<p>Now, we are all, most of us, well into college. But wouldn’t you agree that we have all committed stupid mistakes through our freshman years. Worse still, we could have easily avoided them we knew we were on the wrong (may be, you just didn’t know).
I think it would be a great idea to share our nightmare experiences. If there are any college-bound teens hanging around in here it would be some help to them.</p>
<p>Hmm, to start it all off, here is a brief list of my blunders:
Not studying regularly: I was a straight A student at school but upon entering college, I got so addicted to the Internet and hanging out that eventually I ended doing all-nighters before exams. It was really awful. My grades were affected and I can see how it could all have been avoided if I had exercised some more will power.</p>
<li><p>Not befriending seniors: I am a dab hand at making friends. I made so many out there. I really felt proud and did not think that it was any need befriending any senior as I had loads of friends in my class. I did not realize that these friends were not good enough to guide me through the college rules and not just experienced enough to acquaint me of the tricks and tactics that work at this college.</p></li>
<li><p>I wasn’t much of a speaker at class. This was probably because I wasn’t doing my self-study at home but it did affect my rapport with the teachers who had earlier, during the admission procedure, been impressed with my school performance.</p></li>
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<p>Some more questions for you all:
Is it really important in American colleges to have a good rapport with your college professors? If yes, how does it help you improve your grades?
Is it really important to befriend seniors?
Do you guys have to face ragging upon entering into a college in the US?</p>
<p>I can give an answer to your first question.</p>
<p>Honestly: I think it's VERY important to have a good rapport with your professors. If you get to know them, and show them that you are trying your hardest to do your best, it can have an affect on your grade. I've had professors tell me point blank that if a student comes to them, asks them for help, and shows the extra effort, if it comes down to a point where there's a few letter grades between an B and an A, they'll give the the student the A. It makes a HUGE difference, trust me. You can get away with a little more of the professor knows your situations. </p>
<p>Another example:
I had a pretty good rapport with my English professor. I was in class early every single day, I handed in all of my assignments on time and scored almost all A's. I participated in class. On the last day, my professor never told us that we had an essay due (it was on the syllabus, but I was used to her giving us topics and she never did, but it was still my fault for not writing SOMETHING). I told her I didn't have it and asked her if I could write it after class and hand it into her. She let me. And she didn't take off late points. I ended up getting an A in her class. </p>
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<li>I'm not so sure about befriending the seniors, I say be friends with you who want to be friends with. I personally would rather be friends with the older crowd because they seem to be a little more mature than the incoming "PAR-TAY!" freshmen (not my scene, personally). I do think you have some good points, they can help show you the ropes a little more than the freshmen and sophomores.</li>
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<p>Keep your distance from the party crowd, be a presence in class, really attempt to get along with your professors and ask them questions outside of class, be a presence in class, make your school work your absolute number one priority.</p>
<p>Only keep your distance from the party crowd if that's not your scene. If it is, then go for it. </p>
<p>My dad told me that college isn't just about holing myself away in the library to attain the perfect 4.0 -- I need to have fun, meet amazing friends, etc. The wisest thing is to find the best medium for you.</p>
<p>Ask questions with your professors... talk to them in office hours, send them emails. Make sure they get to know YOU. Sometimes you may think you can write a good paper, but meeting with the professor and answering their questions (which is what they're ultimately looking for) on the spot can really help... everytime I've done that, I've either received a high A on the paper, or even sometimes given an extension because in a meeting I realized something new about the texts that the professor liked. A professor can be extremely accomodating, only if they know the effort a student is putting in.</p>
<p>Definitely meet older people. They make your life easier since they've been around-- they know courses to take, things to do, places to go, etc.</p>
<p>Because they are often a negative influence. When I say party crowd, I'm thinking of those students who huddle together after classes to get stoned/drunk multiple times a week. That kind of lifestyle and straight A's don't go together well, at least for me.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on your goals. I'm not going to university to get straight As. I'm going to:
1) Get a degree
2) Enhance my education
3) Network
4) Make Friends
5) Have Fun</p>
<p>I can definitely see myself drinking 2-3 times a week and don't really see anything wrong with that.</p>
<p>I am friends with people from "the party crowd" and it hasn't interfered with my academics. I have a 3.46 cummulative gpa and 3.54 gpa for the spring. It doesn't interfere with your academics/studying/etc unless you let it. The only reason I say to stay away from them is all the freaking drama!!!! God, I won't even get started on it but let's just say NOTHING BUT DRAMA ALL FREAKIN SUMMER!</p>
<p>Hey, if you can do it and maintain your health/academics, have fun. I'm not so lucky. Drinking two or three nights a week is what turned me into an alcoholic drop-out a few years back.</p>
<p>I prefer to spend my free time on various student clubs of interest, writing/editing for school newspapers, being engaged in student politics, sports, etc. I've found the networking in these avenues to be much more fruitful than in bars. But again, that's just me.</p>
<p>I am involved in student clubs. I'm one of the assistant directors on a committee in the largest student organization on campus. I'm not an athletic person or a writer, but I stay involved with the residence hall association as well as taking swing dance and latin dance lessons. I party on the weekends, maybe Thursdays occasionally.</p>
<p>The whole senior thing really isn't that important. I survived the freshman year without having a senior. I didn't have one in high school either--the baseball coach was my guidance guy there. At college, since i transferred, it was a buddy from HS who was also a freshman (but knew more about the campus since he had been there a semester already).</p>
<p>I'm one of those people who loves to be someone's senior but won't be someone's freshman...how ironic is that. I had five freshmen to my claim in HS. The closest I ever got to having a senior was a few friends in that class who I met while in band just because we were in the same section and got to know each other.</p>
<p>About half my friends that I met my freshman year (last year) weren't freshman, but weren't seniors either (sophomores or juniors). It's not really important that they be seniors, just that they have more experience than you.</p>
<p>Mistake to avoid in freshman year: Reading this thread.
Don't seek advice in these posts. Instead of having vicarious experiences through others' experience, you should rather face circumstances as they come along and on your own.
Its your life, live it; dont be so friggin' circumspect - is what I say.</p>