<p>This thread's kind of dying down, so I'm just going to post some last bits of advice that I wish I had gotten before I came to Cornell. Here they are in no particular order:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>When you're registering for classes as a freshman and you need to register for Bio 101/103 (lecture + lab), do that as early in the day as possible. I didn't, and had to wait in line for 2 hours and got a crappy lab time.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure you come back for rush week, especially if you're a guy.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't just go to the same fraternities every weekend if you're into the party scene. Go wherever is having a party, and meet as many people as possible.</p></li>
<li><p>Watch your minutes on your cell phone. I didn't for the first month, made a lot of stupid day-time calls that I could've made later at night, and got stuck with a huge bill. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>4.5. Get Verizon.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don't lose your phone. I did that three times.</p></li>
<li><p>Probably the best advice that I got and didn't follow, and that you'll now get and won't follow, is this: always work ahead. A Cornell grad told me last summer, "When you first get to Cornell, you're already behind on your work." That's the truest thing I've ever heard. Every weekend, try to do the work for the entire week ahead. Things will pop up and take longer than you expect, especially in the beginning, and you will appreciate the fact that you have some more free time.</p></li>
<li><p>Study at the library. No matter what you may think, you'll be more productive there. There are a bunch of libraries on campus; find one that works for you.</p></li>
<li><p>Try to stay active and work out if you can. People really do gain weight.</p></li>
<li><p>Get a bus pass as a freshman. I'm pretty sure they're free for you, and you'll appreciate it when it's cold or rainy and you don't feel like walking.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure you bring a good, big, quiet fan. Don't buy the cheapest one. For the first month or two you're probably going to have it running 24/7, and you don't want something that's louder than a hair dryer. You'll thank me later.</p></li>
<li><p>Make SURE you bring flip flops for the showers.</p></li>
<li><p>Watch how you spend Big Red Bucks. A popular thing to do is go to Bear Necessities after a night of drinking and buy mozzarella stick, chicken fingers, etc.. That's a straight ticket to getting fat and losing all your money. </p></li>
<li><p>If you're a social person, go around and meet everyone on your floor, or at least your wing. Spend some time on Facebook learning names - it's awkward when it's April and you're in the elevator and you don't know that the person you're next to lives down the hall.</p></li>
<li><p>Bring a lot of socks and underwear. You wont want to do laundry every weekend.</p></li>
<li><p>If you're taking chemistry lab, get someone's labs from the previous year. I'm not suggesting that you copy them, but you probably will have no idea how to do a lab report when you get here, and TAs take points off for procedural stuff like it's their job. I guess it is.</p></li>
<li><p>Call your parents regularly. They'll enjoy hearing from you, and it'll make the "hey mom I ran out of money can you send me some more" conversation go a lot smoother.</p></li>
<li><p>Bring an umbrella.</p></li>
<li><p>Get season hockey tickets, and sit with your firends.</p></li>
<li><p>If they assign you a book to read over the summer, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. You can read it if you want, and I guess you can write the essay, but don't spend too much time on it. 99.999999% of the time that essay will not be read by anyone who gives you a grade.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't keep your ID card in the same pocket as your keys. The magnetic strip will wear down and you'll have to pay to get a new one.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't waste too much time on Facebook.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't waste too much time in general (probably what I'm doing now qualifies).</p></li>
<li><p>I think the #1 piece of advice that I can give anyone going to Cornell is: be proactive. Cornell doesn't hold your hand for anything and it's easy to let opportunities go by. Freshman year really goes by quickly and to make the most of it you'll want to take advantage of every opportunity. Approach professors and get to know them, stay on top of your major/college requirements, go up to hot girls and say hi, meet new people, try new things. The more proactive you'll be, the better of a time you'll have.</p></li>
</ol>