Off to College!
 

I'm starting college soon and I'm wondering if anyone has any good advice. I'm also going to try and reinvent myself, any tips on that would be good too.

I've been in college about three and a half years now. So here's a list.

1. Stay at home for as long as possible (unless you're going away to college)
2. Get a part time job that will work around your class schedules.
3. Learn to budget your money
4. Buy used books.
5. If you must buy new, wait until the first day of class to unwrap. This way you ensure that if you don't need the book after all, you can return it as a new book rather than as a used one.
6. Make some friends in your classes. Things go by much easier if you have someone to talk to in every class.
7. Learn how you study best, and make that work for you. I could give you several tips that are technically the 'best' ways to study, but they've never worked for me so I won't list them. Just find what works for you and stick with it until it doesn't work for you.
8. Relax.

As for reinventing yourself, that's entirely up to you. However, there are three things that I would recommend that might get you started: Be introspective, be observing, and think about thinking.

hope that helped some.

Yea, definetly think about thinking, especially about yourself every once in a while. I had 2 of my friends (one of them was my room mate) sit down and talk with me for a good..3-4 hours about how "ignorance is bliss" just doesn't quite work well.

Also, remember that the chicks in college are hawt and always out of the league of 99% of all guys. You decide which side of that statistic you are on.

Do your homework. No, actually do it this time.

Talk to and be friendly toward everyone, but invest your loyalty with the most interesting, dedicated, diligent people.

If you have classes scheduled back to back with one another, make sure that you can get from one class to the other without having to kill yourself running from building to building.

Less true than you would like to think. After all, if 35% (my guess at the hot %) of the girls must be distributed amongst 1% of the guys, assuming a near 50/50 girl to guy ratio, your odds of scoring are, well, pretty damn good.

Anyway, I feel my advice is more valid than that of most people's, because I've made a lot of mistakes. Here it is.

1. Go to class. Skipping is easier than in HS but it doesn't do SHIT for you.
2. Do your homework every time.
3. Get it done before its due.
4. Barring number 3, NEVER plagiarize. It is far easier to get an extension than to deal with expulsion.

"You want advice?" "Well yeah..."
 

To quote an amusing movie:

Really, that's what killed me when I went full time. Who want's Calculus Based Physics at 7:00am? Me, when I was foolish, thats who! Guess what my grade was? Normally I do well with stuff like that too, but a 7:00am, how much do you really want to think?

Well, thinking back, the rest of the quote wasn't nearly as constructive. But I do stand by the Class thing.

Setting up your schedule should be a high priority in my opinion. Make sure to talk to that guidence counselor, make them earn thier money, you are paying them after all!

get in a co-ed dorm, you meet lots of interesting people and cute girls who date you for being smart, its amazing, and some of the girls even play videogames.
in my dorm and most of the other co-ed dorms at OSU its about 70% girls to 30% guys in the building.
Also the Janitors are always good friends to have, unless they are REALLY and I mean really creepy.

Be prepared to have a mental breakdown over the workload. The paper's they expect are freaking huge in any comparison to what you got in high school. Eventually, you'll discover that you can indeed do the work, its just a higher standard than anything you did in high school.

Get yourself a MLA Handbook for writing Resarch Papers. It'll help you in the formatting of your paper & make it conform to college level paper drafts. It'll also tell you what is considered a page in terms of wordage. I vaguely recall it being 250 words = 1 page, but that might have changed. At any rate, with computer type being so small, you'll go mad if you try filling out complete pages from top to bottom.

And even then, if you've got to fudge a little to hand in an assignment (make the font a little bigger, put a bit more space between the lines), that's fine. It isn't like Professor is going to count words of anything. (And yes there will be times when this isn't necessary, if you know a subject really well. But you can't expect to know every subject you're taking.)

Be prepared to drop out & swap classes within the first week of you're taking them. If a class doesn't seem like you can handle it, and it isn't required, (or specifically requried & has something else that is in the same range) you need to drop it ASAP. Don't bother with classes you can't keep your head above water with, if you don't have too.

Note, you don't automatically ascend from one year (Freshman to Sophmore) automatically. Something I learned after the fact, as my college stated that you only needed 18 credits to ascend per semester. However, going from one year to the next required a bit more than 36 (then again, that might have been Sophmore to Junior that required a bit more than an additional 36 credits. I suggest you consult your student manual (despite the amount of waffle & fluff it'll contain.)

Kevin

Someone said stay at home as long as possible. I suggest exactly the opposite. I spent my first year at home and then 3 year flatting. You grow and develop so much more when you've moved out and you have to do everything for yourself and pay all your own bills and you meet so many more people. Uni is a growing and learning experience and this should be embraced.
Also attend other peoples classes. It is a very refreshing experience to go and learn about something without worried about being tested afterwards and you'll learn all kinds of crazy knowledge that is useful later. It good.

