<p>i realize that perhaps there have been threads on this subject, but i'm starting this in hopes of accumulating direct info!</p>
<p>to those of you undergrads with high GPA's and are near or (yikes!) at the top of your respective college classes, can you explain some of the best academic/extracurrricular/social tips you guys can impart to us aspiring and naive freshmen?</p>
<p>make alot of social connections your freshman year because you will have no life from there on out</p>
<p>While I agree that you should make a lot of friends as a freshman, there's no reason you would "have no life from there on out".</p>
<p>Freshman year was the year I barely had a life; I hadn't figured out all the proper study habits and such yet. I've had a lot more time to do things as a sophomore and junior (despite having 2-3x the amount of work I had as a freshman).</p>
<p>I'd say the best thing is know your schedule at all times (well, at least what is due when). I'm not one that is able to tell people not to procrastinate... because I am the biggest culprit on that front... but my system for keeping a social life while getting things done in time and getting good grades overall was knowing when I had to say no to something. Sure, sometimes I'd do something with fam or friends the day before something important was due, but I'd also plan on being up all night and counting how many hours I'd have to finish it, then how many hours (or minutes) I'd be able to nap for before class. Now, I in no way recommend that exact system to anyone, cause at times it is stressful, but the same schedule rule applies no matter how early or late you get your work done. If you mess up you may have to turn in work late for a penalized grade, or miss a whole night of sleep and be a zombie come class, but after one or two trip ups, you will have a system down.</p>
<p>Also, for exams, taking a whole day off to study is not always best. I find studying a little over a few days, or not at all (if we took notes/reviewed everything in class over the past few weeks) actually works better. The whole day/night thing not only takes a whole block of time away from doing other things that need to be done, I tend to forget things when I study that continuously. It's like taking in too much at once pushes other stuff out of my brain.</p>
<p>Academically: go to class prepared and try not to procrastinate on homework.</p>
<p>please, please, give yourself a social outlet.</p>
<p>Otherwise, you'll burn out pretty quickly</p>
<p>go to every class. don't fall behind on the reading. if you get mono freshman fall, go on medical leave rather than muddle through and get a mediocre gpa for the term that you have to spend the rest of your college career working off. </p>
<p>i speak from experience on the last point; the first two are common sense but too often neglected.</p>
<p>also: it's easy to neglect, but SLEEP. i make sure to get eight or nine hours of sleep most nights; without it, i don't have the mental clarity to do well.</p>
<p>after figuring all this out i've improved my gpa every term that i've been here. i had a 3.0 average that first awful quarter due to terrible study skills and having mono, but i'm on track for a 4.0 sophomore fall and a ~3.6 overall. so even if you have a rough start, it's possible to work your way back up. :)</p>
<p>I'm actually a year below you camelia here in hanover.</p>
<p>seems as though very few freshmen sleep on time (most of people on my freshmen floor sleep around 2-3 AM)...i don't know how much better upperclassmen are.</p>
<p>oh, i didn't even realize you were at dartmouth! awesome, i hope your freshman year is going well so far.</p>
<p>most people here seem to sleep less than i do, and if you can get by on five or six hours, that's fine too. :) after freshman fall i realized i need more sleep than that to feel healthy, so i make an effort to be in bed by midnight most weeknights. i'm sure it varies from person to person, but i'd recommend figuring out how much sleep your body needs early on, and planning your schedule around that. you just aren't very likely to do well if you're constantly passing out in class or writing papers in a sleep-deprived haze.</p>
<p>people are most eager to make friends as a freshman, so i highly encourage dorming or staying close to school as possible, join many clubs, and meet lots of people.. because after that, people get kind of rare.</p>
<p>don go to every talk (more often of no use) on campus. and learn to say no to friends.. yes you want to hang out.. but if you have reading to do or whatever, say NO!</p>
<p>If you're concentrating on social science or humanities: learn how to write papers well. Seriously. I was lucky enough to already have the skills from my great HS education, but if you don't do well on your first papers, go talk to your teachers about WHY. Go to your schools writing center if you need to. Learn how to organize papers, write clear theses and write elegantly.</p>
<p>Because, the thing is, for most teachers, if you have only an OK idea (ie. well thought out but not strikingly original or interesting), but the paper is well written, well organized and generally clear, you will probably get at least an A-, in my experience. OTOH, in most cases no matter how awesome your idea is, if you can’t express it clearly you’ll be lucky to get a B+. And it’s not always possible to come up with a great idea, but if you know how, it is always possible to write a good paper. </p>
<p>For tests, flashcards work really well for me, but you'll have to find your own method. Also, for social science and humanities classes, make sure that you have an idea of the main points/arguments your teacher and the reading has made, because you'll probably have to discuss or connect them in some way on the test (that is, on most History tests, knowing all the names and dates will only get you so far; you also have to be able to discuss them intelligently).</p>
<p>I definitely agree that a "sufficient" number of hours of sleep every night will keep a person healthier mentally and physically (I mean, that is the best default idea), but I wonder whether people who continually get <7 hours of sleep eventually adjust...</p>
<p>I also agree that meeting new friends is important, and it makes sense to establish a firm social grounding first term of school. however, from experience at my old college prep school and also from what i've heard on CC, it's not as though rejecting frat parties and choosing to keep to yourself will condemn your social life for the next four years....in high school, I initially was a room hermit to the point that people feared me and knew me only as a "smart" kid or whatnot, but as time progressed, i slowly made friends and NATURALLY came out of my shell, making new friends later in high school when you'd think that people already would've established their social footing...</p>
<p>you all have great advice!!! it's quite humbling to learn from non-freshmen, lol.</p>
<p>Make efforts to get to know your professor. That's the best advice I've received.
It comes in handy, when you're dangling between a B+ and an A-. Usually, when you go out of your way to get help from an instructor, their more apt to believe you're trying hard in their class and will be lenient on their grading.</p>