<p>Don’t take a ridiculously hard courseload your first semester. You will be adjusting to an entirely new situation, and having a more moderate workload will really make your transition to college life easier. </p>
<p>In high school you may have wowed people with your 7 APs in a year, but in college people don’t think a freshman juggling a whole bunch of advanced courses is cool – they think you’re nuts. Because you are. College is an entirely different ball game, and maxing yourself out first semester freshman year is a very, very bad idea. Some people burn out right away because they overload themselves. Take it easy. You have 7 more semesters. There is no shame in not pressing your upper intellectual limits your first semester. You’ll be glad you didn’t, because when your first set of midterms roll around, you won’t be freaking.</p>
<p>In college, you don’t have to do every page of the reading. In fact, it’s probably impossible. If you’re a humanities major, you can end up with upwards of 1000 pages of reading a week, in really dense history/philosophy books. You can skim, and that is ok. Read the introduction and conclusion of the books, and read the first and last sentence of every paragraph. You’ll still get the most important ideas (while skipping over unnecessary details) and not waste too much time.</p>
<p>Also, write in the margins. Note important points, because it will help you more than you can ever imagine when you have to write a paper on it later in the semester.</p>
<p>If your department or college sends out a newsletter with news and opportunities, READ IT! I’ve found some really cool clubs/jobs/internship offers that my friends all miss out on because they can’t be bothered to read the e-mail.</p>
<p>This is one of the biggest unpleasant surprises for students who attend small colleges (or large colleges that are overenrolled). Many students who go in thinking they can do a double major, or at least graduate in four years, find out that they can’t when they look at what classes are actually available to register for.</p>
<p>This also applies to smaller schools/departments even at larger schools. You may have smaller classes and get to know your professors better, but not all classes may be offered every semester.</p>
<ol>
<li> Just because everybody around you does drugs and drinks incessantly (and in large amounts!) does NOT MEAN that you should give into the peer pressure to fit in. I drank a few times, and you know what? Big deal. I never did in high school. People start to respect you more if that’s not what you like to do–maybe watching movies/eating at restaurants instead. OF course, an occassional indulgence in alcohol is not a bad thing if you are safe, but…Going over the top like my friends did at Tulane was…the STUPIDEST thing. </li>
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<p>Each one of them is now on academic probation. </p>
<p>I’ve lost a lot of weight due to stress, and not eating a sufficient amount of meals. Be aware that busy schedules, and awkward dining hall hours can inevitably cause you to miss a few meals.</p>
<p>Excellent points! I’d really like to stress the importance of a few of them.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The campus appeal truly is important. To be walking to class and be in awe of your surroundings is a pretty cool feeling. Especially on days where its nice out and everyone is just relaxing outside. It gives you a real exciting feeling of “wow, I can’t believe I’m a student here,” as opposed to waking up every morning in a boring enviroment. Campus was a huge factor in choosing my school, and I’m still glad to this day for that.</p></li>
<li><p>There is also another problem with small universities, you stand out when the classes are small. Sometimes this can be a good thing, so you can talk to the professor directly, but other times this is a hindrance. Not that I’m encouraging people to skip classes, but sometimes there will be days where it would benefit you far more to get some much needed sleep or do some extra work that you’re behind on instead of wasting your time in a class where you can just do the reading assignments later. In smaller classes they know you are missing and you most likely will get points off, where as in a larger class they dont take attendence. Like I said, I’m not saying skip classes, but sometimes its nice to have the option if its necessary.</p></li>
<li><p>Another great point. I live in a dorm right now where the food is awful and honestly it’s sometimes depressing when you’re starving and can’t find anything that looks remotely edible to eat. Believe me, ravioli’s and mac n cheese get old really fast and you’ll really be missing just a nice home cooked meal.</p></li>
<li><p>This is especially true if you’re walking to class at a big university. I thought “oh weather is no big deal I’m used to 20 degree temps and snow in the winter” so I had no reservations about going north for school. However, walking 15 minutes to class in 20 degree weather and snow is MUCH different than just walking out of your house to your car. I have spent most of my time in the winter wishing that I went south to college to avoid the unbearable walks every morning and afternoon.</p></li>
