The duration of time that falls in between the “immature teenager phase” and the “adulting for the rest of my life phase” just so happens to be your collegiate years. Yes, this means that you will finally be in college. You have worked day in and day out to get to this milestone in life, so it is important to make the most of your young adulthood years. A lot of people will tell you the basic do’s and don't’s for your freshman year of college, but trust me when I say that there is plenty more to it. As my sophomore year is approaching, I thought that it would be appropriate to relay some helpful advice to those who are preparing to embark on this new journey of a lifetime.

1. Spend your first year on campus living in a residence hall.

Residence halls are different on every campus, as they come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them might even feature more accommodations and amenities than others. For example, if you attend school in the midwest region of the United States like I do, air conditioning might not be a necessity, especially during the winter. These rooms typically tend to cost more money, and you will only make use of the air conditioning from September to October, and from April to May, unless you end up living in the dorms over the summer. If you need air conditioning in your room for medical reasons, such as allergies or migraines, you should consult the university’s housing department to determine whether or not you can turn in a signed medical note to get the air conditioning installed. A simple alternative to this is purchasing a fan or two. Another important piece of information is that living in a residence hall will often give you discounts at dining halls. Although the food might not always be top-notch, the discounts are wonderful because you can purchase all the food that you need without feeling too guilty about the price. Lastly, I highly recommend living in a residence hall that is co-ed. It is important to live in an environment like this because it will help you form friendships and relationships easier than living in a same-sex residence hall. I was lucky enough to live in a residence hall with alternating gender floors. It was an awesome set up because us girls were able to have more privacy and not live on a smelly floor full of guys, but we were still able to share common areas with them, such as lounges, the dining hall, and study rooms.

2. Discuss your dorm room items with your roommate in advance.

This is an extremely important thing to do when first talking to your roommate. It is essential that each person is able to bring all the items that they need for their personal use. Each person should have two or three designated areas of the room, which are usually their bed, their desk, and their closet. Aside from that, it is necessary to compromise with your roommate about what items will be shared in the common areas of your room. These items are typically like the television, refrigerator, microwave, futon and additional shelving units. There is no need to accidentally show up with two microwaves and two Keurig coffee machines on move-in day, so it is better to avoid this by all means and thoroughly discuss the packing lists with your roommate. The only other recommendation that I have is to evenly split up the cost and the size of the items. Although my freshman year roommate and I split the cost on the items that we bought, we did not necessarily think about the size of the items we each selected to pack into our cars on move-in day. To sum it up, avoid bringing more than of the big, bulkier items, as they take up a lot of space in the car that could be used for other items.

3. Take morning classes and group your classes together in bulk.

Taking all of your classes back to back with enough time in between to walk from one building to another will be your best bet. Once you are up, it is nice to have your classes in bulk because you will not even have the option of taking a nap. If you do not want them all one after another, then you should schedule it with two courses, a lunch break, and the remainder of courses for that day. Somedays might have more classes than others, and sometimes you simply cannot control that. By scheduling morning classes, you have more free time in the afternoon and evening to get assignments done, clean your dorm room, or make plans with your friends. Waking up early and getting in that daily routine will allow you to make the most of the time you have each day by being more productive.

4. Get familiar with the campus.

After you are done moving in, make use of the extra time that you have before classes officially start. You should either print out a copy of your semester course schedule or take a screenshot of it on your cell phone so you can bring it with you on the go. Using this, you will be able to physically find the buildings and what rooms that you need to go to on the first day of class. By doing this in advance, you will not be as nervous or stressed with all the chaos of trying to find class while weaving in and out of groups of people doing the same exact thing you are doing. Aside from classes, you should also get familiar with where the libraries, workout facilities, dining halls, cafés, bookstores and other residence halls are. It is nice to know where these places are located because you will eventually need to go them. By getting familiar ahead of time, campus will then begin to feel more comfortable to you.

