In 3 months I’ll be a college student.
As I am in a gap year and have nothing to do and no money to spend for summer programs I’ve decided to spend my entire summer practicing a Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto, reading all of my classical literature and studying Organic Chem + Linear Algebra. Though these tasks may seem fun, I kind of also want to learn about College Life. I want to prepare myself before I head out to sacrifice my comfort, sanity and sleep for school. I’m just looking for any guides/books or advice from graduates like yourselves for freshmen. I’ve been binge-watching youtube videos and managed to bite all of my nails due to anxiety…
Any input is appreciated!
I am not a college student, but a parent of one. I would recommend the book or YouTube videos by the same author, Malcolm Gould called College Success Guaranteed. It is a simple but powerful message. He gives five very important tips.
Get the book “How to be a Straight A Student” by Cal Newport.
The Naked Roommate by Harlan Coben. Fun and easy to read, but very true!
Rather than all these “fun” things, as soon as you have your schedule, email the professors and ask for the reading list/textbooks, so that you can hunt bargains. Some university systems list those but not all classes will have them.
Addendum: Remember that, even if it’s an email, it should b treated as you would a professional communication, so “Dear Professor X” , a short introduction, and polite salutations (My name is Hamlin ZZ and I will be a freshman in your XS100 class in the Fall. In order to acquaint myself with the material and because of financial constraints, I wish to try and buy my textbooks ahead of time. I would be most grateful if you gave me the list of required readings for your class if you already know what they are. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Hamlin ZZ).
Once you have some titles, look for the cheapest version you can find, online or in person(check out university listservs/FB pages). Be careful with the edition though (“5/e” vs. “2/e”). If you find 2/e at a seriously discounted price vs. 3/e, email the professor again with the same greetings, but ask “I found Textbook 2/e for $65, whereas Textbook 3/e costs $184, would 2/e be acceptable if I occasionally use 3/e from the library reserve’s copy for the parts that are different in each edition? Are there other solutions?”
Side note: I also read The Naked Roommate the summer before college. It’s been years since I read it, but majority of the tips end up being accurate about college life.
One tip I underestimated was seeking help. Not everyone is comfortable attending the professor’s office hours, but consider the fact the best person to ask what is going on in the class is the person instructing it. Also, there are campus resources like teaching or course assistants, tutors, and classmates.
^ this often makes the difference between a good freshman year and a bad one. going to office hours your first weeks is essential because you’ll stand out to the professor, you’ll get and then return before any test and after any test. What do you do during office hours?
- when you do your homework, highlight any problem, sentence, or passage that you struggle with. When you listen to the lecture and something doesn’t make sense, Jote down the question in your notebook’s margins. Bring that to office hours.
- before a test, List what you think are the key points/notions/concepts to know, bring your exercises illustrating these notions in your opinion. Check with the professor that you identified the right notions and good exercises, go over these.
- after the test, redo any exercise you got wrong and bring your solutions/reasoning.
College is supposed to be hard, getting help is seen as a sign of intelligence and self awareness, whereas pretending everything will right itself on its own is a sign of immaturity. As you can imagine, most freshmen fall into the second category and struggle.