College students, what's some advice for a rising freshman?

Well, it’s never a bad idea to check RateMyProfessors.com to see what others have said about teachers and classes.

That said, take it with a grain of salt.

Meet with your advisor right away, if you haven’t already. Make sure you know what classes you’ll need to graduate, and how long that will take you.

It’s okay if you change your major 50 times. Most college students do. (Actually, it’s more like 7, but still.)

If you can manage without a job, that would be best (until you get situated—so maybe spring semester). If not, go for a job that will work around your schedule—not just classes, but also tests and papers. Working on campus is a good idea.

Meal plans are a good idea for freshman, unless you choose to live off campus. (The dorms don’t have much in the way of cooking facilities.) A small fridge, microwave, electric kettle (for tea, ramen, hot soup, etc.) and some basic food will get you by nicely.

If you will have a mini-fridge, it’s not a bad idea to beg leftovers from relatives. Then, you’re not eating cereal all the time!

Make sure that you eat healthy, too. Usually, on-campus convenience stores (and regular supermarkets) will have produce on sale. Bananas keep well, as do apples and oranges.

Don’t overlook yogurt and/or applesauce. One of my favorite snacks while on campus was a packet of instant oatmeal (apple cinnamon) with either plain/vanilla yogurt or applesauce. Quick and filling. Granola could play a similar role.

Good luck! Freshman year is the hardest, but if you can get past it, the remaining years aren’t so bad.

This is your chance to be yourself and to grow so please do not waste it.

When you find out your roommate(s) if you have any, make sure to communicate clearly with them. My roommate is foreign, and I didn’t do a very good job of communicating with him before we got to college, so we ended up both bringing some things that we only needed one of.
Also, if you like to sleep late, start your schedule late. The only reason that I am still up at this time (2:30 AM) is because I don’t have early classes.

Making new friends – Be yourself, be accepting and open minded, be willing to learn about new cultures, smile.

Classes – Go to class as much as possible. I know everyone doesn’t learn from going to class or that some professors are just impossible. But classes do help both socially and academically. In addition, repetition is key to learning. Things go slow especially freshman year – keep up with whats going on (you won’t need no more than 3 hours/day) and you’ll have no problem in college at all.

Professors – Check out @evegrimm‘s link. Go visit them during office hours. SERIOUSLY. Few people do so. They have to be there at that time anyway. They often give away test Qs or guide you towards them. Plus, if you see them once before every test, they’ll definitely remember you and that’s important for recommendations.

Dorms – If you are going to engage in illegal activity, don’t be stupid. Do it outside campus.

Roommates – Set ground rules. Respect each other’s privacy and confidentiality. Communicate.

Jobs – You can find many on campus jobs that get you work study money with minimal work and plenty of study time – always a great idea! Remember to not take on more than you can handle and to lessen your hours right away if you feel like it is affecting your education.

A few words about the “this is your time to have fun” quote that you’ll get from a lot of people – College is a great period to explore different things. Doesn’t mean you feel the need to party and get drunk every night. Don’t be prude and stay in your room 24/7 either. Strike a good balance. Remember, everything in moderation.

Good luck!

Agreeing to all the above, id like to add…
Stay away from alcohol and parties, it could kill you and your motivation, im not saying not to go and have fun but make sure you stay in control over them, they can be misleading…

Mac & cheese are easy to make in a microwave

bring shower shoes, a caddy and a robe or something to keep you covered in the hallway

always be aware of your surroundings, “You’re not in Kansas anymore.”. It’s easy to feel overly safe on campus but use common sense. Stay in well lit areas, travel in pairs, etc…

Clean up after yourself. Don’t leave food around.

Remember to take time for youself to relax & recharge. Try your best to sleep.

Bring quarters for laundry.

Becareful with your $$. It’s easy to blow through money at the bars and on pizza. Also be aware of all the credit card offers you will get. These co. try to Take advantage & give students high interest rates but make it seem so easy.

Good luck. Have lots of fun. Meet tons of new people.

Hot pots (do they still make those?) are the bomb. They’re probably still cheap.

Invest in a good pair of flip-flops and terry robe. If you’ll be in a res hall, you’ll want to protect your feet from every over person’s germs on the shower floor. And it gets cold in those halls on winter mornings!

Get enough rest and exercise. I took a gym class every semester. If you don’t do that, at least go to the gym or take a brisk walk for 45 minutes every day. Make this a habit! so the dreaded Frosh 15 doesn’t creep up on you. Res halls serve cheap, starchy food in the caf, and they’re no good for you.

Get involved with a committee. It looks good on the resume when you leave, plus, it can be a useful way to network and “test out” aspects of working with others and other tasks that you’ll encounter later in the work world.

When you play with whomever you like to play with, be mindful of them as people and don’t jerk them around or tell them you’ll do things you have no intention of doing, i.e. if you’re just in it for the one time, don’t let them think you’re interested in something more. That’s not nice. Give them a chance to figure out if they’re OK with just playing. And be safe; use protection.

Oh, and to 2nd @kellylet, watch out for those credit card offers! Those companies started doing that in my freshman year, and if you don’t really know how to handle money, they can mess you up good and early. You don’t want to leave college with credit card debt as well as student loans. Just stay on your parents’ account if that’s feasible.