5. Take advantage of all the free stuff on campus.

Whether it is called “Welcome Week,” “Syllabus Week,” or something else, this is one of the best times of the year. All around campus, there will be different student organizations handing out free items or food, and there will also be some fun events to attend. Do not be afraid of looking weird for taking the free stuff, because I assure you that the word “free” is the best word to hear or read. So, go ahead! Take the free t-shirts, water bottles, donuts, slices of pizza, coffee, coupons, stickers, and buttons. You will regret it if you don’t!

6. Check your alarms every night prior to falling asleep.

This one is so relevant, especially as a college student because you cannot rely on your parents waking you up anymore. Basically, you are in control of what time you set your alarms to wake up, and if those alarms actually wake you up in the first place. I am the type of person that liked having all of my classes begin at the same time everyday, so I would wake up at the same time every day. I highly recommend doing this because this became very routine for me, and it helped a lot to have that element of my day as consistent as can be. The only thing you have to remember is to physically turn the alarms on and make sure the volume is up enough so you can hear it. The last thing you want is your roommate throwing a pillow at you because it is going off for 5+ minutes, or sleeping through the alarm and missing your classes. I would even recommend practicing your sleep schedule at least a week in advance to moving in so you are used to waking up at that time, to the point that it just becomes natural.

7. Find a part-time job on campus.

Who doesn’t love a little bit of extra spending money? Even if you are working only 7-10 hours per week, like I did, there is nothing that makes your day better than receiving a paycheck. This extra money is nice to have in case you need to pick up something from a convenience store, run some shopping errands with a friend or two, or if you decide to grab a cup of coffee before your 8am lecture. Having a part-time job allows you to make friends, improve your social skills and it teaches you how to balance a busier schedule. Plus, it looks great on your resume when you are applying for future jobs, internships, or graduate school. It is totally worth it!

8. Create separate folders or binders for each class.

I am a super organized person, so I really recommend doing this if you want to stay organized. Purchasing colored notebooks, matching colored folders, and writing the name of the course on them will allow you to make sure all of your notes and handouts are in the same place. I typically associate certain colors to certain subjects (ex. Blue = Science, Red = Math, Green = English), but I have been doing this since middle school, so I figured that there was no point in breaking a habit that does not need to be broken. Although some people choose to do something different, I am a firm believer that this really helps me stay organized and that it will help you, too.

9. Utilize your professor and teaching assistant’s office hours.

This is one piece of advice that I wish I would have received going into my freshman year of college. I did not understand how important this was until the end of the year. I recommend keeping all of your syllabuses and important contact information either written down in the front of your notebook or printed out and put into your folder so you will always have easy access to the times and locations of the office hours. Most of my questions and concerns were easily answered through email, but I truly think it is more beneficial to establish a relationship with your professor and TA. Although they might come off as super intimidating, their number one goal is to help students learn. Most professors and TA’s are willing to help you whenever you need it, but it is up to you if you decide to utilize them as a resource or not.

10. Write down every assignment and due date.

Invest in a planner. You can write reminders for literally everything, some of which include:

• Assignment deadlines
• Exam dates
• Work shifts
• Birthdays
• Campus Events
• Extracurricular meetings

It will be one of the best purchases you will make before starting classes, I guarantee you.

11. Meet regularly with your advisor.

I recommend that you meet your advisor at the beginning of your first semester so you can talk to them in person and get to know them better. Once you meet with them, make sure you have their contact information and details about how to schedule further appointments. Whether you think you know what your major is or if you are undecided, it is best to talk with your advisor about what interests you and the areas you excel in, along with what does not interest you and the areas you typically struggle in. Giving your advisor some ideas as to what possible career paths are potentially in your future will allow them to guide you through the process. They are also there to listen to any of your problems and answer any of your questions when you need them to. Advisors are such great resources, so make sure you form a solid relationship with them!

