<p>I will be matriculating at the University of Chicago this September. I'm starting to feel like my brain will atrophy over the summer. Do students ever study and review key material before starting college (i.e. calculus, writing, etc.)? My brain tells me that I should be prepared for college. I'm working as an intern at an asset management firm near my house, but the work is honestly pretty brainless. I also don't think my acceptance at UofC was a fluke since I also got accepted at Brown and Duke and managed to get waitlisted at Princeton and Wharton. Any current college students want to chime in and say what would be good to review before starting college? </p>
<p>My friend’s sister is also going to U of Chicago in the fall 
I actually asked her the same question and she said that she’s just going to be reading a lot!
I have always believed reading to be the best way to keep your brain up to speed. Maybe you could try that. </p>
<p>Sorry I couldn’t help much. Good luck :)</p>
<p>Something that’s getting a lot of attention among wonks is What Should We Be Worried About, edited by John Brockman. It’s a collection of essays by other wonks about the future. You might find it interesting. No doubt the Chicagoans are already reading it.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>Not sure when you register… if you know what your courses are, email professors for the ISBNs for textbooks for the class. Get a jump on your coursework for the fall. There really isn’t much more you can do.</p>
<p>whatever it is, make it pleasurable. You won’t believe how burned you’ll be after midterms. December cannot come soon enough. You don’t want to go to school already smoking.</p>
<p>definitely read widely over the summer–fiction, nonfiction, current events/issues.</p>
<p>And since you seem worried about your academic brain–maybe challenge yourself to reading for progressively longer periods of time so that you train your brain and body to be able to get through all those long and dense reading assignements.</p>
<p>Maybe work on computer proficiency if that is something you might be interested in–Excel, powerpoint, all kinds of programs that you might use in your classes, just so that you will be more efficient in getting work done and not wasting time trying to master technical aspects when you could be spending time on content.</p>
<p>start a healthy physical regiment–it will help you keep healthy at school so you don’t miss class due to illness and so that you are capable of doing your best work. So start following a healthy diet if you don’t already. Find some kind of exercise that gets those good endorphins going–it doesn’t matter what it is-- going for a walk, or a run, or doing Zumba, or lifting weights, or swimming–whatever things you might enjoy.</p>
<p>On the same note, go to your doctor before you go to school and get every single vaccination you can! it’s unbelievable the way germs spread through campuses! And talk to your doctor about how to keep healthy.</p>
<p>^^^this is excellent advice. allow me to add: as soon as the flu vaccination becomes available, which will be after you go to school, get it. colleges are breeding grounds for all kinds of nasties. </p>