<p>Any suggestions for International students?</p>
<p>Re: the flipflops in the shower–not just in the dorm room. DO NOT forget this. My husband contracted athlete’s foot in a gym shower in college (an Ivy League FWIW. Hard to believe, I know 
) and it still recurs periodically 30 years later.</p>
<p>Great advice and I am making mental notes about which piece of advice will be most helpful for which of my three kids. My oldest daughter is a very picky eater, so food issues will be very important. </p>
<p>I can personally attest to the difficulty in getting certain classes. I was in a small major (admitted about 25 students per year) in a large university (20,000+). I earned 36 CLEP hours (boy, those were the days!). Having the extra hours was the only way I was able to get into many of the essential classes to be able to graduate on time.</p>
<p>Gosh, I’m glad you posted, missypie. I was sure I killed a very useful thread by ranting about fungus!</p>
<p>I think this is great advice. However, I actually overestimated the importance of the attractiveness of the campus. I went to CU in Boulder because of the mountains, but I wasn’t challenged academically and probably would have excelled in a more rigorous program. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Why the importance of shower shoes??? Shouldn’t they apply only if you have communal baths???</p>
<p>^Most dorms in most universities have communal showers and like everyone else I strongly encourage you to wear shower shoes and to NEVER EVER go into the bathroom (especially guys) barefoot.</p>
<p>Also some tips:
1-Learn to say you’re going to sleep when you are even if there’s a group of people chilling in your room. Trust me this is vital if you ever want to go to sleep and especially if you live in the ‘hangout’ room (ie the room everyone goes to to hang out)
2-College is tough. I know this is obvious but trust me sometimes you can get so cocky that you underestimate the difficulty of college. This is especially true if you go to a school that has the quarter system. Let me tell you time flies by fast! My god one day its the first week of school and before you know it its finals!
3-You’re not the best thing since sliced bread here. Seriously. That said you’re NOT the dumbest person in your class either. I have friends who had that problem. You can do really well in college.
4-Join organizations that you’re passionate about. This can be very rewarding and oftentimes you become good friends with the others in the group.</p>
<p>Wow, you guys sure come up with some good advices.</p>
<p>A little advice in making friends: depending on what kind of friends you’re looking for you can do one or more of the following:
- Orientations, attend both local and international student orientations. Spending a few days hanging out with newbies can actually build up friendship faster than you think.
- Being an international student myself I can tell you that many of us are either scared to talk to Americans (having terrible English etc…) or just here to study and socialize with their own..umm.. fellow foreigners. If the former is the case, be the one with the initiative.
- Leave your room open (also mentioned previously on this thread), people will notice that you actually exist and most of the time conversation just flows in.
- Join groups, clubs on whatever you like. Spending time with other members adds more friends.
- This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but come to parties. It doesnt matter if you drink or not, there are loads of sensible parties where they dont even drink much. </p>
<p>Warning: the flip-flops advice is to be taken VERY seriously. Trust me dorm kids, you dont wanna be in there without one (at least maybe not until you spot people with athlete’s foot or drunk students vomitting all over the bathroom). And they don’t always clean it as often as they want you to believe.</p>
<p>Dorms are hazardous to your health: relationship drama is the NORM. Kids with hormones. Kids who cant handle freedom. Insensitive kids. Pigs. Irresponsible kids. Try and get some sleep whenever you can..naps etc. Study in the LIBRARY! Get away from PEOPLE for a two hour time slot to study if you can, daily…so you can focus and get some relief from noise, distractions and irritating people.</p>
<p>Stay focused on your goals and learn to say “NO!” to people.</p>
<p>I am not suggesting being a nerd or anti social geek. To the contrary, there is a place for socializing and making friends. But learn to compartmentalize your life, set a schedule and stick to it. </p>
<p>DONT BE IN A HURRY to find a boyfriend or girlfriend. Frankly, being “single” is really a better choice for at least six months…and by single I dont mean playing the field and fooling around…I mean NOT INVOLVED with anyone on a personal or intimate level. Make friends without being “involved.”</p>
<p>Dont be one of those annoying “complainers” and “cynics” who endlessly complain about the food, dorm stuff, or rules and regs, or professors…or other students. Be a POSITIVE influence upon people…GOOD KARMA so to speak. Nobody likes a complainer. And be flexible…but also have clear rules. If your roomate wants you to leave for the evening so they can “hook up” with their boyfriend or girlfriend…learn to say, “Hey guys…how about finding somewhere else to hook up?” Its YOUR room too.</p>
<p>And if you get the roomate from hell…chances are they will blow out in six months anyway…flunk out, or have other personal issues…so just do your best to get along and then spend your time elsewhere. If its really serious, ask the resident directors to get involved and make a change or to discipline the offenders. Drug abuse should NEVER be tolerated because it can affect YOU in ways you cannot possibly imagine: legal trouble, reputation, health issues.</p>
<p>Most problems in college are NOT related to classrooms or profs. Not even the food. Most problems are related to dorm life.</p>
<p>Hey what if you are one of those persons that is single and is hated by people at the school. (b/c you are influential). so then you cause others to not to go prom and dances and stuff?? Then school admin. hates you so much. what do you do in that situation, b/c that is what I am in at HS</p>
<p>xtra, though I’m sorry you’re hated by school life (not that I quite understand your dilemma), does that have anything to do with this thread? </p>
<p>though, um, from hearsay…</p>
<p>number one zillion- Do not presume or expect that the administration will be open or helpful. Some colleges are amazing about this. Some colleges make the Kremlin look transparent. If your school is more like the latter, find an upperclassman who knows how to work the system and use this to your advantage. Don’t think that the admins can read your mind or remember what you told them- be annoying (well, reasonably), make sure you make yourself clear!</p>
<p>lol i was saying thinking the same thing (about xtra)</p>
<p>my question is, if you get a recommendation from the dean of admission, will that be weighted upon in favor when you apply for grad school?</p>
<p>these advises are great! i havent even finished highschool, but i could totally see myself using them.</p>
<p>Superwizard,
I second the 1st advice.
