<p>Thought we should get this started, things that people should know before going to college. I read this from a brochure, and it sounded good…im not in college yet(fall 2005) but i thought i would help everyone else out who is going to go to college soon…</p>
<li><p>It actually is very easy to make friends in college. Most people are in the same boat-they are new to the place, dont really have any friends there, and want to make some.</p></li>
<li><p>Studying for college tests is ALOT different than studying for HS tests. If you got straight As easily in HS, dont expect for the same to happen in college. Tests are going to be ALOT harder, and you WILL have to study for them.</p></li>
<li><p>If you expect to be one of the smartest in your class, think again, because you will also be surrounded by staight A , 1500 SAT students who were in the top of their class. You just might have to pull many all nighters just to stay in the middle of the pack.</p></li>
<li><p>Being babied is not going to happen. You will have to manage your own time, motivate yourself, and study without anyone telling you to.
(for all you people that dont. like me. :-))</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Since this is a parents' forum, I guess we'll have to rely on reincarnation to judge its usefulness. Anyone else notice the ratio of kids to parents here is increasingly lately?</p>
<p>After talking with my D and her friends, who started at a LAC last August, I'd add one item.</p>
<p>You WILL have issues with your room mate, particularly if you are both used to having your own room at home. Most aren't serious, but you will have to negotiate a lot of things thay simply didn't come up at home, so brush up on your negotiation skills before you go.</p>
<p>These points are valid only for a good student entering
a selective college.</p>
<p>My D, who was straight-A and valedictorian of her average
high school finds her competitive college very challenging;
studies twice as much as when she was at high
school; already has bunch of very close friends; enjoys
college immensely.</p>
<p>My friend's son who was on bottom 25% of high school
goes to a weak state college (not flagship); has classes
only on Tues, Wed, Thurs; has nothing to study; spends
4days of every week at home; so far gets As; but
has no friends in college and hates college.</p>
<p>Time management: Initially there is much more time to be managed than you are accustomed to have in high school. There are fewer class hours, much less "waste" time (with things like announcements, lunch money, pep rallies, fundraising, outside testing), but much more outside homework. The day stretches endlessly, but all of a sudden it is evening with a hundred fun, non-study things to do. After the first few weeks, you begin involvement in activities that take up more and more of what at first seemed like abundant free time. For some people studying in your bedroom or always studying with friends, is quite helpful, for others it is non-productive.
One of the best pieces of advice I read was from a young man who went back to college full time after working fulltime for a couple of years. His advice was treat college like a job, put in a full 8 hour work day, resist the temptation to stay up until 3am, and sleep in until 11, unless you can put yourself on that 8 hour shift. If you need to do a study group outside your "shift", give yourself comp time, but be sure study group is productive. If you get finished early, you get to "leave work" early. You have enough opportunities to blow off work, at least try to have a regular schedule work time, sleep time, even if it seems somewhat artificial.
Good advice if you have the discipline to follow (I never did, but I was a master of the crammer's art;))</p>
<p>ok here's some of my ignorance: does it matter what grade you get in college as long as you get the degree? I mean, as long as you maintain something above a D, shouldn't you be fine?? After all, if you go to an elite school, the degree is what matters, right? Maybe not. Give your thoughts.</p>
<p>Your grades certainly can matter in college. They are very important for getting into professional schools for law, medicine, business. For grad school, the gpa may not be as important, but you had better show a good track record and interest in the field you want to study. Also many employers want to see the college transcript, particularly in the larger companies. Heck, some even want to see SAT1s!</p>
<p>I am really out of the loop as far as what employers are looking for in college grads but I do think just the fact that one has graduated speaks of a certain level of responsibility and "stick-to-it-ive-ness" which should serve one well in the working world.</p>
<p>It's true that merely getting a degree opens a few doors, but not all. Most employers will want to know your grades for that first job. When I graduated from U of Mich's business school (admittedly 20 years ago, so I don't know if it still happens) some employers didn't want to talk with anyone who wasn't in the top ten percent of the class.</p>
<p>Humm.........I wish I had known I would change my major!<br>
Although some kids come into college with a grand plan or serious idea as to what they want for their future, this may just go up in a puff of smoke immediately or within the first year! So, kids should be prepared to deal with change.Those kids who can adjust to change easily have a better chance of succeeding.</p>
<p>And to add, I wish I had known that education was the priority! Don't laugh, I was doing goofy things like arranging my classes for Tues. and Thurs. so I could work a full day MWF's. It's better to take the best classes with the best teachers rather than meet some self- imposed schedule.</p>
<p>Regarding grades, they do matter. Many of the top firms that recruit at colleges won't even consider you if you don't have a 3.7 or 3.5 GPA. Other firms are less picky, but everyone will take a look at your transcripts, and I've seen many students with GPAs under a 3.0 having a very hard time finding a job.</p>
<p>Grades matter a lot. They count toward Phi Beta Kappa (something I didn't know about until the beginning of senior year, and which I just missed by a hair :( ), which is really something worth having; they count toward fellowships; they count toward grad school for sure. I wouldn't advocate working just for grades, but I do advocate working hard, because that is how you learn the material in a way that lasts forever. I have significantly more retention of the information I learned in the classes in which I worked hard--art history and French, primarily--than in those where I coasted (e.g., economics). If I had to do it all over again, I would work harder. However, to some extent I was probably burned out from working so hard in high school, and also I was coming to a large university from a very small girls' school and the social adjustment was pretty significant. This is one of the reasons I decided that my girls should go to a larger suburban public high school and get that learning curve out of the way.</p>
<p>I wish my family and I knew more about finding the right "fit". I also wish I had followed my major passion -- reading -- instead of a minor one -- foreign languages -- in which job opportunities were limited at the time. I went to a medium sized public university which was not particularly nurturing. I studied (and partied) hard and earned top grades. But I was fearful to take academic risks -- more advanced courses, courses with discussions, leading the class upon teacher's request when teacher out of town. It all worked fine in the end and with grad school but I feel I was too immature to take advantage of all the undergrad educational opportunities at my school.</p>
<p>Ah Ha! I found the article! Now I can post some more!</p>
<ol>
<li>Buying used books rather than new ones save you ALOT of money</li>
<li>Learning to live w/a roomie can be quite difficult if you dont compromise, but can also be quite easy if you do!</li>
<li>You don't have to try to fit in at college-its a lot different from high school. You don't have to worry about what people think about you because chances are, they won't really be thinking about you much.
4.You have to be a lot more disciplined about taking good notes and organizing your work</li>
<li>Bringing a bunch of clear plastic storage containers of different sizes and shapes and really help you organize your dorm room, keep it clean, and keep your stuff out of other people's ways.</li>
<li>Dirty dishes and dirty laundry accumulate quickly, and can create quite the stench!</li>
<li>You have to deal with having no privacy 24/7</li>
<li>If you get sick, you won't have mom or dad to take care of you. Learn ahead what to do when you ARE sick.</li>
<li>There pretty much will be competition for everything, including the showers!</li>
<li>Just because there is no curfew doesn't mean that you should stay up late every night.</li>
<li>It is easy to be distracted, and one of the hardest lessons will be to manage your time and plan ahead</li>
<li>If you have problems with your roomie, talk to him/her instead of complaining to other people</li>
<li>If you procrastinate too much, you just might not like the consequences...</li>
<li>Don't judge people on first impressions or even second; people come from diverse backrounds and cultures, some of them very different than yours</li>
<li>No one is responsible for you but you!</li>
<li>The "Freshman 15" is not just a myth</li>
</ol>