12. Attend the student organization fair.

Usually, at the beginning of the year, your school will hold a student organization fair. This event is open to all academic years, and it is a way for clubs and groups on campus to show what they have to offer. At the student organization fair, there are a bunch of tables and information booths that provide brief information about the organization, when they meet, and why it is worth joining. Whether you are 100% sure or a little conflicted about joining an organization, you should sign up on their email list. They will send you emails about when their informational meetings are so you can learn more information. Plus, the student organizations often hand out free things at the fair or give out free things at their meetings. Who doesn’t love free stuff? However, do not sign up for every student organization on campus because your email account will be bombarded with emails.

13. Create to-do lists and stick to them.

This is one of the best ways to stay organized in college. I make a to-do list on a post-it note every day so I can easily stick it in my planner and take it with me on the go. Simply, I write down all of the tasks that I need to complete or focus on for that day. The tasks typically consist of meetings, school assignments, campus events and other various plans. I either check them off or cross them out as I complete each one, as it reminds me that I am one step closer to completing everything I need to. On my busier days, I tend to write out my whole schedule so I know how much time I have in between my classes to work on completing my tasks. It truly is a helpful reminder, and it has not failed me once.

14. Form connections with your classmates.

Talking to your classmates is essential to doing well in your courses. This is even easier to do if you have a class that is only 15-20 people, or if you are in your course discussion session. Within the first week or so of class, try sitting by people who you would be interested in getting to know. Ask them some questions, have a short conversation and then talk about the course. It would be best to exchange campus emails and/or cell phone numbers to get in contact with each other. It is always nice to have contact information in case you are unable to attend a lecture and need to borrow the notes they took, or if you need further clarification about something the professor said in discussion. Also, it is always nice to have each other as resources for forming study groups prior to final exams. Who knows, some of the people you meet in class might have a lot in common with you and you might end up being close friends with them!

15. Do not bring a car to campus.

The only reasons to bring a car on campus are if you are regularly commuting from home to school, or if your housing situation is far from the center of campus. Most freshman typically do not use cars on campus because their residence halls are located in the heart of campus, which is easily accessible by foot or bus.

16. Shower shoes are a must.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Basically, germs are gross and so are feet, so it would be your best option just to wear shower shoes. Make sure that they are flip flops or slides that have holes on the bottom, rather than normal flip flops or slides. This allows the water to simply drain through the holes and not get stuck in the shoe, which results in a heavy, waterlogged shoe.

17. Attend sporting events.

Sporting events are so much fun. All of the sporting events in college are fun to watch, so I highly recommend seeing a game or match for every sport at least once in your college years. Although all of the sports are fun, there is seriously nothing better than waking up on a Saturday morning and getting ready to cheer on your school’s football team. Tailgate before the games, take photos, learn all the cheers, watch the marching band, and celebrate. It is so much fun and it is a perfect break from your studies!

18. Take notes on paper rather than a laptop.

Taking notes by hand is proven to help you remember the information better rather than typing it. For example, let’s say that your laptop is broken and you need to review your notes before taking an exam. If you write in a notebook, you will automatically have a hard copy of the notes you took, and you will not have to worry about not being able to access them. If you type them on your laptop, you are probably out of luck unless you are able to fix your laptop in time. I think it is best to first take notes by hand with pencil and paper and then retype them in a document so you can add additional notes from your discussion sections and textbook easily.

19. Making friends is not as hard as it seems.

Everyone is in the same boat as you are. Everyone is a little timid to this new experience. Everyone is awkward and does not know what to do. However, it is perfectly okay and perfectly normal. You can literally make friends all over campus, and it is not hard to at all. Talk to all of the people on your floor. Talk to the people you meet in the laundry room while waiting to switch your loads from the washer to the dryer. Talk to the people you see on your daily walks to your classes. Talk to people in the dining hall while you are waiting to purchase your lunch. Talk to the people you share the same shift with at your part-time job. Talk to the person you see in the library that is reading the same textbook as you. Talk to the people you meet at a local coffee shop or restaurant on campus. Talk to the people you have in your discussion sessions. Chances are you will end up making wonderful yet unique connections with each individual you introduce yourself to. Just initiate the conversation and go with the flow. Let the talking to all of the work.

