What Do You Wish You'd Known About College Life Before You Started?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Yesterday I encountered a college freshman-to-be who was in the process of setting up her fall courses. She assumed that she couldn't sign up for a 10 a.m. class because she was taking a 9 a.m. class. She figured that she wouldn't have enough time to get across campus between classes. I LOL'ed because I remembered making that exact same assumption when I was choosing my courses nearly four decades ago. No one had told me that my "hour-long" 9 o'clock class would actually get out at 9:50, allowing enough time to make a class that started at 10. </p>

<p>Surely there are lots of questions that new college students may be afraid to ask for fear of sounding stupid, and there are also things that current students wish someone had told them when they began college life.</p>

<p>Any good ones to ask or share?</p>

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<p>The biggest thing that I learned that helped me the most my first year was to just constantly try to stay as positive as you can. Everyone will face academic stress, relationship woes, friendship problems, and all that stuff while in college. If you just take advantage of where you are, and look at all the options you have, you will see that there is always a silver lining. </p>

<p>Besides that, some things I wished I learned beforehand, and not during freshman year...</p>

<p>Try to go for a run or something at least twice a week (if not more). It helps relieve a lot of stress.</p>

<p>On days with huge exams or projects, set three or four alarms (just in case you lie back down, thinking you're just going to rest your eyes, and end up sleeping for another hour...)</p>

<p>Don't worry about leaving a club you're not too passionate about anymore (unless you have serious commitments).</p>

<p>If you think you can't handle the load, lighten it up! I took 18 hours my 2nd semester, and ended up dropping one of the classes a month in because it ended up being too much, resulting in a W on my transcript. Blech. It would have been smarter to just not have taken it at all, and waited for another semester to fit it in.</p>

<p>You'll probably end up waiting a lot at some point during your day. Either you're in between classes, early for class, meeting someone for lunch, eating alone, or anything where it can get really boring really fast. I recommend always bring a book, ipod, newspaper, sudoku, laptop, or whatever to use while waiting. Also, walking to class can get monotonous, so an ipod would be a good idea for that as well. </p>

<p>Oh, and one last thing, don't bring too much to the dorms. I had so much random crap that I never used (like random trinkets and way too many post-it note pads). I'm now just going to bring the essentials, and then buy stuff as I need it throughout the year.</p>

<p>That's about all I can think of for now.</p>

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<p>That's great advice, christalena2. Thanks.</p>

<p>And some of your thoughts apply to all aspects of adult life, not just college. For instance, scheduling a run (or some form of regular exercise) is important. (I once read an article on depression and how exercise can really help fight it. But the article pointed out that it's nearly impossible to start an exercise regimen when depressed. But if the regimen is already in place, it's more likely that it might continue.)</p>

<p>Also your point about having "waiting" time is another thing that is true after college. Sometimes when I have long articles, etc. that I find online or receive via e-mail, I print them out and stick them in my purse to read during random waits.</p>

<p>But ... as for your suggestion about bringing too much stuff to the dorm ... in general, I agree, but I also have decided that one can never have too many Post-Its. ;)</p>

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<p>That's very true! I guess these types of habits are learned during these years no matter what you do. (college, work, etc.)</p>

<p>As for waiting, I'll usually do sudoku before class, read a book and listen to my ipod during a lonely lunch (which happens way more than you'd think!)</p>

<p>Haha, post-its. I feel like I should use them, but I end up rarely using them. So, for me at least, I think one pad will suffice for now.</p>

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<p>The psych counselors on campus are there to help you. If you have anything you want to talk about (daily stress, relationship stuff, stuff from home, etc.) talk to them. Your tuition money already pays for them, so stop by and talk to them if anything is bothering you. It's better than keeping it to yourself.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
The psych counselors on campus are there to help you.

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</p>

<p>Good point, Venkat89. And the same goes for the academic counselors, too. Every college has some sort of academic-assistance center, and it's best to touch base there at the first signs of floundering, not when you're already deep in a hole. For instance, many first-year students aren't properly prepared to write college papers, and it can be wise to get some advice before beginning.</p>

<p>Note, however, that such tutoring centers are often staffed by a combination of professionals and students. Even though the students are usually carefully screened, sometimes the selection criteria heavily favors their academic talents and not their ability to convey their knowledge to others. (And the same can even be true of the professional staff, as well.)</p>

<p>So ... if you're assigned a tutor who doesn't seem to be clearly explaining what you need to know, give it a chance first, but--if it still doesn't work out--politely request a different match.</p>

