Mistakes to avoid in college

<p>I've made many mistakes in college. Don't repeat them. I know the logic of the situation tells you that you are right and i am wrong. But if this post convinces only one person to make a few better decisions, then it will have been a pretty decent 30 minutes of my life spent writting this.</p>

<p>Don't double major. It doesn't look that impressive to employers. The school will tell you that it does so you give them more money for summer courses, more money for going over the credit limit each semester, and more money in filing fees when you file for 2 degrees at graduation time. An employer wants to hire you to do one thing. Maybe it is chemistry, maybe it is electrical engineering, maybe it is journalism. But please don't kill yourself in college. I have friends who double majored in Forensic Science and Chemistry or FS and Bio. It is a pointless double major. It is like buying Macintosh apples at the grocery store and saying, "Mmm, but the apple pie i'm making would be soooooooo much better if i ALSO buy granny smith apples!" What is the point? Then there are the double majors in radically unrelated fields like Chemistry and Philosophy or Art History and English. It is totally fine to have interests outside your major. But no one is going to say, "We need a chemist to run the mass spectrometer, but we would also like them to have a fine appreciation for the writtings of Kant and Mills, but it might also be nice if they understand Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Your employer wants you for one job.</p>

<p>Give yourself free time. College is hardwork. Your day shouldn't be waking up at 7am, running to classes/labs, then running to a job, then to an internship, then do 3 or 4 extra curricular activities you signed up for because you think it will make you stand out to future employers. There is never enough time to do everything you will want to do, but please pace yourself.</p>

<p>Do not cram. It doesnt work, it never works. Anyone who tells you that it works for them is lying to themselves. My roommate insists that it works for her, but it doesn't, it never has, and it isn't going to start working. This is the way memory works. You read some stuff during the day and it is stored in short term memory, and then later in long term memory. When you sleep, and you get enough RE****L sleep, you wake up refreshed and you don't even realize that your brain finished hardwiring what you learned the other day. When you cram, you only ever end up retaining the last few things you crammed before going to sleep if you are lucky. Most of the time, you wake up and don't remember any more than you did yesterday. Study a little bit every day. It adds up. I assure you this works.</p>

<p>College shouldn't be a random decision, but you don't need to have a 10 year plan written in stone either. If you don't know what you want to major in, take a bunch of different courses, including ones you think will be hard and that you cannot do. I started off as an engineering major because i thought when you graduated high school you are supposed to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. I avoided any classes i thought would suck, like chemistry, i thought i couldn't do it. I transferred to a community college and got an associates in computer networking technology. This is a useless degree, but my time was far from wasted. On a whim, i took a chemistry course. That course was THE most fun thing i had done up to that point in my life, i'm annoyed i didn't take one earlier. I transferred to a university after community college and there i majored in chemistry. I am currently a grad student in boston studying more chemistry because i love it so much.</p>

<p>You don't need to be number 1 in high school to get into a good college. Most people over value the NAME of the institution they are at. A few people like to act pretentious at professional conferences and say, "Well, at Harvard or Stamford, we do things the proper way" Going to an Ivy League or a top 20 school doesn't make you awesome. Going to ANY university, studying your field, interacting with professors and maybe doing a research project, that makes you awesome. Employers aren't stupid. They don't look at a resume and say, "Wow, this guy went to Carnagie-Mellon, he is obviously a better programmer than this guy who went to UConn." I do know a few hiring managers personally, and they all say that when they get an applicant in an interview and they ask "why should i hire you?" and the responce is "because i went to a prestigous university" they just blew the interview.</p>

<p>Community College isn't for idiots. I went to community college, it was the best thing i did for myself. Don't write it off if you don't know what you want to do with your life just yet. Consider my career path as an example. I graduated 38 or 39 out of 79 in my high school. It was a small town school that almost lost accreditaion. We were a little famous in the area for going through no less than 4 town referendums on the budget every year because the school wanted new history text books and the tax payers thought that was a stupid thing to spend money on. I followed a girl i liked to a private university, only to hate my major. I tranferred after 2 years to a community college, where i discovered that i was good at, and loved chemistry, but not until the end of an unrelated program. I tranferred to a private university which had a chemistry program that kind of sucked. Being that college is what you choose to make of it, i did very well in the program. Northeastern University in Boston accepted me into their full time PhD program for Physical and Materials Chemistry.</p>