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<p>Now, the most important point of them all, and this one is VERY IMPORTANT:</p>
<ol>
<li>Financial costs!!! Like jackson said, you can ignore this if you’re parents are paying for most of your college. However, for a good majority of people this is probably not a reality. If you can go to a good state school for half the cost of a private school, do it! Your undergrad degree is really not that important except for a couple fields like investment banking. Even in iBanking, you can just wait a couple years and try and go to a good grad school then go from there. Going to a private university that is going to destroy you financially is absolutely not worth it when you can go to an excellent state school (like Penn State, Pitt, UConn, etc.) that will most likely land you in the same type of job that you desire if you had gone to the private school. It may be nice telling people that you went to whatever the private school is, but is it worth an extra 50k of student loans and not being able to do anything for years after college because youre so far in debt? Better yet, is it worth it when you could have gotten the same education/job coming from the state school and then started a life after college? In most cases, the answer is no. Also, if you’re going to graduate school afterwards then you’re undergrad degree means EVEN LESS. Go where you can afford, do you’re best, then go from there. If you can afford the private school, then great! Go for it! But if you can’t then don’t sign every penny you own for the next 10 years over to it just so you can say you went there.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Investigate your MINOR options as well. I was very intent upon ensuring my school had appropriate courses for my major and ASSUMED that my minor (german) would be covered as well. Didn’t happen. German minor is essentially impossible. Some minors (particularly in languages) are designed for people who will start at the bottom level. If you intend to minor in a language, and also anticipate placing out of the actual requirement, look into this. </p></li>
<li><p>Also on costs, I’m not into this, but greek life is often obscenely expensive. If you’re deciding between public and private on account of costs, and becoming a member of a fraternity or sorority is something you can’t see yourself going through college without, it’s not going to be possible if you’re already stretched thin at a private school. Truth be told, you’ll have to make sacrifices. </p></li>
<li><p>This is really, really important. I can attest to this. If you are rejected from your top schools, or some place you really wanted to go to, it will be okay and transferring after a year is not as bad as it sounds. College is hectic and you’ll often be too busy to even realize where you are. I don’t love where I am by no means, but there’s enough going on where an individual who is reasonably self determined can still substantiate his/her existence at any university regardless of whether or not they like it, and even regardless of whether or not they even have people to hang out with. Go to talks and lectures and really focus on classes. Volunteer. Spend time finding something you’re really into and then express this in your transfer applications. Now, if i get rejected from my transfer schools, I may be humming a different tune. But rest assured that last year I was crying on my bathroom floor after being rejected from UNC Chapel Hill. This lasted for DAYS. But again, going to a safety with intentions to transfer is not the worst thing that could happen. Even if you hate it, you can make the best of it. I promise, even if you can’t seen it now. If someone had told me before that spending a year at Elon wouldn’t be that bad I would not have believed them. If anyone needs any moral support regarding this, let me know! I was in such bad shape last year after being rejected from schools I anticipated going to. I wish I could have been spared all the agony! A year somewhere you don’t necessarily want to be is not going to be, you know, awesome. But again, it’s up to you how miserable you want to be. </p></li>
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<p>(on a lighter note)
15. Fire alarms are sensitive. Careful with your popcorn, kids.</p>
<p>dchow08,
I think the hard copy catalogs are really useful to be able to compare various departments’ requirements, etc. Maybe I’m a 20th century Luddite, but I like having the books to leaf through and mark up.</p>
<p>Again, great points. Surprisingly, I considered almost all of them when I chose my ED college (especially #3 as it is a small LAC), and I now rest assured that I’ll be in good shape next year.</p>
<p>And you’re not alone, Counting Down. I requested hard-copy course catalogs from every admissions office I visited. Something about having it in front of you makes the courses seem more… official.</p>