My room was the hangout room in my dorm (whenever I was there, of course), so I made a few rules myslef:
-When I say I’m tired and need some rest, EVERYBODY leaves.
-If you mess it up, you clean it up. You dont wanna clean up after other people’s mess, believe me.</p>
<p>It’s ok to set up some rules yourself, its your room afterall, and most people usually respect them.</p>
<p>xtra, I’m sorry that kind of thing happens in your life, since I’ve been in similar condition (except for the making others avoid you and skip prom part), though like the others I dont really understand the connection w/ this thread…</p>
<p>Roomate-wise:</p>
<p>Try not to room with your best friend. You’re bound to get on each other’s nerves. And in the end, it’s better to be enemy with someone you don’t care as much about as losing your best friend.</p>
<p>Soo true… I’ve seen friendships broken just because they live in the same room. Exactly why I always go for single room. Besides, I consider my room my only real private space on campus, so roomate’s not an option.</p>
<p>I wish that I had known of CC</p>
<p>Quote: “3. Small colleges often advertise their small courses and one-on-one contact with the professors. My university is small, and we do get excellent contact with the professors, but there’s one thing I didn’t realize - going to a small school (especially a private one with a limited endowment) means that classes are not offered as much as they would be elsewhere. There is often only one section or one professor teaching a course, and many courses are only offered every other year or once every three years. It really makes it hard to choose the best possible schedule when the course offerings are limited, so if flexibility is really important to you, be aware that bigger universities may be able to offer many more class times and options.”</p>
<p>Response: This is generally good advice,but there are two major exceptions to this rule:
- Some small schools participate in consortiums where you can easily take courses in other nearby schools. This greatly expands your options.
- Some small schools are specialty schools. For example, Bentley and Babson are specialty schools in buisness,which probably provide MORE choices in business as that of larger universities. Specialty schools, such as art schools, business schools, engineering and science schools, usually are an exception to the “Limited course offering rule” found in small schools.</p>
<p>Here’s my advice:</p>
<p>1) Don’t be afraid that if you join X sport, Y intramural, or Z club, it will cut into your study time. If anything, joining another organization will help you manage your time better since you will have to stay on top of your schedule to do well.</p>
<p>2) Just because you didn’t drink or party in high school, don’t be afraid to in college. Of course, don’t get too caught up with it, but you don’t have to stay holed up in your room to keep good grades.</p>
<p>3) Rush even if you are unsure of whether or not you want to join a fraternity or sorority. Even if you don’t join, you will meet tons of new people. And if you do join, it will be one of the most amazing experiences of your life. Pledging can be time-consuming, but the bonds built with pledge brothers or sisters will be unbreakable.</p>
<p>I have a pretty good profile to give advice. I go to a top private, dual major, high GPA (3.7+), active in Greek life/drinking, and am involved in a lot of activities, and I have a pretty slothy lifestyle (lazy, skip classes, end up cramming a lot) which is why I developed a lot of ways to keep myself doing well in school. I ended up doing pretty well in school and got good internships/job, which is the goal of school, right?</p>
<p>ACADEMICALLY:</p>
<ul>
<li>Figure out which classes you can skip. You DO NOT have to go to all of your classes, some lectures are completely useless. You will save a lot of time by skipping unimportant classes.</li>
<li>Inflate your GPA - take at least one really easy class a semester, maybe more. Only take one class that is terribly difficult. Only take one class a semester that is a small seminar. </li>
<li>Make a weekly schedule. Have a SET TIME for meals each day of the week. For example, I usually start classes at 1, then another at 4. I eat at 12, 3, 6, 9, midnight every day to keep my energy up.</li>
</ul>
<p>EXTRACURRICULARLY</p>
<ul>
<li>Get involved in a new activity every year. Do it really well. Spend time and build a social network within your activity, and if you don’t get a leadership role, focus on another activity the next year.
For me, freshmen year I wrote for the paper, and became an editor as a sophomore. As a sophomore, I worked on a for-profit student operated business, and did less paper stuff. As a junior, I became social chair/prez of my fraternity. As a senior, do whatever and relax.</li>
<li>Focus on getting good summer or on-campus internships. Start your internship search in the fall, and keep your options open. A good internship during the summer is as good as a high GPA.</li>
<li>If you pledge a fraternity: Don’t try to be the best pledge in the very beginning. It will end up that you have the most responsibilities in your pledge class, which sucks. </li>
</ul>
<p>SOCIALLY/DRINKING</p>
<ul>
<li>Don’t drink on school nights unless you have 8 hours set aside for rest. Doing anything hungover is terrible. </li>
<li>If people are doing drugs around you, and if you choose to partake, do it responsibly. I’ve seen a lot of kids end up becoming stoners and they perform poorly academically. </li>
<li>FOOD! Find good places to eat early on. Make sure you keep up energy.</li>
</ul>
<p>Its ALOT easier to LOSE weight than gain it at Duke (where I go). Figure out a regular meal plan, and try to keep calorie intake high. Get Whey Protein, Milk, healthy cookies, cereal for your room to keep yourself nourished.</p>
<p>Start the day with food! A small meal is INFINITELY better than no food, and gives you energy that gets you through the day.</p>
<p>Most important themes of college - balance time! focus on your resume! food!</p>