<p>During the first few weeks of school, youll obviously be getting to know a lot of new people. Therell be parties, chances are youll get all crunk, and all kinds of things can spring from that. Girls should go out in groups and stay together especially if its to an off-campus party. There are no shortage of douchebags around who see isolated freshman girls whove passed out on a couch or whatever as targets of opportunity. Some even think its funny and have friends who will lie for them saying it was obviously consensual and you just freaked out if you go to the cops about it. It can ruin a lot more than just your first semester ...</p>
<p>Here is a letter that I sent to my daughter that addresses many issues in this thread:</p>
<p>Dear Allie, I wanted to share with you some insights as to what you need to do in order to become successful in college. I do know that you are probably thinking, "Here is my meddlesome, opinionated dad giving me information that I probably know." Yes, I am a bit opinionated and maybe meddlesome too.However, I have been very successful in college and may be able to give you some insights that most kids won't get. Please simply read over what I have to say once and evaluate my suggestions for yourself.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use weekends to prepare for midterms and finals: In high school, you were given a week to study for finals. This is not true in college. Roughly every 7 weeks, for colleges on a semester system, you get a major test, either a mid-term or a final. With colleges that operate on a quarterly basis, these big exams occur every 5 weeks. You might have a weekend to study for these tests, if that. You, therefore, need to start studying each week; weekends are the best time to start this process. If you have a day or a weekend without a lot of homework, this is an ideal time to start preparing for midterms and finals. Preparation can involves preparing outlines, condensing outlines, and studying for midterms and finals. I can't emphasize this enough. </p></li>
<li><p>Outline your textbooks and not just underline important information: This is what separates the top students from the mediocre ones. The top students, for the most part, outline the chapters as they read it for homework. Having an outline really prepares you for the major tests. If the book has graphs or charts that you need to know, xerox these graphs and charts into your outline. The weekends should be used to condense and refine your outlines. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I can promise you that studying for finals and midterms using outlines will dramatically increase your knowledge level and, at the same time, reduce your study time. It is a real secret among the top students and should be instituted by you.</p>
<p>I should note that I do understand that you feel that " outlining is not your way of studying." However, I have found that it really is much more effective than highlighting important information in the book. As a trick ,when I made outlines, I used varous colors of pens to illustrate different parts of the outline. For example, examples would be in one color. Section headings would be in another color. It was more fun to do using this method, and made important information stand out.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Find a way to overcome stress: You get very stressed at your major exams. You need to find a way, without use of drugs, to overcome this. Frankly, if you did your best in studying that is all that can be expected. Don't worry about the grades or test. Just do your best and I promise that the rest will follow. </p></li>
<li><p>Eat well: You are now associating with a lot of kids who will be at close proximity to you, which means it will be easier to get someone cold or flu. In addition, college is innately stressful. Many kids get mono and are forced to drop out of school for a semester. Thus, you really need to eat a well-balanced meal. This means having orange juice or grapefruit juice for breakfast, eating lots of vegetables, and staying away as much as possible from the junk foods. Taking your vitamins daily is a must, even though I know that you think it is a pain. Yes, it may be a pain, but it could prevent you from getting very ill too! Also, don't forget to exercise. Most colleges have great exercise facilites. Lots of people go there, and is a good social place to meet people too. Remember the Greeks felt that having a strong body is just as important as having a strong mind.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In addition, avoid the "peer pressure" of taking drugs under any circumstances. I know that you probably won't do this,but it really is important to say. IN addition, many kids seem to want to drink liquor since this is their first time away from home. If you want to drink, do it once. Get really sick, and you won' t ever do it again. Liquor and studying don't go hand in hand. </p>
<ol>
<li>Limit your distraction to a minimum and use good time management: I have been asked what is the toughest part of college. Is it the work? Is it the sophistication of the classes? Is it the fact that there is less spoon feeding in courses? Frankly, all of this has some truth to it. However, in my opinion, the main thing that differentiates the top students from the chaff is how they deal with the new distractions that college offers. Think about it: you will now be living with lots of kids who want to have fun, socialize and party.</li>