<p>Take your time in college, don't rush through in 3 years. Everyone i know who has rushed through in 3 years is miserable now.They didn't have as much fun as they could have, they missed out on opportunities you get once in your life. One of my friends got his Bio degree in 3 years and now is the resident director at a state college. Why? He has no idea what he wants to do with his life, so he is doing the only thing he knows how to do. Be an RA. Only now, he is the boss of the RAs. I guess that makes him a super RA or something.</p>

<p>Don't drunk email your professors. I've done this. It might be a funny story to tell to your friends when you are all still immature. But really, your professor doesn't want to read some whacked out email written with the worst grammar and spelling in the world about how you figured out how if you can stretch a wormhole at the speed of light, you can make a time corridor. The only thing this does is give them ammo for the Awkward Hallway Moment if they like you as a student, or, worst case scenario, if they hate you, it goes in letters of reccomendation that you exercise poor decision making ability from time to time.</p>

<p>Don't cheat. Ever. For any reason. There is NO situation you are going to be in where it is necessary, warrented, or accepted. Being that i am a grad student, they make us teach recitation sections. I fail people who cheat. I don't take off a letter grade and play the nice game of "well, its ok, i didn't kill your grade, but don't do it again" because that sends the signal "i can cheat and the reprocussions are still a higher grade than if i actually did the work." They out and out fail the course. Don't do this. It isn't worth it. I have had one parent contact me and thank me for what i did. Apparently their daughter made a habbit of cheating through high school and every time she was caught, she would cry to get out of it, and i was the first person to make her face reality.</p>

<p>Here is the success recipie for college. Take some courses to see what you like doing. Major in that area. Work hard, but don't kill yourself. At the end of 4 years you will have a degree you are proud of and hopefully a job opportunity lined up. The rest of course, that is up to you.</p>

<p>thanks for the insight :)</p>

<p>hey, thank you for both ur posts, they are awsome!
I am still, however, interested in doing double major in music and biology just because I love both of them:)</p>

<p>Thanks for the tips, I always like reading posts like this.</p>

<p>Don't drunk email your professors. - LMAO... i had a friend in one of my classes that did this. Our professor emailed us telling us that the next lecture notes were posted online.. my drunken friend emailed him back saying "You're the best Dr. Meares!". My friend didn't even remember doing it, the only reason why he knew he did was because the professor replied "Thank You"</p>

<p>Also, I'd recommend people to go to lecture no matter how pointless they think it is. You will do better in the course if you've heard the material & professors also drop clues about things they think are important & what will be tested. If you don't go to lecture it's easy to slack off and not learn the material until it's too late.</p>

<p>Yes^, especially if you have M-F 8Am class and your roommates are nocturnal...</p>

<p>Still go though!</p>

<p>Thank you, this is quite insightful!</p>

<p>i agree with almost everything except the cramming part. I have been cramming since my freshman year in HIGH SCHOOL, and it works for me every time. But i agree that college isn't the time to start experimenting with study techniques (especially if you want a good gpa starting with ur first semester). If you have mastered the technique of cramming (kinda weird but yes there is a technique) then don't give it up in college. especially for bio and ochem classes.</p>

<p>Cramming works ok for me, too, in the short term and gradewise. After the test, however, everything I studied definitely evaporates. I do agree that it is not the way to go about studying.</p>

<p>I agree on the Community College thing. Another point to add is if you are the type that has to work instead of getting hand outs from mommy and daddy an Associates degree benefit you. Instead of waiting tables you can get a gig you like</p>

<p>I disagree on the double major thing. If you like to learn go ahead and rack up those degrees. College shouldn't be just about finding a job after college but finding what interests you.</p>

<p>Onto the University selection thing I totally agree. H.S students at least on this forum spend so much time worrying about their grades and test scores to get into the #1 college. Once your there you will honestly say to yourself it was not worth it beating yourself to death. Some kids end up unhappy thinking going to the number 1 school will make them complete in some way. It doesn't matter where you go as long as it fits you and you spend your time wisely you will go far.</p>

<p>My list:</p>

<p>DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!! I myself have huge trouble with this and because of that I am going to get a C in an easy A online class and probably a C in English. I constantly keep saying to myself DO YOUR WORK but I end up not doing it. PUSH YOURSELF TO FINISH YOUR ASSIGNMENTS!!! College is not hard but you can make it hard by not doing what you need to.</p>

<p>Choose your teachers wisely! Having a good kind teacher can make a class like Quantitative Physics seem like a piece of cake. They can give you references and let you help them out with things. That would be a great resume booster.</p>

<p>General ED is worthless CLEP out of the requirements you do not want to go through then for the next year or so take all the classes that interest you. Perhaps learn a new language, go diving, play tennis.</p>

