first semester.

Also, I don't know how much a semester your tuition is, but if there is a community college nearby then you should seriously think about taking what transferable basics you can over there. I paid 6000 per semester at my college and the entire first year I was taking nothing but basics. I could have saved about 10,000 dollars if I had transferred them in from our local community college.

[Nikose Tyris]

Decide on extracurricular activities that you do and do not want to be part of beforehand. You'll make friends that'll change some of your opinions, but it'll save you time in checking shit out that just fails to hold your interest later.

I wasted a few afternoons with that topic, actually.


Also: Campus pub- Don't go there unless you want to pay thrice what your booze is worth. $6 for a Rum-based drink, you're out of your fuckin' mind.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Our campus pubs were subsidised by our student union and so were by far the cheapest place in town- for food to. Depends on the place- just go where everyone else goes, they'll know the deal.
An expensive campus pub seems odd to me though as students aren't exactly a loaded demographic.

[TDK]

I don't think the pub thing will really be a problem because A: The drinking age here is 21 and I won't even be 18 until next may, and B: I brew my own beer. =P

[Professor Smarmiarty]

You see that is awful planning. You can't have college students being legally unable to drink. It's inhumane.

[Magic_Marker]

Day one: Keep dorm room open, listen to music and play video games and let people come to you. Make friends, defeat enemies and moonwalk away at any sign of defeat.

Also try studying. I hear it's good for you.

[Flarecobra]

Don't blow off assignments just because you have a month or so to work on it, as that time will pass by a LOT faster then you'd think. It's real easy to end up falling behind in assignments because of that.

[TopHatAssassin]

Go to your tutorials. They're more helpful than you think, more often than not. If anything, they're good for attendance and participation marks.

[Darth SS]

You will grow a beard. Trust me on this. As the schoolwork and social stresses begin to pile up, you will find that your time between waking up and leaving your place will get smaller. As such, some things are going to fall by the wayside, and shaving will be one of them. Haircuts will also become less frequent until you have a handle on things.

Also, be prepared to love leftovers to death.

Finally, loosen up, everyone is just as freaked out and neurotic as you are, no matter how hard they try to cover it up with false bravado and beer muscles.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Also as a marker if I've seen you in tutorials lots and contributing I'lll be more positively inclined to give you the swing marks and long answer marks.

[shiney]

And for god's sake TDK when you inevitably ask us to ban you because you lack the self-control to stay off the fucking internet and need the time to study, don't devote the next three years to dodging the bans instead of yknow fucking studying.

[TDK]

Aw. :(

[CABAL49]

Don't be one of those kids who never left High School.

[batgirl]

1- Try and get sleep. Coffee and red bull only go so far.

2- Don't procrastinate. You will inevitably have 4 assignments and 3 exams due on the same day so prepare and maybe even make a calendar to chart your papers/tests so you can stay on top of them.

3- Pajamas are totally acceptable class wear.

4- Ramen noodles are a food group.

5- Be nice to your roommate, you'll never know when you need them to bail you out of jail.

[Julford Hajime]

For all the people telling you "Don't procrastinate"" FUCKING DON'T PROCRASTINATE. I'm currently retaking three classes this semester to erase the absolutely atrocious grades I got my first semester because a ten-fifteen hour project due a month later is not something I should be putting off until the weekend before it's due.

[bluestarultor]

Go out and make connections. They will probably follow you for the rest of your life and may even get you employed someday. Also, they'll keep you sane in the meantime.

I speak as a guy who didn't make connections and hit a crash his first year of college. It was not fun. I also didn't make many connections going for programming, but the ones I made made a HUGE difference.

[Wigmund]

If you feel like you're depressed, over-stressed or stricken with anxiety - go see the counselors on campus.
Most colleges provide them (or at least mine does) and they're usually free for students (at least it is at the University of Arkansas).

It's not worth it if you let anxiety, stress and depression overwhelm you and eat a semester like I did for the last half of my sophomore year.

[Mondt]

I had my first day of classes today.

First day of Calc 2: integrating with partial fractions.

Its gonna be a good semester.

[PyrosNine]

Pyros took an English major, so all he has to do read and write, and then go play videogames. Then nap.