Hmm college advice... Here's my advice, even if I didn't quite follow all of it myself my first year.

1. Get involved with something. Fencing club, anime club, video game club, storm chaser club... Find a club or something to join. If your campus is anything like mine, there's a million clubs to choose from, and they're usually pretty good about flexibility because of classes and homework. It helps you meet people and find your niche so that you're not just hanging out in your room all day. Even if you go to the club a couple times, it can just be enough to meet someone. Note: Swing dancing clubs (or other dancing clubs where you are forced to be paired up with a partner) are a pretty good way to meet someone of the opposite gender.
2. Get to know your professors. And don't be afraid to ask for help ever (especially in your major classes). College professors are usually 100x better than high school ones, and generally easy to talk to and reason with if you need help or an extension with something.
3. Think of college as your job. A very good advice that we got was to get your homework/studying done, and get it done early. If you spend that hour between classes on an assignment, or reviewing the chapter (rather than dinking around, wasting time until your next class), that's an hour you don't have to spend later, when you would rather be doing more fun things.
4. Find a good study place. I personally had a hard time studying in my room, because my computer was there, my roommate was there, and many many other things to distract me. I found I studied best if I found a place to sit somewhere other than my room. Under a tree, in the lounge, sitting on the floor in one of the buildings, etc. I always got my work done faster and better when I was there rather to somewhere where I was distracted.
5. Study. Just doing your homework usually doesn't quite cover it. Many times they won't cover things in class that you need to know that are in your book, so read it. Even if you don't have new material to read in the book, you should read up on what you're going to be learning the next day. I found that it helped a lot with my comprehension once I got to class if I quickly looked at what we were going to be learning beforehand. And your probably going to have a class or two where a couple of tests decides your entire grade. You can't afford to be under prepared.
6. Don't be afraid to get help. This is my biggest problem, since I guess I've got some pride issues with going to get a tutor, but anyway. As far as my campus goes, we have free tutoring for any subject and a writing center where you can take your papers to get graded before you get it really graded (so you can make proper revisions) among many other things to help you, so if your campus has something, be sure to use it, especially if it's free. There's no reason not to get help if you're struggling in something, especially in college.
7. Don't be a weekend warrior. (other people may not agree with me on this one but..) If you're living on campus, don't go back home every weekend. It makes it harder to adjust to campus life and just makes you more homesick than if you were just to stay until breaks or when you might NEED to go home.
8. Don't skip class. Another one that's been said before, but just don't skip class. It is the stupidest thing you can do to yourself. Even if it's one of those bad classes, that feels like you don't get anything from the class. Just don't do it. The only reason good enough to skip is to be sick, and even then try and make it in. You generally get most of your information from class, information that you NEED. Also, you're paying for this education, get what you paid for. You're just ripping yourself off by skipping.
9. Find a good friend. I know this sounds kind of silly, but it's important to find a good friend. Meaning, one who will listen when you just need to rant about anything, but not just that, find a friend who will push you to be your best. Who will encourage you to do your homework, who isn't afraid to confront you if you're doing something you know you shouldn't. There will be rough times and I think it's important to have a friend who really knows you and is looking out for you. (yaay cheese)


So yeah, I hope my advice was useful. Good luck with your first year.

The big lesson I learned at uni was moderation. First year I was too gung ho with the parties, socialising too much in the classes and WAAAY too much time at the campus pub. Make sure to put study first.

The other trick I've found is to get yourself to think of the universtity as a place where you work. Relax off campus(or at your dorm if you're there, but make sure to study somewhere else as CJ said), for example I no longer go tot he uni pub to drink, I use the one nearby offcampus. When I eat there I make sure to study too. Otherwise just chill, it's a thousand times better than High School, the work, people, surrounds and activities are all far more interesting and less annoying.

Most of you already beat me to the advice I was going to offer: ask questions, be friendly to others, talk to your professors, buy used books, but I still got a few tips for any future collegiates.

1: Get used to the smell of cigarette smoke. A lot of people in college light up. A. LOT. Of people.

2: Don't take too many classes at once. I think that's common sense, but you don't wanna take a ton of classes at once.

3: Don't assume the worst out of anyone you meet. College students actually care about getting an education, believe it or not. They also tend to be much nicer than grade school students. Also, don't be surprised if your fellow students volunteer to help you out on your assignments between classes. "Oh my god! People actually care about someone other than themselves!" I know. Threw me off at first too, but I came to appreciate it.