</ol>
<p>Let me be clear about this: I certainly feel that you should also have a life in college too. This means attending social events, college events, making friends etc., However, time management becomes crucial. Thus, if you are going to spend most of Saturday having fun, you need to work on Sunday. Keeping a schedule of when you will be working and when you can have some social time is a good idea. One thing ,which is your strength ,is doing exactly this and planning for your work. Don't let the social scene overly distract you.This is a very important point that has to be kept in mind all the time.</p>
<ol>
<li>Never fall behind: College goes quickly. Don't fall behind. I can't emphasize this enough. Keep up with your work. In fact, even better, stay ahead. This is why it is important to prepare for midterms and finals each week.</li>
</ol>
<p>7.If you have trouble in an area, get help: This is very crucial. Don't be too proud in asking for help. Professors are usually very willing to help kids out. In addition, there is always that smart person who really knows the work cold. Making friends and getting help from classmates can make a huge difference. Your brother does this extremely well, and thus, may graduate with honors.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>For tough courses, consider setting up study groups. This is a law school trick that I learned, and it worked very well. Join two or three kids to go over the work each week and to help study for exams. Note: this is NOT in lieu of reading the material and studying for the tests yourself. This is in addition.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't overly rely on Spark notes and other crutches: Too many kids avoid reading assignments and use Spark notes and other crutches. Frankly, this shortchanges themselves and their education. As importantly, all professors who teach courses are aware of what is in the review books and Spark notes and usually gear the information in exams to what is NOT in the notes. It may be a dirty trick,but it works. Don't take the short cut. If you want to read and outline the material and then use review book in addition, this might be the ideal way to study for tests.</p></li>
<li><p>"Get the study guide for the course: Whenever possible, get the study guide that accompanies the course: Most texts, especially intro courses, have a study guide. Sometimes the school sells these guides and sometimes you need to go to the publisher's web site and buy it from there. Always get the study guide. I have had tests taken from these, plus it's an excellent way to review for the course and help with your outlines. Again, don't just rely on study guides! Also, if no guide exists, sometimes the book's author post example questions and/or chapter outlines that are very useful in preparing for the course. You have seen this in your AP courses. Some lazy professors even take their tests from these on line examples. It certainly won't hurt to check out any web site information on your textbook.</p></li>
<li><p>Write or call home each week: If you don't call us, we will call you! Thus, to avoid being hassled at the wrong, least opportune time, which we are experts at, please call home once a week. Sunday is a great day for this. We are nosy. We want to know how college is going. We are parents; it comes with the territory.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Anyway, I hope this helps you.</p>
<p>Love, Dad</p>
<p>Enjoy yourself while you work, because there's no point living life for the future if you're never going to enjoy the present. Enjoying yourself can take different forms for different people, and there's no reason this enjoying has to be self-destructive if you don't let it.</p>
<p>Don't settle down into one sort of friends group / clique right away... meet lots of people and allow yourself to move out of your high school comfort zone before you settle down.</p>
<p>GO TO YOUR PROFESSORS FOR HELP EARLY. They may seem intimidating because they're famous within their fields, but they're still here to teach you and they don't want you to fail. Go early, talk to them in their office hours, don't be scared to ask for an extension if you really need it.</p>
<p>As others have said, be very careful when choosing your classes. It's too easy to fall into a schedule that seems obvious, when it isn't really what you want to take. Just because you've never had any exposure to anthropology or art history before doesn't mean it isn't a subject you'll fall in love with - don't be scared to take the intro classes. There's plenty of information and resources online; use it.</p>
<p>They tell you that freshman year is for exploring, and not to even worry about your major yet. This is a lie. Keep the requirements for your prospective majors in mind to make sure you can still complete them without overstressing, especially if you're considering a double major, or a major in the sciences.</p>
<p>Check up on the professor (speak to upperclassmen, check ratemyprofessors) before definitely taking the class. In college, the professor makes or breaks the class.</p>
<p>Jungle juice is yummy. . . . BUT beware: if you hear that a frat has a bad reputation, trust that they have it for a reason. I know of one frat at my school who is known for dipping the rims of plastic cups in the drug that nocks you out (can't remember the name just this moment), and then they will have one stack for the guys and one stack for the girls, so even if you see them pour the beer straight out of a can it could be drugged. If you MUST go to a party at a place like that, bring your own cup, and never ask anyone you don't trust to hold it for you, or leave it anywhere, and when walking around with a can of beer, walk with your hand over the opening so no one can drop anything in. </p>