-Be flexible. Mentally. Physically too if you want but I don’t think it will help you here really. You’re probably not going to get every class you want. The classes you do get are probably not going to be what you expected. You major is probably going to be constantly changing. I went from a computer science major, to a creative media major, to an art major, to an english major, to an undecided major.

-Get your core requirements done first. Maybe dab into the fields your interested in. You want to give yourself as much time as possible before etching your major in stone.

-Remember that college is a war. There’s some battles (classes) that you might lose (fail.) Others you might retreat (withdraw) from when you see a lost in the future. The object is to win the war.

-Make friends! Schools are the easiest place to makes friends. Take advantage of that. Try to make at least one friend in each of your classes so you have someone to turn to if you need some last minute help. Study sessions are great. I also suggest clubs, or hanging out at your campus pool hall (if you have one. I do.)

-Pick smaller classes if you can. Smaller the class, more bonding there is. Better chances of forming friendships, more help from your prof. since they have a better chance of remembering you, there’s less pressure on you if you want to ask a question or just add input, and you’re less inclined to sit all the way in the back of the room and mess around on your iPhone (Me. 60+ student lecture class. I got a C.)

-Get an on-campus job, if you need a job. You’ll have an easier time getting one of these being a student and they tend to have slightly more flexible schedules to mold around your classes.

-Show some school spirit! Even if you don’t like football, going to games can be a lot of fun as long as you got people to go with.

-Prioritize. You had little to no sleep last night, you have a lecture class from 6–7 and an english class or something from 7–8. It’s probably better to sleep until 6:50 or something, get the notes later from a classmate, and be awake in your english class rather than going to both and barely being able to function. You’d probably fall asleep in your lecture class anyway.

-Get a good night sleep! Don’t put yourself in the situation above if possible.

-This one may sound terrible, but fake, or emphasis on some stress in your life. I actually had some real issues at the start of my semester that put me in therapy. I told my English professor, because I missed her class for therapy one day, of it and she’s been rather easy on me ever since.

-Know what the Hell is going on at your school. Read the school paper, read bulletin boards, the works. Especially with the economy these days. My college is going through a bunch of budget cuts. Eesh.

-Most importantly, relax. College is like one of those Chinese finger traps. You freak out about it, you’ll only worsen your situation. You chill out and relax, you’ll be free. Not the best analolgy, but you get the point.

I apologize if any of this is unreadable. It’s like 4am here. I got class at 6. Waitaminute…

ALWAYS do your homework. You’re paying for it this go-round, so make it worth the cost.

For classes, always try to get a head start on your homework. Especially when it’s the beginning of the semester and you feel like slacking off because there’s so little work to do. That attitude tends to stick with you even when your workload increases. Leaving your work for the last minute will result in sleepless nights, substandard work and a lot of unnecessary stress.

Get to know your professors if possible. That way, they’ll be likely to be understanding and forgiving if you need a little help. Go to office hours if you don’t understand homework, and if you miss classes, e-mail your professor and explain why. Talking to professors can be intimidating at times, but really, they’re people too. And most of them are cool.

Resist the urge to get takeout. Campus food isn’t always the best (you may have some unpleasant digestive problems for a while until your body gets used to the food) but if you’re already paying for a meal plan, take advantage of it. Food is super expensive and you can easily blow your cash on it.

Freshmen tend to cling on to the first friends they make. I don’t want to sound cynical, but don’t expect your all of first college friendships to last. Try to find people who you genuinely like to spend time with, people who share your interests, et cetera. The friends you make in college should be people you want to keep having contact with even after you graduate.

Don’t be best friends with your roommate: it almost always ends in disaster (happened for me, anyway). The best relationship should be like one with a sibling: You can get along and chill out sometimes, but at the same time respecting each other’s space and not spending every minute with each other. Trust me on this.

For goodness sake, go to class. Partying is fine, but not a necessary part of college. You’re spending thousands of dollars to get an education, and if you spend all your time partying you’re wasting your (or your parents’) money.

If you get overwhelmed, seek out help! If you’re going to a large university there will be more responsibility on you to get help for yourself. Usually their health services and such are very good, but it’s up to you to seek it out. It’s better than floundering around in your stress and getting behind in your classes.

College is what you make of it. Really. Just do your best to make it a good experience.

Sorry I have more to say…

Do internships if you can. It’s a great way to try on jobs before spending a fortune working toward something you hate.

Also it may have been helpful if while in school I looked at the jobs available before I commited.

Take advantage of discounted publications- trade magazines & WSJ.

Pat attention in economics & accounting. It’s good for real life not just school.

Study abroad if you get the chance! Travel go every where they will let you. – even some internships let you go to new places

Make use of your resources. Seriously.
Find out where the academic advisors are and get one. Find out where tutoring is. Where other support services are. You may never suspect when you’ll need them.

Get involved. Getting involved in a campus club of any type will help you make friends, get support, learn resources, better manage your time, and just have a more fun experience.

@kellylet ; I do plan to spend my sophomore year in Spain. ^^

@troubleinharlem Que Bueno! Spain is great. Where are you going to school?

@kellylet ; well, I’m accepted into NYU and a few others, but in Spain I’ll be in the Valencian area. I love it there.