<p>Expensive party there^^^^</p>
<p>don't trust people too easily. not everyone who talks to you is your friend.</p>
<p>"Taking a girlfriend to college is like bringing a sandwich to a banquet."-A man wiser than myself</p>
<p>dont put your drink down and walk away. actually, dont put your drink down at all.</p>
<p>if anything youre eating/drinking (not just alcohol) tastes funny, dont eat it. we dont have our moms around to tell us if something is spoiled, and food poisoning is awful.</p>
<p>^^^excellent advice. and while i like giving people the benefit of the doubt, i only take food that i get myself or from someone i know well. this is beyond drugging, it's basic food safety</p>
<p>
[quote]
But after that, it's a fork in the road. You can build relationships with those new friends and neglect the academics somewhat (I realllly don't want to start out bad, I heard first semester is really important in forming your habits), or you can work hard and then risk the chance of losing those friendships. Is this easier than it sounds to balance, or do you have to make a choice?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You don't make a single, solitary choice, you make a large series of choices which determine how your college life is. You don't wake up monday morning and decide "alright, this is what I'm going to spend all week doing," you don't even always wake up monday morning and decide "alright, this is what I'm going to spend all Monday doing," you decide case by case what to do with your time.</p>
<p>It's very possible to balance academics with social life, though it might not always be easy to see which side to take at times. I would suggest erring on the side of academics until you get the hang of things, since a studying too much instead of going out when you could have a couple times doesn't have nearly the lasting impact that a failed mid-term may. That being said, you're still going to have plenty of time to meet and hang out with people. You can even study or work out (including rec. sports) with people and combine different spheres of your life.</p>
<p>Academics are important, but so is a social life. You can be super smart and have a 4.0 but no one's going to hire you if you can't have a decent conversation with someone (they'll figure it out in your interview). Study, and make regular hours to do it in, but unless you have a really hard exam the next day, as long as you've put in a bit of study time that day, go out and have fun if someone invites you somewhere. </p>
<p>Oh, and work out. The Freshman 15 is not attractive, unless it's pure muscle (and then, still not always).</p>
<p>Hello everyone. I read through this entire thread and it has so many valuable tips that I will definitely consider. However, I still have a question. What is the wise number of extracurricular activities that one should join? </p>
<p>Someone advised me that participating fully in 3 very active organizations is enough to overwhelm a student who also must balance his/her social life and academics. Is this true? Is there an ideal number of organizations one should join?</p>
<p>Pi is the ideal quantity I believe.</p>
<p>yeah .1 off of that and you're not getting into prof school.</p>
<p>I think two organizations max is more than enough (assuming you are very active in them.)</p>
<p>I was the first one in my family to go away to school and was TERRIFIED I would flunk out. Went to a 20,000 student school in the Midwest--not easy, not hard. Also knew I wanted to go to law school, so I went to every class freshman year and studied Sunday-Wednesday nights and partied HARD Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Got a great GPA the first year and more or less coasted second and third years. Followed the freshman year plan for senior year, got into a middle of the road law school with no problem and have been practicing law for 25 years now, doing just fine. Freshman year really establishes a baseline which will follow you for all four years, so gut it out the first year and you will be fine. </p>
<p>Because I was so comfortable with my GPA after first year, I got crazy involved in other areas the next three years--joined a social and a business sorority, was the house manager for two years for the social sorority, worked 20 hours a week the last two years and loved every minute of college. You can do it too!!</p>
<p>My H's advice: before classes start visit each classroom on your schedule and if bus transport is involved figure out what bus to take. On the first day of class you will know exactly where you are going and where you need to be. You will also know how long it takes to go from class to class.</p>
<p>Before finals: if your final is held in a different location than the class location (and many times they are) visit each location and know what bus transport is involved, if any. You will know how long it takes to get to the location of each and every final and exactly which bus to take. You don't want to take the bus you think might get you there on time - you need to take the correct bus so you are not stressed out and running to get to the location of your final!</p>
<p>Slay. Dragons. Lots of them.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Succeed-in-College%5B/url%5D">http://www.wikihow.com/Succeed-in-College</a></p>
<p>Very good articles!</p>
<p>A lot of you mentioned not to take 8am classes, but I think I might have to this quarter (the only class offered was an 8am lecture classes on T/Th). Any tips to cope with this?</p>