Oh, also, I need to comment on this:

That's a myth. Most women at college aren't even the slightest bit attractive. In fact, it was like that in grade school too. In fact, it's like that everywhere. But, there is one thing I've noticed: college girls dress a lot nicer than high school girls. Unless . . . you prefer women to dress like whores. If that's the case, prepare to be disappointed.

Lastly, concerning reinvention . . . that's for you to do. I can't offer advice as to how to reinvent oneself through a college education. I can, however, tell you that I've been reinvented through my thus far one year of college. Before I enrolled, I was a bitter, cynical misanthrope who did not trust almost anyone and automatically assumed the worst out of complete strangers. A few months of college, and then I became a hopeful, semi-pleasant scholarly-type person, who, although somewhat still cynical about a few things, now sees the bright and beautiful sides of life whenever possible, and nowadays doesn't assume the worst out of complete strangers. And I'm still like that now. Weird, huh? If that's what you mean by reinvention, then yeah, college might be for you.

Even though I'm not the topic creator, I want to thank you guys for all your help, seeing that I too am going to college in two months.

Now, I know this may be a bit like a stupid question, but what do you think one should have his mentality like the first day of classes? For some reason, I cannot help but be worried about how I'm going to handle all the pressure of being a full time student.

Be open minded. Some professors are great, and others are total pains in the butt. You'll run across a few I have a Ph.D. so I'm better than you types and you'll run into some that are absolute masters of their field and are learning from the college experience as much as you are. I've had some professors tell me that each time they teach a class, they learn something new, and they've been teaching it for five years.

Be Relaxed. It's one of the biggest things people in America forget to do. Go look up how your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems work to get an idea of why it's not a good idea to be stressed all the time. Learn ways to relax yourself. Meditation and self-directed breathing work well for me, but find what works for you. Do this often.

Try to learn how to write papers. I'm a fiction novelist (unpublished) with close to a million words written, but I can't write a paper to save my life. Well, that may be saying it a little too strongly. I've written many good papers, but each one was hard and frustrating and left me drained because the words weren't mine. I guess the best advice I can give here is learn how to research a subject thoroughly and don't use quotes unless you have to, paraphrase instead (but still cite).

Find the time to read something other than a textbook. Even if it's just a couple pages between classes, I'm never without a book to read. Look for something that has nothing to do with the subject matter you're studying. The slight distraction will refresh your mental capacity and you tend not to bore on the material as quickly.

Most importantly, don't be afraid to succeed or be great at what you choose to do. See my sig for an idea of what I'm talking about.

Hope that helped.

Thanks for the advice. One more question: I heard that there's not as much of a problem with cliques in college, is this true or just a myth people say to make freshmen optimistic?

It is indeed true. Based on my observations, (read: my college campus) cliques are non-existent on colleges. I know; so awesome. No cliques of jocks, no cliques of goths, no cliques of anime whoring assholes, no cliques of mean girls with tiny cell phones and blonde streaks and fake tans, and, to take a page from George Carlin, there are no all-male, "Let's go get some pussy and beat the shit outta queers." cliques. It's heavenly bliss, I tell you.



Though, to be honest, I never had any problems with the jock cliques and the goth cliques back in high school . . .

For what it's worth: when I was a freshman, during the very first class of every course I took, I took detailed notes on my professors. I wrote down what they lectured on of course, but more importantly the details on them. What someone wears, how they hold themselves, their mannerisms and methods of speech, they all give you hints as to who this person is. My goal was to get to know these people as best as I possibly could. I wanted to know how they THINK so that I could think like them. I talked to them after classes frequently, gave them a reason to learn my face and my name. It's not necessarily WHAT you know, but WHO you know. I have become very cozy with my professors, which will come in very handy when I need recommendations for grad school. Simple as that.

Well, I just finished my first three years, and I've been living on campus the whole time. Here's what I've learned about it, there are probably going to be some repeats.

Treat people with respect until they lose it, even then don't be an ass to them unless they really deserve it. You're going to meet lots of people with different opinions in college, and in life, this is where you really learn about how to deal with that.

Be confident and comfortable with who you are. As you start to have so much more freedom with your life you're going to have lots of different opportunities at everything from classes to jobs to sex to drugs and alcohol. If you don't think you should do them, don't. For instance: I was raised a Christian, so I don't do any illegal drugs...for the most part, I did drink underage. Like wise, I'm celibate. The key is in the next point.

Try not to judge people you don't know because of their choices. There are some great people that don't live the most moral lives compared to how..say I was raised. If you turn them away right off the bat you'll never get to know them, and you'll miss out.

Those can all be summed up in "Don't be an Ass"

Now also important. Make a budget. Try to track how much you spend per month on things like rent and food. If you have quarter or semester expenses track them that way. These can range from car payments to insurance to tuition and the like. Once you've got this done you'll know how much you need to make at a job and how many hours you'll have to work every week, just don't forget about taxes. This can be done really easily in excel if you just use the formula functions.

