advice for the class of '11

<p>Maybe the secret to doing well in college is on page 5!</p>

<p>"Must be a fidelius charm."</p>

<p>One of the funniest things I've ever read.</p>

<p>"Must be a fidelius charm."</p>

<p>who's the secret keeper?! I need to know.</p>

<p>what's on page 5?? i can't go to page 5 either!</p>

<p>Wear sunscreen.</p>

<p>-GF</p>

<p>I really want to see page 5! okay so for studying, what guides are the best if there's not one for a specific book? cliffsreview, sparks, the class for dummies, or what??? also for those of you who actually get a lot of A's and some B's, how much time do you spend studying for each class? For one of my AP classes this year I ha to study about 15-20 hrs. a week and I don't think I can do that for 5 classes!any ideas...?</p>

<p>fhimas: I'd try to schedule 9ams. I hate 8ams. I know you never missed anything in highschool but college is VERY VERY different. If you can do it it's nice, but on my days I had 8ams I usually ended up napping later, so it didn't give me an advantage.</p>

<p>Page 5 was pretty cool.</p>

<p>edit: The best guide is reading the book. You can get away with sparks or whatever in some classes though. There's no number I can give you for time to study. Some classes you'll hardly ever study for, some you'll be locked in the library for hours.</p>

<p>Is it true that a lot of what college is effort and how much of it you put into it, as opposed to your own level of brightness? Hard to explain. </p>

<p>Like, I took a rigorous courseload in HS and it killed me -- sometimes I put in the effort and it was too difficult and, like I said, killed me in the end. In college, if you still put in the effort, is it easier? (If that makes any sense... I can't phrase it in an understandable way.)</p>

<p>i just finished my first summer session, so here are the two top things i can think of right now</p>

<p>-however you sleep now is going to change...a lot. i went from sleeping around 6 hours a night tops, to getting anywhere from 3 to 8 hours sun-wed(4 day weeks), and then going out thur, fri, sat going to sleep/passing out at around 8am and getting up ~5pm, going to eat shower and get ready to go out again. that's not to say you won't go out during the week(best deals are during the week), but it's different on the weekend</p>

<p>-at least one of your friends is going to have "that night" where they drink wayyy to much, do something stupid, throw up in someones car, need to be carried back to their dorm...blah blah</p>

<p>"Is it true that a lot of what college is effort and how much of it you put into it, as opposed to your own level of brightness?"</p>

<p>It's really a balance of both. For example, if you just don't write well it's not going to matter how many times you revise your paper, you're not going to be getting 100s. You could still work hard, talk with the teacher, and maybe even get an A, but it'll take you much longer than if you had a natural aptitude for it. Ditto with math and science. Hard work will go a long way, though.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Is it true that a lot of what college is effort and how much of it you put into it, as opposed to your own level of brightness?

[/quote]

I've found it to be the exact opposite.</p>

<p>I know people in high school that made all As because they worked hard but were not very smart.</p>

<p>Fast forward to college. Now, they're working even harder and making mostly Bs and Cs.</p>

<p>When a single test can determine 25%, 35% or more of your grade, you really have to make sure you know the stuff, inside and out. This is obviously easier if you are smart and know how to study effectively.</p>

<p>^ So bottom line, kids who are successful in college are just very well organized, and know how to memorize?</p>

<p>Drink before college, even if it's just once, get rip roaring crazy drunk with people you can trust. Being drunk for the first time can be scary, more so when you're a brand new freshman and your friends are people you met three hours ago. Also this will give you a better idea of what your tolerance is, and help you realize what's a good point for you to stop.</p>

<p>On the flip side, don't be ashamed or embarrassed about pretty much anything you do while drunk (short of the obvious raping or murdering or whatever). People will give you lots of second and third and fiftieth chances and if people tease you about it, it'll be good-natured and friendly, so take it that way. Don't worry if you're puking all night and your roommate has to stay up with you and hold your hair back. Thank her nicely when you feel better and let it go.</p>

<p>Don't be afraid to experiment. Try new things, get involved in at least one activity you didn't do in high school. As a freshman, the number of activities and clubs and sports can be overwhelming, but you'll meet so many interesting people and you'll learn lots of new things. Experiment with the opposite sex too - check out the kids you might have dismissed in high school, if someone has a thing for you, don't be afraid to go for it. Be a little bit slutty - don't be unsafe, obviously, but know that the line in college between "slut" and "good girl" is not so rigid as when you were younger, and don't beat yourself up about any choices you make.</p>

<p>Don't sign up for 8ams your first semester. You might think that since high school started at 7:50 and you pretty much usually made it to first period, you'll be able to do so in college. Probably not true. I did that, and I didn't go to my MWF 8am between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not one time. And I never went to a Friday class either. Figure out what your lifestyle will be before committing to being an early riser.</p>

<p>On that note, don't follow my bad example - go to class. There are some you can skip and you'll figure out which ones and when but generally - go to class. It's what you're paying for really. And if you don't go, have a good reason or something better to do - you're sick, your dog from home died, they set up a sweet slip n slide in the hallway. Don't not go because you can't be bothered to stop watching American Pie for the third time on your laptop.</p>

