<p>For those of you at Columbia or who have graduated, is there any advice you can give for incoming freshmen? Are there any things that you wish you had done differently, clubs you wish you had joined, activities you regret having missed out on, etc.?</p>
<p>... bump... Any comments would be appreciated!</p>
<p>I'm an incoming transfer, but being a sophomre I'll give you this: give your roommate the benefit of the doubt. Try not to hate him/her, but if the situation becomes unbearable, apply for a room transfer. Don't let your college experience be marred by a bad roommate, but try to be a good roommate.</p>
<p>I got sucked into the city and an off campus girlfriend freshman year...my best advice would be to stay on campus as much as possible unless going out with a large group. The reason for this is that you don't want to miss opportunities to make friends, because they'll be far more scant in later years. </p>
<p>I know a bunch of freshmen who, in the course of intensely trying out clubs (i.e. writing endless articles for magazines and the newspaper, debating off campus, doing community service, etc.) effectively sacrified their first semester grades and had to retrench, making difficult decisions about which clubs to maintain a commitment to or not. If you plan to sample clubs, then, do it modestly rather than launching right into hefty reporting assignments or long weekends away.</p>
<p>Finally, get to know helpful Columbia student websites, especially culpa.info for the dirt on classes/professors, and bwog.net for news/gossip/events, etc.</p>
<p>I'm gonna try to write an article for the Spec on my advice to incoming first-years. i've wanted to do this for 2 years now but didn't have the time before orientation every year =)</p>
<p>My advice in a nutshell is to pick 2-3 (max 4) things that you want to be absolutely committed to during your time there. It's so easy during freshman year to be like a kid in a candy shop, especially once you go through activities day and see the hundreds of clubs available.</p>
<p>Your enjoyment of core classes is dependent on the teacher and on whether there's "that kid" among the students in your section. You know, the one who always butts in with his increasingly irrelevant opinions, just to try to brown-nose, and ends up diverting discussion or annoying people until they tune out. Check culpa for the teacher (you can try, although it's hard, to get a section switch - esp between semesters), and be willing to talk to That Kid if necessary.</p>
<p>Get either the meal plan with the least meals, or the next one up (I got the B plan and used almost all the meals). John Jay isn't as bad as you'll feel it is by february or march, but the more you mix it up, go off-campus, buy groceries and cook, etc, the longer it will still hold any appeal.</p>
<p>The most precious commodity that everyone wants at columbia isn't sex, it's sleep. If you overcommit, or find yourself wasting time trying to work in poor working enviroments (like your carman double on a sociable floor), re-evaluate it fast. A smart person who isn't running a hellish schedule can easily average 7+ hours of sleep each night, and I can't exaggerate enough how much that helps your energy levels and attitude.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's all i've got off the top of my head.</p>
<p>-Steve</p>
<p>in my experience, i signed up for a bunch of things that I was interrested in freshman year and didnt do a single one....my biggest problem was both being lazy and thinking that I didnt have time because of school work but it all comes down to managing your time efficiently. Also, some activities require a very big committment and you shouldnt start something like that unless you are truely passionate about it. </p>
<p>As for the core, i agree with steve, it does completely depend on your teacher and classmates and unfortunately they dont list teacher/professor names before the class starts. Switching is a complete pain but it can be done.</p>
<p>Get the meal plan with the least meals, i had the second least and ended up wasting about 100 meals the whole year.</p>
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I got sucked into the city and an off campus girlfriend freshman year...my best advice would be to stay on campus as much as possible unless going out with a large group.
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<p>Even having an on campus gf can pull u away from oppertunies to make friends....but alot less so....its a fine balance but its nice to have someone you are close to in a new environment.</p>
<p>Also, its great to make friends with freshmen but try to make contact with some upperclassmen, they will be a great resource.</p>
<p>It's actually pretty easy to switch between LH or CC classes after first semester. Any time before that, though, is indeed very difficult.</p>
<p>this is true, i was referring to switching sections after realizing that the teacher sucks following the first class.....</p>
<p>you usually have to show a scheduling conflict you cant fix in another way in order to switch....."i dont like my professor" won't cut it. But between semesters you can easily switch your section for another one online during ur registration time.</p>