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<p>There are many club activities floating around on-campus but not all of them are well publicized/known. Look through the college's student activity/clubs listings and to a lesser extent, facebook to find out about the whats going down ;)</p>

<p>Avoid 8, 9 AM classes (Your early high-school routine will be quickly replaced by a weekend sleep schedule)</p>

<p>Avoid 3h classes: Some classes meet fewer times every week but for longer intervals. They become way too draining.</p>

<p>Figure out grading policies early: Attendance based?, curve/no curve, grade breakdown (tests vs projects vs papers), et al</p>

<p>And finally, look into your professors beforehand! Goto ratemyprofessor and figure out how your professor really is. Better to get the lowdown early before you sign up for certain classes, especially in the intro levels.</p>

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<p>"Goto ratemyprofessor and figure out how your professor really is."</p>

<p>Word of mouth at your school is a WAY better source of information than RMP because you can evaluate who it's coming from. If you see a RMP rating about how awful and impossible this professor is, you don't know if it's really warranted, or if it actually came from some slacker who didn't want to do any work. Better to ask someone you know, like an RA or an upperclassman on your hall, where you can judge the validity of the comment based on who's giving it. </p>

<p>That said, if your professor has hundreds of similar reviews on RMP (positive or negative) it's more likely to be accurate. But don't read too much into any individual post.</p>

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<p>good thread- unfortunately ive yet to go to college so i have nothing to contribute</p>

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<p>
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unfortunately ive yet to go to college so i have nothing to contribute

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</p>

<p>But maybe you have things you're wondering about? I realize that, sometimes, questions don't come up until you're actually in a situation that will inspire them (in this case, that means being at college), but perhaps you harbor secret anxieties about what lies ahead that could be answered on this thread. </p>

<p>For instance, before I started college, in addition to not getting exactly how classes were scheduled and understanding that I could sign up for courses in consecutive time blocks, I also wondered about illness protocol ... i.e., I wasn't sure if I was expected to contact the professor afterwards if I missed a class. I was worried that, if I didn't notify the prof, it would be a strike against me, but I also thought that maybe, in college, the teachers don't take attendance and would laugh at such notification--especially if the class was really big.</p>

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<p>Can you drop a class once school has started without it being marked on your transcript (like the W for christalena2)?</p>

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<p>neomanxl,</p>

<p>Most schools allow you to drop classes in the first week with no record appearing anywhere. You get the refund for the class and it's not on the transcript or anything. That first week is called the add/drop period.</p>

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<p>The "Add/Drop" period at the start of each semester will vary in length, so it's important that each new student is aware of the specifics at his or her school. Yale, for instance, has a "Shopping Period" that lasts nearly two weeks. At other colleges it may be even longer ... or much shorter.</p>

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<p>Attend all basketball/football games!</p>

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<p>Unfortunately, it's not always that easy to schedule classes. I'll be starting college in a few weeks, so it's not like I've been through it year after year, but one thing I learned when scheduling classes is that you can't always get what you want,especially as a freshmen, and especially in science courses. Labs, at least at my school, are three hour periods, no other way to do it, and I wound up with an organic chem lab from 2-5 on FRIDAYs. I also have 9 am classes three days a week, and there was just no other way to do it.</p>

<p>Also, some schools have their own versions of ratemyprofessor, so you can check around for that before scheduling.</p>

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<p>One of the really dumb things that no one ever explained to me when I went to college was what the hoods signify, when they are worn during processions by professors or alums. Maybe nobody cares, but I wondered about it and was too embarrassed to ask.</p>

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<p>Regarding the early morning classes and sleeping schedule changes, what if I rise early on the weekends as well? I usually get up at about 5ish or so every day -- would an early morning class be good for me?</p>

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<p>One thing I wonder about is the greek stuff. Is it really all that important? And what exactly is the point of it?</p>

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<p>imho, greek is a crutch to make people feel important</p>

<p>(yeah i'm pretty anti-greek, my roomate was in one last year, and he was a pretty cool guy outside of greek life, but if he was with his greek friends or was mad at me, he'd start naming off statistics of famous greeks or how they succeed more, or saying how he was integral part of the community because he was forced to volunteer for the frat (slavery) or he'd brag over how many girls he met via greek or how drunk he got)</p>

<p>maybe others had different experience, but I just didn't care for the vibes coming out from greek life</p>

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<p>Regarding early morning classes: I tend to think that's a case-by-case thing. If you're the kind of person who likes getting up early and you think that you can get to class every morning at 8:30, do it. However, if there's a good chance you're going to get burned out and start skipping... don't.</p>