<p>Don't worry about being grungy. At those 8ams, people won't care if you haven't put on makeup or coordinated your shoes with your bag. It's college. Everyone had a hard night last night. It's okay that we all look like *****.</p>

<p>Don't keep food in your room. You'll snack all day and you'd think that your meals would be proportionally smaller after doing so but they won't be. Stay away from the vending machines too - constant snacking is where the freshman fifteen really comes in. That and unlimited paid for meals, with desserts every day at lunch and dinner. Learn what a portion is. Don't stuff your face. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to eat it.</p>

<p>Make friends with the dining hall workers, the librarians and the custodians in your dorms - especially the custodians. If they like you, they'll help you out, especially since custodians are usually the ones that evaluate your room for dorm damage in the summer. If they like you, they'll let some stuff slide.</p>

<p>On that note, if you make a mess in a common area, man up and clean it up. If one drunken night you decide to have fun with the fire extinguisher and cover the hallway, clean it up/pay to have it cleaned. Otherwise, your whole dorm will have to pay and they won't be happy with you.</p>

<p>Don't worry if you haven't made "best" friends immediately. Most of the groups that are tight at the beginning of the year are much less so by the end. Be open to meeting new people and making new friends, but know that who you hang out with will change and fluctuate throughout the year and that's okay. You spent four year building lasting friendships in high school. Give it some time.</p>

<p>Best cure for a hangover is a big greasy breakfast. Just getting some food in your stomach will make you feel a lot better.</p>

<p>Some people might disagree with me on this, but I think everyone should get a job. Even if it's just ~5 hours a week or whatever, it gives you a sense of ownership over your education, provides you with some structure, and gives you valuable experience. Plus then you stop having to rely on Mom and Dad for spending money, which you should really be trying to do anyway.</p>

<p>That's about all I've got. Hope it helps!</p>

<p>"So bottom line, kids who are successful in college are just very well organized, and know how to memorize?"</p>

<p>Yes to organization, no to memorization. Sure, you'll have a couple early classes where you have to memorize names or whatever, but after that you'll be writing a lot of papers and essays, and strict memorization won't help you then. Organize and study hard and most of it will come.</p>

<p>Another tip: Keep snacks somewhere where you have to get up and preferably stand on a chair or something to get them. That'll go a long way towards stopping you from idly snacking.</p>

<p>Priceless tips guys, keep 'em coming ^_^</p>

<p>A question/concern I had with the "be outgoing/social" tip:
Thoughout HS I've always been rather reserved (Had only about 3-4 close friends that I got along with pretty well and the rest were somewhat just acquaintances).....I think my problem is--I have an underdeveloped "wit"...for example--i've seen people that can ramble interminably and hold convo's about the most random things and I'm sitting there thinking "What should I talk about? How do I find a common ground"? etc etc...I think it may be a little too late to start learning how to make new batches of friends, but what advice, if any, would someone have for me? Don't mean to shift the purpose of this thread or anything ^_^.</p>

<p>kornpopz, the best advice I can give you is to find people who share a hobby or something with you, and talk about that. If you like football find some people who like football, if you like photography, find some people that like photography. Some people just aren't really talkative, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can hinder the friend making process a little. Just fine people with similar interests and don't be afraid to speak up.</p>

<p>Similar interests help, as chuy says, but you don't have to talk a lot to make contact with people.The key is to be interested in what makes other people tick. Imagine you are writing an article about the types of people at your college--when you meet someone ask questions--where are you from? what dorm are you in ?what courses are you taking? how's your work going? Orientation will involve you in a lot of common activities with other freshmen--that will also give you natural topics to talk about--be a good listener--remember people's names and one or two facts about them so that they feel you've paid attention to them-that will make them think of you as one of their campus "friends". The needed skill is not necessarily being able to say a lot yourself but being able to get other people to talk about themselves.</p>

<p>Thanks chuy and pyewacket :)</p>

<p>how do you score straight As during your first semester in college?</p>

<p>^ Dedication and Perspiration. </p>

<p>Depending on the college or your major, it can be either hard or harder. My advice is to not worry about getting straight A's try to adjust to your new freedom on campus. </p>

<p>If you are that adamant about getting straight A's, you are going to need to work your ass off. This means that sometimes, you'll need to restrain yourself from going out and study instead. The only way to ensure it is if you know and understand EVERYTHING. Every class is different, but in some, you'll just need to have a full understanding. Keep in mind that no matter how hard you work, your high school preparation and luck with also be major factors. </p>

<p>Also keep in mind that it might just not be possible for you to get straight grades, many high school grades are so inflated that they give A's to anyone who tries. College isn't like that, to get A's, you need to be better than your peers. Trust me, it's very hard to pull off, as I barely managed to do it my second semester. I needed to pass/fail one of my classes to get it, as well as a TON of luck. </p>

<p>My best suggestion is to work hard, but try not to sacrifice your social life for it, grades aren't THAT important.</p>