<p>Also know how you learn--if you do well under pressure, don't think you MUST do everything in advance. I know how I learn, and if I spent my weekends studying and outlining, I wouldn't be any better off for it, I'd just have less fun and be more stressed. My only comment about this is, if you are pulling an all nighter, or are doing it at the very last minute, it's worth every second of being late to class to proof read it! actually, proof read no matter what as little stupid errors WILL drop your grade down. It shows a lack of effort, and even if you didn't put that much effort into your paper, you want it to look like you did. </p>
<p>Try to take leadership positions in clubs, too. It isn't necessary, but you get to know upperclassmen that way, and you get to know EVERYONE in the club instead of just a few people. You also get to know more about how the school works if you ever have to deal with administrators or anything, and it's nice to have them know you. It makes "issues" easier to handle if you know people who can help you out.</p>
<p>Taxguy,</p>
<p>that post was very helpful... thank you for sharing</p>
<p>I will be entering Rice this fall as a biochem major. can somebody tell me how many classes i should take? please.</p>
<p>Taxguy, thanks for the insightful post. I will pass it along to my friends.</p>
<p>Taxguy, thanks for sharing your letter! I copied and pasted it into a Word document to pass along to my daughter when she enters college (next year)...</p>
<p>serge, the magic number is five. Five classes. Take intro chemistry, calculus, intro biology, maybe some kind of writing course, and something of your choice. This is just an example schedule.</p>
<p>Five classes your freshman year is a bit much. Even if the school is on the semester system. I've heard of some kids taking 3 classes freshman year then 4 or 5 afterwards. </p>
<p>My advice would be to take one less class than what is average your first semester.</p>
<p>^ That might be a good idea if you can get away with it. It could be especially helpful if you're on a big scholarship that requires that you maintain a high GPA. Be careful, however, that there's not a rule against it. At the school I attended last semester, the rule was you had to take a minimum of five classes (15 hours) a semester and maintain a 3.325 to keep a scholarship ... even though I only needed four to finish off all the gen ed requirements at the places I was looking to transfer. :) You definitely want to keep your GPA as sky high as possible early on because things could get tougher later and a lesser load could help ensure that considering all the potential freshman year pitfalls.</p>
<p>well i dont have to worry as much about GPA because i am in the rice/baylor program but i still want to major in biochemistry. now my focus is in the MD/PHD admission at baylor college of medicine which means that i still have to work hard and i have to take alot of science classes. based on that...would five be the reasonable number for my goals?</p>
<p>Serge - all will be revealed at O-week, including the advising you need. Reeeeelaaaaaaaax ;)</p>
<p>Look for an opportunity to gain a professor or some one of similar stature as a mentor and personal friend; this is the kind of networking that will make you successful.</p>
<p>Serge, It differs by school. Four academic classes is standard at most schools, plus any labs for sciences. You don't want to overload with more than that your freshman year (especially first semester), I'd think. If you seem to be able to handle it pretty well, then by all means, increase your workload in future semesters... but there's a lot of adjusting going on at first, so account for that, and don't overstress yourself right at the beginning.</p>
<p>Good advice on not overloading the first year - sep. the first term. There's plenty of time to take a heavy load later. There will undoubtedly be some sort of initial ulture shock.
Perhaps the best thing to do - if possible - is to find someone that you knew previously who is currently a student at your new school. They should be able to give you invaluable info. on what to avoid and pursue.
Regarding the "Beware!" part - just like in the rest of society, there are people who view newbies (frosh, in this case) as food. They are definitely an exception, not the rule, but they exist and will try to take advantage of someone new either psychologically, sexually, or financially. College is a perfect place for a deceptive person to create a new identity - please remember that.</p>
<p>Taxguy,</p>
<p>Goodstuff. Even as a rising junior at college, I can look at your post for guidance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information taxguy! It's really helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for posting their advice. This thread has been really helpful to an incoming freshman :-)</p>
<p>Matt, come on. Argue fair! NAS is NOT my source. My source is Prof. Lindzen. And he indicates NAS is ambiguous--and slippery--in what they (sort of!) assert.</p>
<p>I don't particulary support the flag amendment.</p>
<p>I don't think homosexual behavior should be promoted, as it is on many of the most liberal US colleges.</p>