Keep a balance between fun and school. If you only ever work and do school, you'll burn out. If you only have fun, you'll fail out. Part of college is learning that balance of work and play that you'll use for the rest of your life.

I think that's all the important stuff I can really say for starting off college. Living at home is a good way to stay out of debt, but moving out really helps you to grow and become independent.

Oh, learning to cook and clean and keep good hygiene is really important to keep up too.

The real trick is not to worry about all the work, the exams and being a student.
Your first few weeks should just be about enjoying yourself and adapting to a new environment. It was how I was and it helped me greatly.
As for cliques: None at all. I know every single person in all my chemistry classes quite well. Though we didn't have cliques at my high school either :).

Okay, I'm off to university in September, so I also have a question for all of you post-secondary veterans.

How much extra stuff is too much?

I'm looking at what I can do in Saskatoon, and as it stands right now I want to play in a box lacrosse league, a field lacrosse league, join a martial club, and play intramural ball hockey. Most of these don't overlap, so there aren't any ridiculous days, but...even if you've spread it out, is it that too much extra stuff?

It all depends on your schedule. If you have to take night classes (which really aren't that bad at all) then you might have to do less. But I've noticed that if you have every night of the week filled up you end up wasting a lot of your time waiting for things instead of doing work, which is bad, and you'll get really drained and burn out quick. It's good to have one or two night free during the week to hang out with friends or to catch up on work if you need to. It gives you some good time to really get some work done. That's just me though.

I currently work at my job Mon, Thurs, Fri nights and Sun days, leaving Sat ngiht for going out, Tuesday for crazy club stuff and going to pub quiz and leaves Wed and Sun night for catching up things.
Having two free nights in the middle of the week is really useful sometimes.

I think it depends on the person and their specific work load/study habits as well as the specific group's flexibility and schedual. I was in fencing club, which met three nights a week for two hours, and the Swing Society (swing dancing club), which met for one night a week for two hours (as well as going to the Fountain Square dances), and it was okay for awhile, but as I got farther in the year, I found going to every practice was getting very difficult as well as juggling the nightly homework (especially the days where I had lots of classes back to back). But I'm the type of person who likes to allot a lot of time to studying and then relaxing or drawing, so when my schedual gets all crowded, I get anxious. Some people did way more than I did, and did fine, just because they're that type of person.

So it's just whatever works for you. I say go out and try it all, and if it gets to be too much, drop something.

One thing I suggest you do is to keep up to date with any course info and changes. If you have an email account your university/college will be using to contact you, check it daily, posibly a couple of times a day if you expect new information.
Some lecturers will email their class if they are going to be late or if the class has moved so it is useful to find if any changes haave been made. (One examle of this is when the roof leaked and closed off the entire floor of the uni I'm at, some classes cancelled, some shifted, only way to find out was checking e-mail as the notice board was up on the 5th floor.) Deadline updates are good to keep track of, just in case. Not sure if all of them do this though.

One of my friends suggested that I should try to take a difficult class or two during the summer because they tend to be easier then. Anyone else have experience in trying this?

Summer Classes are great. take your gen-eds and other requisite classes that you don't have much intrest in over the summer. shorter semesters, mostly apathetic teachers, and the best part: they're cheap! if you're actualy interested in the subject matter/really dig the teacher's style, take the class during a regular semester.

College, at least from my very jaded perspective, is life on training wheels. you've just spent a good portion of your life sitting in a classroom being told what to do, what to memorize, and your parents were always there to help out. now you've got to figure out how to learn, how to think, and how to deal with other people and thier bullshit.

its fun! its difficult! and if you fuck up? no harm done, its just college. stay in the dorms for a year, find out how awful they are. have some roommates, find out how terrible they can be/how terrible you can be. hang out with people from your major (don't declare right away, by the way), hang out with people in other majors.

learn to cook. i wish i had done so earlier. i almost killed myslef on microwaved food my first year. its cheaper, healthier and tastier than oven pizzas and mac&cheese and ramen.

oh, also, i dono what your long-term plan is, but don't expect to graduate in four years. colleges make it excedingly difficult for people to do this anymore, and even my friends (who were much better students than I) still took at least five years to finish thier degrees.

If you're buying drugs from somebody you don't know, confirm beforehand that they are, in fact, drugs.

It cost me forty dollars to learn that lesson, but I'm giving it to you guys for free.

I'd advise on trying to get one full credit each summer, if you can. That way, you can have more time to relax during the full year, since you have a credit out of the way and you won't have to do as much work.