<p>go to bed early the night before, keep breakfast bars/starbucks double shots in your room to eat on the way to class, shower the night before, wear your hair up (if your a girl), go in your pjs if you like</p>
<p>oneday: go to bed early on M and W. Also, try not to schedule a class right after the 8 am so you can go back to your room and sleep some more for a while.</p>
<p>{Take pictures.} {Avoid one night stands when drinking.} {Bring lots of quarters - more than you think you'll need - ever.} {Take a nap on Sunday afternoons in the Winter.} {Volunteer outside of the academic sphere on a regular basis-soup kitchens and homeless shelters are highly recommended.} {After visiting friend's houses, always send thank you cards.} {Never take a course because it looks easy. It won't be.} {Most colleges and universities have a free counseling center. This is the only time in your life when counseling will be free. Take advantage of this.} {Remember to deal with major problems before taking on any kind of serious relationship.} {After receiving a recommendation from a professor, send a thank you note.} {Keep a journal. Things happen fast.} {Make sure your professors know your name. The earlier the better.} {Cigarettes are not a good way to handle stress. In fact, some people actually find functional lungs extremely relaxing.} {Vote. That's what absentee ballots are for.} {If you're drinking alcohol, drink at least as much water. This will re-hydrate your body and prevent a hangover the next day.} {Go to a local diner with friends at 1am and order breakfast.}
{If you find yourself single on Valentine's Day, go out to dinner with other single friends and talk about how great it is to be single. If necessary, lie.} {Get involved in small study groups -- especially for hard classes.} {Learn how to give a great backrub. Find someone who has already learned how to do so. Visit this person often.} {Memorize the phone numbers of the people who live above you and next to you. When they're making noise at 3am, you won't be in the mood to look them up.} {Learn how to take a compliment. Smile and say thank you.} {Figure out how your body responds to caffeine and use it accordingly. Just because your roommate can drink 5 consecutive cups of espresso doesn't mean you can too} {Don't date someone who doesn't want your friends to know about the relationship.} {Learn how much sleep you need to function properly. Some people need 10. . . others need 4.} {Memorize the number to call for campus emergencies. Memorize the number for Domino's Pizza. Realize that, at times, this may be the same number.} {Overcome the temptation to complain about how much work you have to do. Chances are, if you have two exams, a paper, and an oral presentation to give on the same day, the person you're complaining to will have three exams, five lab reports, and a meeting with the Dean.} {Always be nice to the housekeeping, maintenance, and food staff. They have to deal with more crap than you do.} {On the first meeting with parents of friends and dates, AVOID all subjects of possible contention, including politics, money, and religion. Especially religion.} {Study outside in the Spring, even if this means falling asleep, getting no homework done, and getting a sunburn. Spring comes but 4 times during college.} {Plan ahead and make lists. Even if you lose them, you are still more likely to remember something if you wrote it down at one point.} {Be persistent. Eight times is not too much to try for something you really want.}
{Find friends who are different from you, even radically so. Learn from them.} {Don't go on vacation without washing your dishes.} {Dance. Preferably in a large group to old music to the point of exhaustion. Opportunities to do this after college get more rare, and more expensive.} {Road trip. Doesn't matter where, when, or why. Find some friends, some music, a destination, and a functional car.} {Use foul-weather gear: umbrellas, hats, scarves, gloves. In high school, you thought, "That looks stupid," and it was uncool. In college, you think, "Man, I'm cold," and it is smart.} {Do one thing at a time.} {Know that, if you're in over your head, you are swimming in good company.} {Know who you can call at 3 o'clock in the morning.} {Avoid phrases like, "There are other fish in the sea." when comforting others about break-ups. When in need of comfort, avoid people who use such phrases.} {Always carry 5 pens. One to use, 3 to lose, and one to lend to the interesting person next to you.} {Double check your alarm at night. AM means morning. PM will not help you get to class.}
{Every once in a while, reevaluate your rules. Know why you do and do not do things.} {Keep other people's secrets.} {Share secrets of your own. Let your friends know who you really are.} {When life gets you down, dress up. Or dress up just for the hell of it. Surprise people. When they ask, "Why do you look so pretty today?" answer, "I was born that way."} {Indulge in wild and hopeless crushes. Acknowledge them as such.} {Recognize your limitations. Ask for help.} {Recognize your strengths. Offer help.} {Learn to say, "No."} {Own a hat or a nice barrette. Some days are just not good hair days.} {Write your name on things you really want to keep through all four years. It will at least give you a fighting chance.} {Wash stains right away. If you wear white, buy bleach.} {Smile. It rarely hurts anything.} {Bring or buy Advil, Aspirin, or Tylenol. Sometimes life hurts.}</p>
<p>lizzies,</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>