<p>Hey everyone I'm a high school junior(08!) and I'm already starting a serious college search (ok, not that serious cause there's only one college that i want to go to and have been thinking of) but anyways I wanted to know:</p>
<p>What is some advice you would give a freshman preparing for there first year in college? Honest Advice. Anything from studying, the social scene, to the food, or what you wish someone would have told you. Any and all advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Don't go overboard on the social life or the academics. Some people get to obsessed with the social life and because of it, do bad academically. On the other hand, some people live in the single dorm rooms and just study all day. In which case a lot of those people become depressed and grades start to slide there too. You'll know how to balance it out, just make sure you study hard and party hard (yes, no?). Enjoy your time in college, make some friends, learn some stuff, and maybe find a girlfriend/boyfriend if that's your thing. Main thing... Have fun and work hard in your classes.</p>
<p>***another thing is to avoid getting too attached to the dating scene in college haha that almost killed me.</p>
<p>thanks, thats great advice.</p>
<p>Don't study all the time... you only choose to forego a social life, not because you don't have time for one.</p>
<p>Academically: Don't. Fall. Behind.</p>
<p>It's significantly more difficult in college to make up a week or two of study than it is in high school. You always want to make sure that each week you're following along with the material and that you're caught up and able to do the HW throughout the semester. Waiting until the day before the midterm or final is no good at all!</p>
<p>Enjoy every second, it passes by so freaking fast. College is the last time you can screw up or do something mildly (or completely) stupid and not have your life ruined by it. Don't go crazy and get arrested or anything, but have fun, fall flat on your face (literally, even) and get up laughing hysterically. Every second in college is another chance to make a memory, a story to tell your kids, or to do something you've never done before and will never (or will never be able to) do again. Yeah, you may have more work than you've ever seen before, that's a strong possiblity, but make the most of your free time and enjoy the little quirks of college life that you'll never have again but will always remember with a smile or laugh or chuckle or whatever.</p>
<p>Live with a roommate. I was scared to do it but couldnt get a single and I'm not best friends with my roommate (we don't hang out outside the room) but we talk and are civil about things. If an issue comes up, talk about it.</p>
<p>On your tour when they say "You can walk anywhere in 10 minutes", if you're at a large (Div I probably) school, it's not always true. Leave early. At the beginning of the semester, try to figure out how long it takes you to get to certain classes. When (if) you get snow in your area, time the walks again because snow will slow you down. Learn the bus routes if it's easier for you.</p>
<p>Most of my classes have 3 or 4 exams throughout the semester and pop quizzes (yes, even the large lectures have quizzes). Some even offer extra credit. Your small classes (30-40 or less) will most likely take attendance and you'll get points for being there. And you can be screwed if you miss a 20 point pop quiz in a big lecture that has only 2 or 3 exams.</p>
<p>Study early for exams. GO TO CLASS. Your lectures will be BIG. My Psych has 400+ and my Bio has 250+ students. However, the idea of 'sit down in front', isn't always true. I sit in the balcony of Bio and the back of Psych and am doing just fine. Those two professors hardly ever look at the students in the first 10 rows. I sit in the back of my small classes most of the time and do fine.</p>
<p>Join clubs, but don't go overboard. Remember, no one's going to care if you were a member of 50 clubs in college. I found about 7 or 8 that I'm REALLY interested in and they're great and I stay active.</p>
<p>Be safe, study hard, party hard (if you want), have a social life, laugh at yourself, go on random weekend roadtrips with friends, visit your friend's homes/towns, but still be yourself. You'll probably change in college but as long as you change to someone YOU want to be, not what the friend down the hall wants you to be, then you'll be okay.</p>
<p>There are tons of these threads in this forum -- use the search box and I'm sure you'll find lots of great advice!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do not live in a single. As appealing as it might sound, leave that for your upperclass years. </p></li>
<li><p>Be social, but keep your academics #1. I see so many freshman going crazy the first few weeks of school and then failing their midterms. Don't do that. Good study habits start the first week of school. Do not fall behind on reading. </p></li>
<li><p>Watch what you eat. Dining hall food will make you fat. Just because they offer chicken nuggets, grilled (ie fried) cheese, pizza, steak and cheese subs, etc everyday doesn't mean you should eat them. Have some salad and a scoop of cottage cheese. Maybe some soup. </p></li>
