Advice for Incoming Freshmen

<p>Does anyone have any advice for incoming freshmen? What are some good mistakes to avoid?</p>

<p>i feel the need to respond to u because i was really concerned before my freshman year and asked a lot of questions too :P the best advice i have is keep an open mind... try to make college a little different from high school. also, DONT mess up in your classes if you can avoid it. take it easy though, it is after all freshman year. i just finished my freshman year in may and even though i didnt do anything amazing this year, i made sure my grades were good and that i had a couple of friends to look forward to seeing again. so im pretty much really excited to go back to sbu.... avoid making it that u dread coming back to this school lol.</p>

<p>Don't procrastinate.</p>

<p>Thanks thats candid and well said.</p>

<p>Don't be afraid to try new things. Put yourself out there and meet people; get involved. Check out a club or two--there's one (at least) for pretty much every interest and activity you can imagine. College is a good time to explore that thing you've always wanted to try but never have--fencing, ballroom dancing, rugby, crew, scuba diving, gospel choir, environmentalism, anti-sweatshop organizing, LGBTQ activism, journalism, photography, radio, capoeira, cat rescue, ghost hunting, whatever. They're all here waiting for you if you just go to a meeting.</p>

<p>Don't get behind, especially in the big math and science classes. Get to know your profs and TAs--they're usually happy to help or even chat when someone comes to their office hours (just don't come right before the exam and expect them to teach you everything, or only come to find out what's going to be on the test). I know when I TAed a class, I really liked it when people came during office hours, and my professors have always been happy when I came by to talk about something I found interesting, so don't be afraid to "bother" them as long as you're not just coming to grade-grub.</p>

<p>What does "grade-grub mean"? Sorry for my incompetence. </p>

<p>Also, if you do not understand something from class, is it better to see a TA or the professor? Do students participate in classes, such as chemistry or biology or calculus? Do students solve problems during class or is this just a straight lecture? I am a type of person who only answers questions out loud if I know that the answer is 100% correct because I hate to look stupid in class even though I am not dumb.</p>