20. The freshman 15 is so real.

This is easily the most dreaded topic to talk about, and I truly dislike talking about it. Basically, if you do not eat healthy and workout regularly, then you will definitely gain some weight. Take advantage of your free times on the weekend to make sure you get a workout or two in, especially since you will not have classes to attend. When it comes to eating, try new things. I was never into salads prior to entering college, but now I love salads. Also, try to make healthy options such as changing the type of milk in your latte, choosing the fruit salad over the cheeseburger, and drinking water over soda. These little adjustments will help you out a lot, but make sure you treat yourself to some junk food or a delicious dinner at a restaurant every once in awhile!

21. Create accounts online.

This one is super important. Having online accounts for certain websites and applications will only help you in the long run. Quizlet is a nice way to create flashcards accessible on-the-go without using any paper products. You can simply flip the flashcards, play matching games, and generate practice vocabulary quizzes in order to practice the terminology you need to study. Amazon is awesome. What is even better about this is that Amazon Prime provides free shipping for all college students. Whether it is textbooks or room décor, you can count on Amazon to satisfy all of your college needs. Gmail is a Google-based system that many of students prefer to use. Aside from creating the account to access your emails, there are plenty of other applications you can access all from the same account. Two of the most popular ones are called Google Docs and Google Drive, which allow you to create documents and save them all in one place. You also have the ability to share the documents with others, so this comes in handy when you are working on a group project. Lastly, my personal favorite is Spotify because I am a huge music fanatic. Music helped keep me emotionally stable and I always listened to music during my freshman year. I would listen to it while getting ready in the morning, walking to class, hanging out with friends and more. All of freshman year, I only had a normal Spotify account, which had frequent advertisements between songs on my playlists. However, I found a good deal for Spotify Premium (which is so worth the money) to have access to my music 24/7 without any advertisements. Spotify is easily the greatest music application ever.

22. Cramming the night before an exam will not get you an A.

Reviewing the material you took notes on in lecture every day will help you learn it better. Rewriting the notes, making flashcards and creating chapter by chapter or lesson by lesson outlines will help you grasp all of the information you need to know. When you are approaching the exam, make sure that you begin studying at least one to two weeks in advance. This will allow you to go over all of the material in a timely manner, but then it will allow you to have more time closer to the exam to review the concepts you might not fully understand. Doing this, along with attending review sessions and office hours, then you will have a better shot at earning an A on your exam.

23. Read the textbook if the course has one.

Unless your course does not have a textbook or if your professor specifically tells you not to refer to it, then you should be reading the textbook on a regular basis. Often, the textbook is used as an in-depth way to provide more information on the topic being discussed in lecture. I would typically take notes in class and discussion, and then cross the information from those sessions with what is in the textbook to see what information is the most important to learn. Although they are super heavy to haul around, textbooks are nice because they have most of the information you need in them. Most textbooks have glossaries with detailed definitions to vocabulary terms, practice quizzes and tests, and examples that relate to the real world.

24. Caffeine will be your best friend.

Although I am a little biased, coffee is the greatest thing in the world. The relationship that I had with coffee my freshman year of college was absolutely wonderful, as it was there with me through all the ups and downs, and endless hours of studying. I would either make coffee in my dorm room, buy a cup from the dining hall or go out to get some from a cute little coffee shop while studying. Even if you do not like coffee right now, I am almost positive that you will start drinking it in college. However, if you do not like coffee, there are healthy alternatives, like green tea and black tea that still have caffeine, but not nearly as much as coffee does. Aside from those, people will drink energy drinks or soda. These are often more sweet, since they contain overwhelming amounts of sugar, and some health problems may arise if you drink too much of them.

25. Do not jump into a relationship right away.

Freshman year is the time for you to meet new people. You should be using this year to meet a wide variety of unique individuals that you share common interests with. Although you might see a cute guy or girl at your first residence hall meeting, I think it would be best to get to know them better as a friend first. Establishing friendships first will work best in the long run, and those friendships might eventually blossom into relationships. Let the timing work its magic, it will be worth the wait.

