Do you have any good tips for college?

Question

What to bring, what kind of job to get, what to do, what NOT to do, etc.

Answer 1

Don't get a job first semester, if possible; you need to take some time to transition to college life.

Don't party too much; have fun with your friends, but remember that you are there to learn and get a degree. You're paying for your education, so don't ruin it for yourself.

Bring a bathrobe; it comes in handy.

Stock up on supplies from home, so you can spend less money.

Try to get along with your roommate. If you have different political/religious views, agree to disagree, and try to find things you have in common; unless your roommate is completely horrible, sharing a room will probably be ok.

At the beginning of the year, set up rules for the room with your roommate; if you don't want the person to eat your food, say so. Set up who does what cleaning. Respect your roommates rules as well; if the person doesn't want you to have friends of the opposite sex over at 3 in the morning, go elsewhere and save yourself from grief.

At the beginning of the year, keep your room door open, and make the effort to meet people in your hall; it takes a little while, but sooner or later you will develop close friendships.

If you have a suite style or apartment style dorm (meaning that you have a bathrrom for 2-4 people) be sure to clean it once in awhile, since it can get pretty gross. Likewise, if you have a kitchenette, try to do dishes often enough that it doesn't stink up the room (I have a problem with this.)

Respect everyone, and don't give people who are different a hard time; you'll encounter many different types of people, and if you live in a small town, you may not be used to this. Tolerance is important.

Don't worry about popularity, being cool, etc; in college, no one cares.

When you go to class, you don't need to worry about what you're wearing or anything, but it's important to make sure you've at least showered and brushed your teeth. As long as you can do those things, feel free to wake up 10 minutes before class starts.

Take naps!

Do your homework, even if it seems easy or pointless. Some classes do still take homework into account for part of your grade, and it can be a great asset if you didn't do so well on a test.

Don't bring too much stuff from home; you probably won't need half of it.

Bring your own computer and printer; yes, there are computer labs available, but not when you want to print a paper out at 3 in the morning so you don't forget it for your 9 AM class.

Join facebook if you haven't already, but don't let it (or xanga, or myspace) take over your life. Meet real people, not just virtual ones.

A microwave and fridge are necessary for survival. Some campuses have better food than others, but you'll get sick of all of it eventually.

Bring a car if you can; you'll want to get off campus just to regain some sanity.

Get involved in actvities; you'll meet people, kind of stay out of trouble, and you'll have some great stories to share with your friends from home.

Go into college knowing your morals/values; if you going in not wanting to party, and you want to graduate on time, that can be helpful in resisting alcohol, drugs, etc.

Say please and thank you to people; they appreciate it.

Stay on good terms with professors, even if you don't like them; if you ever need recommendation letters, you want to be sure that you have professors who will be willing to write them for you.

DDR and Guitar Hero are good things to have. So is a loveseat or futon, if you can fit it in your room.

Take classes that are a little crazy; you never know where it can lead you. I ended up taking Russian spontaneously, and I ended up changing from a major in English for secondar education to a double major in English and Russian Studies.

If you come to college and you have a significant other at home or at another college, don't expect it to last; if it does, that's great, but it rarely happens. Also, don't get too worked up about relationships in college; you'll find someone eventually.

Don't bring all of your clothes from home, since they probably won't fit in your wardrobe or closet.

Learn to cook. It really helps.

Bring money, especially quarters (for laundry). Having a debit card and a checkbook is also very helpful.

Write down when assignments are due; it sounds stupid, but professors often won't remind you when something is due until the day it's due.

If you live in a room that doesn't have a private bathroom, you'll need something to carry your stuff in, and shoes for the shower are probably a good idea.

I think that's it for now.

Answer 2

What to bring: only what you need. Remember - you'll have to pack it all up again at the end of the year when you go home for the summer.

What kind of job to get: Work at the school's library. It's on campus, so you don't have a long commute. It's quiet, so you can probably get some studying done while you're "working".

What to do: Go to your classes - all of them! Study outside of class, even if you don't have specific homework assignments. Do all the assigned reading. Come to class prepared. Get to know your classmates, especially those who are very different from you. Take classes that interest you - you'll probably never get the opportunity to take them after you graduate. Look into spending a semester abroad.

What NOT to do: Don't get drunk and do something stupid. Don't skip your classes or blow off your homework.

Answer 3

-If you get a job get an on campus job. Off campus jobs are a pain to get to. Trust me I have one.

-When you bring your stuff in boxes, keep the boxes (fold them up if needed) and then you can use them again when you are taking your stuff back. At the end of the year everyone is struggling to find boxes.

-College showers are gross for the most part, make sure you bring flip-flops to wear in the shower.

-Learn material the first time around, so you don't have to panic and learn it the day before the test.

-Try to make friends with a sophmore, junior, or senior. They are useful to ask questions to. Or make sure you know your R.A. for the same purpose.

-Bring food, in which case you might need a fridge or microwave. College cafeteria food gets old.

-Be friendly. If a lot of people from your HS are going to your college, I strongly encourage you to expand your friend "horizon". Don't hang out all the time with the same people you did in HS. You miss out on some great things.

-As lame as it sounds, go to college events that aren't athletic games. You'd be surprised how interesting they can be, and you'll meet some great people.

Answer 4

I don't know why, but the first things that come to mind are laundry related...

Make sure you get a roll of quarters (maybe a couple of rolls) from a bank before you go.

If possible try to get a box of laundry detergent that comes with individual packs.

More generally...

Try to pack relatively light (cramming the whole of your existence into half a dorm room or less can be a challenge). You might also call your future roommate when you find out who you'll be staying with to try and work out what to bring (ie we each bring on lamp, etc)

Try not to get so wrapped up in the whole college experience that you completely ignore all your classes and torpedo your GPA in the first quarter.

Taking that into account have as much fun as humanly possible.

Answer 5

I only have advice about what to bring. If you want to make friends fast, bring lots of stuff that people will want to share: iron w/ small ironing board, coffee maker (if allowed), cool bean bags or other 'slouch' chairs... Also note that you'll pay a mint to rent a mini-fridge if you don't show up with one of your own. Enjoy!

Answer 6

Buy a laptop and bring it to class. It's a lot faster and organized for taking notes.

Answer 7

You really need to study even at the expense of a social life esp in your freshman year, you need to retain all that you learn, don't learn it then forget it, its very sad so see that happen

Answer 8

just show up