Probably the first thing you feel when about to go off into college is excitement. You're probably thinking "EFF YEAH! I'M GOING TO BE A COLLEGE STUDENT". Or at least something close to that, I hope. Anyways, sometimes you're so excited that you don't really prepare for college until you're already on campus. There are few things that are really good to know before hand as a freshman.
1. Dorming
Do not skip out on the dorms. It's a one time experience that is typically reserved for your freshmen year. You can dorm after freshmen year, but honestly kinda whack. Typically, you start in the dorms your first year, meet some dope people, move out and live with said dope people. I like to think that dorms are crucial to year first moments at college. It's how you expand your friend group beyond what it is. You went to college without knowing anyone, then you're friend group sitting at 0 members. Your hallmates become your friends, the friends of your hallmates can become your friends, people from other halls can become your friends. Living in the dorms is the typical freshmen college experience you see on tv. It's SO much fun. Don't miss out.
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2. Dining Commons/Halls
So if you dorm, you will probably have a meal plan. And like I mentioned before, you're probably going to move out of the dorms after your first year, so use the EFF out of those dining commons. Seriously, you pay for the meal plan already. You have to understand that the DCs are so damn convenient. Cherish that. Not having to go out and buy groceries and cooking for yourself saves a lot of time for you to focus on school and do fun stuff your first year. Just be weary of the freshmen 15. If you like to workout, use the DCs to your advantage. Set goals and eat strategically. If you want to lose weight, you can set your personal goal to losing 15 pounds instead and eat right at the DCs. I was bulking, so I made it a personal goal to get the freshmen 15 but in muscle weight, and I did after the first 3 months.
3. GTFO with the FOMO
First lesson, you're paying to go to school to learn. The second lesson, there will always be parties. It doesn't matter if your friends want to head out tonight even though you have a quiz the next day or the next Monday. You can always go to a party some other time. What you can't do is take the same quiz, or do the same homework, turn in the same paper, or take the same midterms and finals at other times. Those things tend to have fixed due dates. If you have really bad FOMO, you have to fix that before you go to college. Your grades start to tank, seriously. And if your grades slip, then your parents aren't going to be happy with you, only making your life more stressful. I like to think of it this way: if you try your hardest and do well in school, your parents will have no reason to be mad. And if they find out you party a lot, you can say "but look, my grades are good, so at least I can balance studying with fun". In your face mom and dad.
4. Go to Office Hours
This is really important for you to succeed in your classes. Each of your classes will probably have TAs and those TAs have office hours. Going to those office hours not only is a good resource for getting help with the coursework but it's also a better chance for boosting your final grade in the class. Let's get a few things straight. The TAs are the ones who grade your homework, papers, and exams. The TAs are often students too, undergoing their graduate program. If you consistently show up to office hours, your TA will recognize your face and hopefully your name, see that you care about this course, and when it comes time to input the grades, your TA might try to find any small points possible to boost your grade. Might not seem like much but it is. Your TA will see that you've made an effort to do well in this class and that you care, so if your grade is a 89.20 and find that it's now a 90, you know who to thank.