Very important though, that the direct order of things is read, write, video games, then nap.
On bad days, it's play video games, nap, video games, nap, Ramen Noodles.
On worse days (usually the next day) it's read 5 books, write three 15 page papers, and turn them in the same day.

The most important thing, ordering your itinerary, indeed.

Also, pay attention to school websites. There will be one for doing things like signing up for services, checking bills, registering for stuff, then there will be a few that are teacher specific that have important stuff for your classes, then there will be a blackboard-Vista style site that has work you need to do online as well as it's own set of information you need for class, and then a secondary site like Moodle that has all the above features.

Expect each class to require at least one of them, and expect none of them to share the same service.

Nothing kills the grades more than showing up for class on time, following the syllabus to the letter, turning in homework, but not noticing the IMPORTANT WORLD CRUSHINGLY ESSENTIAL assignment your teacher posted online but never mentioned in class except once in passing.

Also, make sure you're getting your email. College usually gives you an email account, instead of using whatever one you have. While you can have your account forward email to your preferred email account, it's best to receive said email side by side with your account through a preferred email client. Outlook, Thunderbird, Mobile Email.

A cell phone with internet apps is essential!

And be sure to talk very clearly, and plainly with your advisors, as you need to know exactly what you need to graduate and plan accordingly, instead of say, "assuming that when they said 3 more english classes and 1 extra PE class, it probably meant ANY english/PE class would count, and finding out later that you might need an extra two semesters to graduate."

Pyros needs to take Advanced Fiction Writing, Screenwriting, and Advanced Screenwriting, all within the same semester to graduate this year.

Pyros does not think that the Screenwriting teacher will allow him to take both at the same time.

:crying: CRYING GAME. :crying:

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Go out and make connections. They will probably follow you for the rest of your life and may even get you employed someday. Also, they'll keep you sane in the meantime.

I speak as a guy who didn't make connections and hit a crash his first year of college. It was not fun. I also didn't make many connections going for programming, but the ones I made made a HUGE difference.

To be honest this. I spent most of my second year in the student bar and learnt far far far more than I either did in lectures. Far more useful too.

[Red Fighter 1073]

Not gonna lie, I was seriously thinking of making this kind of a thread myself, but you beat me to the punch. 'Cept I'm going to University of Massachusetts Amherst in Sept 5th-ish. Good stuff this thread is. Keep it coming peeps.

[Doc ock rokc]

I Have to go to two collages to get a 12 hours to keep health care. Mostly because I was ten TEN points away from my Real collage's standers on the SAT and i have to prove i can handle Collage by going to a "How to handle collage Class." Anyway my first collage day is Next Thursday. Oh god I know I'm gonna screw something up. But thankfully both my collages have Scholarships for the Recently Unemployed and i am essentially going to collage on the government's tab.

[batgirl]

I was going to make a post correcting all your atrocious spelling mistakes, but I realized that English might not be your first language (which I can't remember) and it wouldn't be so nice. I'll only give you a piece of advice: If English your first language or will be the language you primarily use in CollEge, I'd think about taking an elementary writing class before you dive into anything seriously academic in terms of paper writing.

[Fifthfiend]

You see that is awful planning. You can't have college students being legally unable to drink. It's inhumane.

Every kid in America should celebrate their 18th birthday by burning an effigy of Elizabeth Dole.

[Doc ock rokc]

I was going to make a post correcting all your atrocious spelling mistakes, but I realized that English might not be your first language (which I can't remember) and it wouldn't be so nice. I'll only give you a piece of advice: If English your first language or will be the language you primarily use in CollEge, I'd think about taking an elementary writing class before you dive into anything seriously academic in terms of paper writing.

It is my first language sadly. Thing is I have a neurological disorder known as Dysgraphia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysgraphia). Which fucks up everything from handwriting to spelling and tying my shoes . I wouldn't have been able to get into high school if it wasn't for spell check. So it's the way I am wired. Not the way I want to be. Second off A week before School starts they held a trial on whater or not I would be taken out of the "learning collEge class" and supposedly deemed me worthy of going full time. Thing is this is my counselor's word. I received a email from admissions that told me that I would still be in the class. So now I have to wait another 3 days till it can be confirmed and see if i need to buy a Shit ton of new books.