<p>About making friends and activites, I guess one important thing is not to restrict yourself only to those activities in which your friends will be taking part. A lot of people I know make this mistake. Make sure to pursue some of your interests as well, even if it means you’ll (initially) have to do it alone. What is more, this way you are more likely to make new friends than if say you had dragged your best friend along.</p>
<p>i have another point about finances and state schools:</p>
<p>i current attend the university of maryland. i applied and got into my top 20 colleges. at the end of the day i just couldn’t afford them. i was devastated especially after my first visit when i hated the school. but the lack of financial aid might have been the best thing that ever happened to me. i now am in a million clubs and i have so many more opportunities than i would have had elsewhere. im on scholarship only paying for room and board. (ill be debt free which is a very nice feeling.) coming to maryland is still pretty prestigious; plenty of places recruit here (i have a whole list of places to apply for internships over the summer). im in the honors program where i get special treatment. im in a team research program where we generate our own research topics and investigate them for 3 years. and honestly it’s nice to set the curve instead of struggle at the bottom. </p>
<p>so my point is:
don’t let first impressions decide things for you
and don’t be afraid to go to a public school</p>
<p>While I am still a senior in high school, a friend from NYU who came back for Spring Break said this today to me:</p>
<p>“I wish I had joined the track team at NYU or something, because I don’t know very many people there. Doing a sport would be a really good way to meet people. All of my best high school friends I met through track.”</p>
<p>So do a sport, or an activity or something. They definitely overlap. I can even say that for myself even though I’m in high school. Although I’ve met some of my friends through simply having classes with them, a lot of my friends are fellow trackmates or science teammates.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you’re not sure what you want to major in and/or do make sure to go to a school that appeals to most, if not all, of your interests and/or hobbies. When I went to my first college I chose to be a creative writing major because it was something I was both good at and liked to do. But I realized by the end of my first semester that my real passion was in theatre (something I was already debating with before I went to school) and while I loved my school the theatre department was lacking and so I left to go somewhere that had a better theatre department. So if you’re really unsure of what you want to do go where you have lots of options and you will be happy with. Or if all else fails, go to a community college first and transfer and save a lot of money in the process!</p></li>
<li><p>Think long and hard before going to a specific school and rooming with friends from high school. People change and just because they were your best friend in high school doesn’t mean that will stay the same way when in college. It also doesn’t mean that you two are compatable roommates at all. I feel it can be a hinderance to room with a good friend because it doesn’t allow you to open up to other people. I found it’s best to room with a stranger because you both are experiencing the same things for the first time and you have eachother for support that first semester (or even year) as you slowly begin to find other friends through clubs and activities.</p></li>
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<p>Orange44, I couldn’t agree more about how it’s nice to be able to skip a class when you need to. Discussion sections are great too, but some days, you’ll be running on two hours of sleep and an hour-and-a-half long class with 10 other students is absolutely torturous. I’ve been able to get a good mix of class sizes so far, so it’s really been nice to have both the contact-with-professors and the freedom that comes with large lectures.</p>
<p>About making friends - it sounds lame, but go to all the events your school will throw over orientation. You’ll meet people like you who also want to meet friends. It’s generally not as hard as everyone says, although don’t expect to be best friends with the first few people you meet or your roommate. It takes a while to meet a group that sticks; joining clubs or playing pick-up sports definitely helps, too. Just make sure you’re doing things you’re actually interested in and you’ll be more than fine!</p>
<p>One more plug for big universities: large campuses = more job opportunities. There will likely be many more chances for research, internships, assistant jobs, etc. because there are so many more professors, departments, and options. This is not to say that you won’t get a job on a smaller campus - you just might have to beat out other people for limited positions, or work in the dining hall instead (ahem, my experience…).</p>