Advice for incoming freshmen

[UMBlue]

<p>Found this article a counselor at my little brother's high school has been circulating with a few brief tips for incoming freshmen. with just a couple of weeks to go for most of us until college starts, I thought I would share. stuff definitely seems like common sense but they're all tips I really wish I had put into practice as a freshman. </p>

<p>Three</a> Pieces of Advice that Will Help You Survive College - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com</p>

<p>feel free to post similar articles...my advice to freshmen is to dig around for stuff like this and get as many of these tips as you can before you start. getting off on the right foot will really make your college experience a much more successful and enjoyable one.</p>

[Jenonymous]

<p>Thanks for that!</p>

[Hella]

<p>not exactly an article, but there was a thread about this in the UC Davis forums so i’ll just c/p my post from there

meet as many people as you can, especially early in the year. you’ll have time to work on deeper, more meaningful relationships later on in the year once people have settled into their niches. networking will help get you pretty much anything that a college freshman would want. anything.</p>

<p>it’s a lot easier to get caught breaking the rules when you’re in a traditional dorm as opposed to a suite. quiet hours will get you caught for alcohol (if you’re loud, which is likely). pretty sure that’s what they’re for a lot of the time.</p>

<p>if you have an expensive bike, consider having multiple locks. when my U lock broke, I had a cable lock, so i didn’t get a new one. my bike got stolen.</p>

<p>go over rules with your roommate regarding cleanliness, visitors(friends), “visitors,” and anything else you would consider an issue. it’s better to do this early in the year than later on when actual problems pop up.</p>

<p>this goes with the first one, but take advantage of how friendly and open people are in the first weeks/quarter/whatever.</p>

<p>there are 25,000 undergrads here. make friends(and more than friends). if someone doesn’t like you, whatever. move on to the next one. don’t be shy.</p>

<p>no one knows or cares about your past. you have a fresh start. take advantage.</p>

<p>i didn’t join any social clubs or organizations but i met a TON of people and still have a circle of very close friends whom i hang out with/talk to every week while also knowing a bunch of acquaintences whom i can party with, converse with, ask favors from etc. </p>

<p>TRY to get enough sleep. if you don’t, concentrating in class will be difficult. manage your time effectively. find a balance; pulling an all nighter to study for a final the next day will likely hurt you more than help you.</p>

<p>form study groups if that’s your thing. i’ve always heard good things, but it’s not really my style and i’ve been able to manage so far, but i definitely would if i felt it would help.</p>

<p>take advantage of the fact that you live REALLY REALLY REALLY close to fellow 17-19 year old kids. it’s really easy to just hang out with people or go out to a party or do whatever fun activity you can think of. that’s what i miss the most about the dorms - the proximity to like minded people, and how easy it was to interact with them.</p>

<p>have fun, try new things, but be safe. know your limits. use protection. everything in moderation.

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[UAKid]

<p>God that article blows. To summarize for everyone a) Sleep well b)Stay organized c) Make nice nice with profs.</p>

<p>a and b are obvious as shiznit. c isn’t always possible. It’s kinda sad to see kids who show up to profs office hours every day like they’re trying to make a friend.</p>

[UMBlue]

<p>why sad? it’s important to build a good relationship with your professor. The author didn’t say to suck up, but there’s nothing wrong with seeking help from your professor. One, you will have the material explained to you by the person who is writing your exams and two, it will help you further down the line when you are looking for letters of recommendations or whatever.</p>

[UAKid]

<p>The people showing up to every professors office hours are either a) dumbazzes or b) trying to suck up or c) trying to milk exam answers out of profs by harassing them. All 3 cases annoy me. c) especially.</p>

<p>

“Jesus effing christ, if you spent half the time studying as you did pitching a tent outside the prof’s office waiting for answers you’d be much better off”.

</p>