<p>Try your best to get into honors. When I was in high school I took mostly regulars. I was told there really is no difference. Then I took an AP course and noticed students were more into the class which made things fun. Same thing for college. In regular courses sometimes its hard for the teacher to get anything out of the student especially in gen ed classes. Honors courses should be more interesting and engaging.</p>

<p>My recipe for success. Don't just graduate with a degree graduate well rounded. It sounds better to say I went to college got a degree, learned a new language, did study abroad, and volunteered rather then I went to college and got a degree.</p>

<p>Research shows that material that is learned over time is retained much longer. This is important for college since courses in your major build on each other and you will use previous concepts in later classes.</p>

<p>Thank goodness there was no email when I was in college!</p>

<p>Don't buy most of your advice. At all. Sorry.</p>

<p>Double Majoring: This allows you to have diverse career choices. Many people change job paths in life and being a double-major makes the process a lot smoother. Also, if double major in subjects that compliment each other, you're likely to benefit. IE) Double majoring in French and Finance would help someone who decides to work for a business in France. And for your information, some apple pies do require more than one type of apple. As do some of the more elite jobs as you climb the corporate ladder.</p>

<p>Free Time: College is a the start of life as an adult; if you slack off or tell yourself you should relax, chances are you'll spend your future relaxing with a poor job with few prospects. There's nothing wrong with having an active lifestyle.</p>

<p>Cramming: Works for me on some subjects like History and English...</p>

<p>Experimenting with Different Majors: Giving yourself room to grow and try new things seems tempting, but is likely to hurt you in the end. Students who establish a career plan when entering college are more likely to emerge successful. They'd have the advantage of knowing what sort of classes to take, knowing what sort of internships to take, knowing what activities to join, etc. If you're just figuring that out junior year, you'll be at an obvious disadvantage...</p>

<p>School Superiority: Still happens. Obviously, the morons who say ‘you should hire me because I went to better school’ will not get the job, but school name still carries weight.</p>

<p>Community College: Bit of a joke in my HS. Kids who go to CCs aren't smart enough for normal ones. You can't judge all CCs because your one successful experience. You could have easily discovered chemistry in a private university and could have been granted better oppertunities there.</p>

<p>Rushing Through College: What? If you're in college to 'have fun', you have a fun future ahead of you. One filled with crappy jobs, late parties, debt, and philosophizing about why your life isn’t going as you wanted it to. Honestly, if you can graduate in three years, go for it. You'll save a bunch of $ and will be able to get started on a successful career path sooner. </p>

<p>Don't drunk-email your professors: You really had to post this one didn't you? Obviously, I agree with you here...</p>

<p>Cheating: Also agree. It's bad and immoral... Try to avoid at all costs.</p>

<p>-The Drunk Coot66</p>

<p>coot66, I find some of your advice to be absolutely horrible.</p>

<p>You are saying that people should never relax and that people are not in college to have fun. </p>

<p>WRONG.</p>

<p>You should be able to relax from time to time. There is nothing wrong with not having work to do all the time. And I don't know about you, but I'm going to college to learn and have fun. It will be some of the best years of my life. Saying that people who have fun in college are the ones who end up with crappy jobs has to be one of the most ignorant things I have ever heard.</p>

<p>
[quote]
You are saying that people should never relax and that people are not in college to have fun.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Am I? Never meant anything of the sort.</p>

<p>What I meant was that people should go to college to learn. If you manage to balance work and fun, good for you. But everyone should prioritize. It'd be foolish of me to say you can't have fun and still succeed, but my comment was in respons to Argentum's point; he vilified 'rushing through college' stating you won't have as much fun. There's no reason anyone should not graduate early if they can; it'd save them money and get them started on the career path early.</p>

<p>I plan on having fun in college, make new friends, attend some parties, but most importantly, I plan on getting a job and doing well in my classes...</p>

<p>-The Right Coot66</p>

<p>Most journalism majors definitely double up. It's required at a lot of schools.</p>

<p>Oooh... coot you haven't actually been through college yet? This causes you to lose some credibility, seeing as Argentum has apparently been through it.</p>

<p>Word filters are fun. I'm guessing that the OP typed the words "R-e-s-t-f-u-l sleep" and got "caught" by the filter.</p>

<p>Could someone comment on social mistakes they made or someone they know made while in college??? Besides drinking/alcohol, can someone shed some light/offer some advice on social relationships?</p>

<p>Try to avoid falling into a Serious, long-term relationship freshman year of college! Enjoy and embrace your college years and beyond--meet new people and try not to feel "married" to someone as a freshman.</p>