26. You will fail an exam at some point.

Basically, it is inevitable. No matter how hard you study, there will be at least one, if not more, exams that you will fail. Sometimes life just is not fair, but you will have to deal with it and eventually move on from it.

27. Choose how you spend your time wisely.

Is going to that party on Saturday night worth failing that huge chemistry exam you have on Monday? I do not think so. Determining when your social life is a priority versus when your academics are a priority is sometimes a difficult task. Everyone wants to attend every event on campus, especially as freshmen. It is that fear of missing out, also known as FOMO. Most students at school are there for the right reasons: to focus on their studies in order to obtain their degree. However, you will definitely meet some individuals that get too caught up in the party scene. These students rarely attend class and do not even think about opening their textbooks. They will end up failing their courses and getting kicked out of the university. I do not want this to scare you at all, though. This does not mean that you cannot get involved on campus or go to parties on the weekends with your friends. Basically what I am trying to get at is if you balance your schedule appropriately and set aside enough time to focus on completing your schoolwork, you are more than capable of having an awesome social life. The only other additional thing I have to add is that you should make some time for yourself. Each day can get super busy, and you will end up getting super caught up in the gist of things. Take a moment to relax and put things into perspective. Take a break and watch your favorite show on Netflix. Treat yourself to some delightful ice cream from the ice cream shop at the end of the street. As long as you are happy with yourself, both inside and out, you will then know that you are spending your time wisely. Each moment is precious.

28. Find a few study spots on campus that keep you on task.

Finding more than one place to study will give you options depending on what you are trying to accomplish. For example, if I am writing a paper, I do not mind working on it at a local cafe or a dining hall. I like to listen to music when I write sometimes because I get inspired by the music, and form new ideas due to the atmosphere I am in and the people that are in my presence. As for studying for final exams, I prefer to be in a smaller, quiet library or in my dorm room alone. I try to stay focused on the task at hand and make sure I complete it without any interruptions or distractions. Every person is different, so I highly suggest testing out more than one place to see what works best for you.

29. Try to take photographs as much as possible.

Taking photographs frequently will benefit you in the long run. Your family and friends from back home will appreciate seeing all of the updates about the fun things and new experiences you are having while at college. Plus, they serve as a great way to capture memories that you loved. Take a picture of you and your roommate on move in day. Take a picture of you and your friends at your first football game. Take a picture of your coffee mug at that trendy coffee shop downtown. Take a picture of the sun as it is setting over the lake. Take a picture of the flowers blooming in the spring. Take a picture of the captivating architecture of that building you pass everyday on your way to class. Just take the picture. It is a memory worth holding onto, and once the photo opportunity passes, you will regret not doing it in the first place.

30. No one has their whole life figured out yet, and neither will you.

This concept was one that I could never fully grasp during my freshman year, and sometimes I still cannot even wrap my head around it. I entered my freshman year being undecided on my major, but I had a few ideas. All of my peers seemed to have their lives figured out. Majors were decided, internships are already planned and discussions about graduate school have already begun. I was so confused as to why I could not be in the same position that they were in. However, the thing that I realized throughout my freshman year is that people will likely change their mind on what they want to study more than once. I was lucky enough to be open to various options to help me discover some new areas that interested me. This process also helped me solidify that I did not want to continue studying certain subjects. Even at this very moment as I am writing to you, I am still a little unsure as to what I will end up studying and what my future career will be like. But get this: No one is sure as to what their future will be like. Every twist and every turn. Every bump in the road and every setback. Every achievement and every new experience. Each and every single one of these ideas has the ability to change the path you are currently on. That is why life is such a beautiful endeavor.

Freshman year is just the beginning of your college years, and I believe that you are destined to do remarkable things. Be good people. Make smart choices. Live in the moment. Take risks. Accept failure. Strive for success. Achieve your dreams. You are unstoppable.