<li><p>Drink. Make sure to drink lots of water to warn off colds and such and watch your alcohol consumption. </p></li>
<li><p>Take your vitamins. </p></li>
<li><p>Exercise regularly.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Being a productive human being starts with being healthy. It's easy to be unhealthy in college. You can stay up til 3am and sleep to 2pm. You can eat pizza 24/7. You can drink pretty much every night of the week. Don't do it. When you feel good, you do good in classes and are more fun to be around.... which leads to a better social life. </p>
<p>... the others have covered most of it.</p>
<p>there are lots of books for college students filled with the kind of advice you're seeking. Once good one is "The Everything College Survival Book" and you can find others on amazon or your local library.</p>
<p>we have one in our University Bookstore called "The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College". Haven't read it, but the title caught my attention. Heard it's helpful and has good advice.</p>
<p>Join clubs, but don't go overboard. Remember, no one's going to care if you were a member of 50 clubs in college. I found about 7 or 8 that I'm REALLY interested in and they're great and I stay active.</p>
<p>--
just double checking, that seems like a helluva lot, but I'm also a junior in highschool. Can someone else second that? I thought most people join like 2 clubs in college? Either way, that's pretty cool - but how do you like manage them? How often are the meetings usually? Once a week or once a month, or hwat?</p>
<p>That doesn't seem like that many clubs, really. I'm in a sorority, the theatre honor society, the GSA, and I've been trying to find the meetings for the Young Democrats (unsuccessfully so far) but I can easily manage all of it. I will hopefully be doing theatre on top of all that, too, and band next semester. Joining clubs is a great way to meet people, too. Also, if you have an orientation week, or something similar, go to every event. You will meet sooo many people, and this is the time you're looking for friends the most, just like everyone else. I seriously can't stress that enough.</p>
<p>glamorouss-</p>
<p>OK--as you can easily figure out, I'm a Parent. But I want to answer your question. The number of clubs you can realistically join and participate in will be determined, to some extent, by your school and your major. If you are attending a tough school and have a demanding major (say--engineering), 7 or 8 clubs is not a realistic number. Also, you'll want to be a bit discriminating about your commitments until you see what kind of free time you will have.</p>
<p>My advice: attend lots of info meetings, and join a couple of organzations that interest you. After you see how things work out, you can join more later, if you want to.</p>
<p>cool, thanks guys :)</p>
<p>Get a schedule and stick with it. It will make studying so much easier if you do it the same time every day.
Study after your classes. Not the next day, but THAT day. It will help if you expand on your notes, because it will all be fresh in your mind.
Stay healthy! Take lots of vitamins, work out, SLEEP, drink lots of water, and eat healthy. But it's bound to happen. I'm one of the healthiest people I know and I have a horrible cold right now. Well, i don't sleep a lot...
Party it up! This is your freshman year and you should make the most of it. This means you can drink. It's a lot of fun.</p>
<p>About the 7 or 8 clubs number, I find it manageable. I agree that it depends on your school and major. I attend a large public state university (Iowa State) and am a business major. I'm in CRU (similar to FCA), Collegiate FFA, Snowboard Club, Collegiate 4H, Student Alumni Association, Freshman Council, and Cyclone Alley. I'm also very active in intramurals--I've participated in 3 already and I'm only in my 8th week of college. Also go to the rec center atleast 4 days a week. I just recently switched into Business from Exercise Science, so I'm looking to get involved with the College of Business. Getting involved helps get your name out to faculty, especially clubs within your college, which will be beneficial if you decide to pursue grad school. Also volunteer positions on campus are good to have--I work unpaid in the Athletic Dept in the NCAA Compliance office, where I want to work after school's over.</p>
<p>Basically, it's all about time management. Know your limits and have a good time but don't let your schoolwork fall behind. You're there for an education, not to socialize 16 hours/day.</p>
<p>I'm a college freshman rapidly approaching midterms... and I"ve heard this from peeps at other schools to... don't blow off your work like every freshman (including me) does / did. Havin taken tons of math + sci in hs, this semester I took no math, and one reading-intensive (not mathy) sci- biology. So my 'hw' is almost always 'reading'. Who checks the reading? no one, no one cares. so you let it slide... whatever. there are no test til midterm, so.. who cares. Then 30-40% of ur grade midterm comes around and you realize you got 3 days to read half the text book. Tip: dont be idiot like me (and a lot of other people too i hear) BTW i was a mild procastinator in hs, its not like 'o well i'll be good no worries'. nah. u have NO pressure to get stuff done. NONE.</p>
<p>Try to relax</p>