Because I'm so excited to go back to school this year, I decided to write an updated set of advice for incoming freshman. This should generalize to any college, not just the University of Minnesota. And remember: everyone's experience is different. What worked for me may not work for you, and something I struggled with might be a breeze for you. That's okay.
1. Work first, play later.
It's easy to take a look at your class schedule and see that, compared to high school, you have a lot of free time. You will learn to make the most of it. I'm sure you've heard this from a million and one people, but even if you didn't study in high school, you will need to in college. The absolute best time for this is right after you finish your daily lectures (assuming you have lectures during the day). This way, you'll still be in "school mode," and it will be easier to focus on your work. It sucks to have to pull yourself out of whatever you do for leisure to study. Plus, if you get your daily work done right after classes, you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want without homework looming over you. It takes discipline to do schoolwork when you could just as easily go home and take a nap or play video games, but a disciplined schedule will be much better for your school performance and overall happiness in the long run.
2. Leave your room to study.
I used to study in my dorm room. By study, I mean do anything but study. You might think that it would be just as easy to study in a quiet dorm as it is in a quiet library, but once you try it, you'll never be able to go anywhere else. I studied in my dorm room for about half of my freshman year, until I realized it was taking me an hour to do one or two math problems. I hopped on my bike and went to the beautiful Walter library, found a comfy chair next to a plant and got to work. It's so much easier to focus when you're in an academic space surrounded by other people who are all focused in and working. Even if your dorm room is quiet, there's something about a library or study space that puts you in a different mindset, making it much easier to focus. This advice is twice as important if you're trying to study while your roommate is not.
3. Decorate.
Your dorm or apartment is your space for the year: make it yours. Creating a pleasant atmosphere in your living space makes living there much more enjoyable. Putting up pictures that remind you of home or posters of your favorite bands will make your room feel less like a cell and more like a bedroom. I highly recommend string Christmas lights—they instantly make any room 10 times cozier. Get a soft rug to cover up the bland carpet or tile. Follow in the footsteps of my friend and borrow a road sign to hang above your bed to remind you of the street you grew up on. MAKE IT YOURS. Your room is your place to relax after a long, busy day, so make it a place you actually want to relax in.
4. Wait to buy books.
Make a list of the required textbooks for your classes, but don't buy them until after the first day of classes. Sometimes classes "require" a book that you could easily complete the class without, and you can save some money. If you are assigned a reading on the first day or the class requires an online portal code, chances are you are going to need the book. In that case, see if you can find it online for free or cheaper than a physical copy. Most of the time, the online version of a textbook is cheaper, and it's more convenient to carry around a laptop than four textbooks.
5. Don't bring too much clothing.
I could've gotten away with half the clothes I brought my freshman year. When moving out, I dug up t-shirts and sweaters I didn't even wear once. Bring your favorite outfits, some warm clothes, some workout clothes, something kind-of-formal and you'll be fine. If you're not moving too far away, you can always go home for a weekend and bring back what you need. Bringing fewer clothes frees up precious storage space and forces you to stay on top of laundry, which becomes tedious if you don't do it at least once every few weeks, especially if you don't have laundry appliances in your living space. Life in a dorm room is much more cramped than life in a house, so anything you leave behind will make it all the more bearable.
6. Not everything will go right.
And that's okay. No matter how many tips you use or how much advice you burn into your brain, your first year of college will be a challenge. Embrace it. It's exciting, but it's also scary. That's okay, too. Everyone else is scared too. I promise you. Lean on them. You'll have bad days, you'll sleep through a lecture, you'll probably fail a test and get less than desirable grades. All of these things are okay. Something bad will happen, and it will feel like the end of the world, but I promise you that if you stick with it and keep trying and keep learning, you will look back and be satisfied. Your first time doing anything is a learning experience, and college is no different.
