Recommended for you

Start writing a post

Education

36 College Tips From A Second Semester Freshman

Invest in a planner and actually use it.

Sarah Clinton

Dec 28, 2018

Ball State University

265

36 College Tips From A Second Semester Freshman

Sarah Clinton

1. Check RateMyProfessor religiously.

2. Use your planner and use it correctly.

3. Actually go to class.

4. Be prepared to not be friends with everyone around you.

5. You will want some alone time, and that is completely normal.

6. You don't need to be with your roommate 24/7.

7. Invest in the college student Spotify and Hulu deal.

8. Get a planner and calendar, and write out all important due dates from each syllabus.

9. Leave your door open to meet new people.

10. Speak up in classes, it makes lectures more rich and easier to understand.

11. Do NOT pre-order books, wait for the syllabus.

12. Don't procrastinate, assignments in college are not like the ones in high school.

13. Buy air fresheners.

14. Take advantage of the gym.

15. Be more open to talking to people in the first few weeks of school.

16. Join clubs and activities.

17. Bring as many pairs of leggings as possible.

18. Don't buy napkins and silverware, those are available across campus.

19. Bring more hangers than clothes.

20. Be yourself, 100% of the time.

21. Don't wait until dead week/finals to get your shit together.

22. Don't overextend yourself.

23. Learn how to manage your time well. School, social life, and jobs are hard to balance.

24. Be social.

25. Be confident.

26. Pay attention in class and take notes that actually matter.

27. Take care of yourself, physically and mentally.

28. Learn how to do laundry before summer is over.

29. Sort your laptop files. Make each class easy to find and you wont have lost assignments you want to reference later.

30. Use Box.com to be able to save your Microsoft Word documents and print them anywhere.

31. Carry around a reusable water bottle, it will make life so much easier.

32. Check your school email, all the time.

33. Start studying now.

34. College is high school on steroids. The same drama, different people.

35. Don't spend your money on stupid stuff. Did you really need to go out to eat 4 days in a row? THE ANSWER IS NO. Did I do this? YES

36. Cry. But pick yourself up after you're done.

Report this Content

This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

Student Life

8 Things I Realized After My First Semester In College

Actually, Kylie Jenner, 2018 is the year of realizing things.

Emory University

448

Pexels

The first semester of college is famous for being one of the most difficult transitions of one's young adult life. You're thrown into a completely new area where the majority of the people surrounding you are strangers in an academic environment that's much more challenging then what you've grown accustomed to for the past twelve years. On top of that, you probably share a room with another person (or even multiple people) on the lumpiest "mattress" you've ever slept on.

With this change comes a lot of questions: what do I want to major in? What am I passionate about? Is what I'm passionate about something I'm actually good at? Why does the bathroom smell like cranberry juice and vodka? What is that thing at the bottom of the shower drain?

Keep Reading...Show less

first semester

Student Life

8 GIFs That Are College AF

Cs get degrees!

Jacksonville State University

910

Personal Photo

College is tough, we all know. Here are 8 gifs you will 99% relate to if you are in college.

Keep Reading...Show less

gifs

Adulting

6 Unrealistic Expectations Society Has For Young Adults

Don't let the thesaurus-inspired vocabularies in our résumés fool you. We're actually just big kids.

University of Dayton

3257

Well over four feet tall and 100 pounds in weight, many of us "young adults" of the world still consider ourselves children. Big, working, college-attending, beer-drinking children. We may live on our own, know how to cook noodles, and occasionally use a planner, but don't be fooled; the youthful tendencies that reside within us still make their way into our daily lives. From choosing to stay up until 3:00 a.m. playing video games on a school night to going out in 30 degree weather without a coat, we still make decisions that our parents and grandparents would shake their heads at in disappointment. So why are we expected to know exactly how to be a wise, professional, sensible adult? It's not that we're irresponsible (for the most part, anyway). It's that we are young, inexperienced, and still have the sought-after, enthusiastic mentality that we can do and be whatever we want, which has not yet been tarnished by the reality of the world. These are just a few of the unrealistic expectations that society has for young adults.

Keep Reading...Show less

young adults

Recommended for you

36 College Tips From A Second Semester Freshman

Invest in a planner and actually use it.

In This Article:

1. Check RateMyProfessor religiously.

2. Use your planner and use it correctly.

3. Actually go to class.

4. Be prepared to not be friends with everyone around you.

5. You will want some alone time, and that is completely normal.

6. You don't need to be with your roommate 24/7.

7. Invest in the college student Spotify and Hulu deal.

8. Get a planner and calendar, and write out all important due dates from each syllabus.

9. Leave your door open to meet new people.

10. Speak up in classes, it makes lectures more rich and easier to understand.

11. Do NOT pre-order books, wait for the syllabus.

12. Don't procrastinate, assignments in college are not like the ones in high school.

13. Buy air fresheners.

14. Take advantage of the gym.

15. Be more open to talking to people in the first few weeks of school.

16. Join clubs and activities.

17. Bring as many pairs of leggings as possible.

18. Don't buy napkins and silverware, those are available across campus.

19. Bring more hangers than clothes.

20. Be yourself, 100% of the time.

21. Don't wait until dead week/finals to get your shit together.

22. Don't overextend yourself.

23. Learn how to manage your time well. School, social life, and jobs are hard to balance.

24. Be social.

25. Be confident.

26. Pay attention in class and take notes that actually matter.

27. Take care of yourself, physically and mentally.

28. Learn how to do laundry before summer is over.

29. Sort your laptop files. Make each class easy to find and you wont have lost assignments you want to reference later.

30. Use Box.com to be able to save your Microsoft Word documents and print them anywhere.

31. Carry around a reusable water bottle, it will make life so much easier.

32. Check your school email, all the time.

33. Start studying now.

34. College is high school on steroids. The same drama, different people.

35. Don't spend your money on stupid stuff. Did you really need to go out to eat 4 days in a row? THE ANSWER IS NO. Did I do this? YES

36. Cry. But pick yourself up after you're done.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Actually, Kylie Jenner, 2018 is the year of realizing things.

Waking Up Early in College is So Much Harder

You Have to Get Used to Walking Everywhere

Fuzzy Socks are the Cure to All Problems

Take Every Opportunity to Get Free Food

It's Okay to Gain the "Freshman Fifteen"

Invest in Vitamins and Supplements

Making Time to Clean is Essential

Drinking Water is Actually Important

Cs get degrees!

1. Me after every class

2. If you really care about your grades

3. When you get a new homework assignment

4. When people ask what you're going to do after college

5. When you see people who don't study and get good grades

6. We're all broke here

7. FREE FOOD IS FREE FOOD!

8. When it seems like everyone in class is smart - EXCEPT THE PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP PROJECT!!

Other than knowledge and all those important things

How to take stairs.

Caffeine is your friend.

How to study.

Finding free food.

How to take a nap anywhere.

How to appreciate sleep.

How to procrastinate productively.

Surprise: This is not on the syllabus

1. As a freshman, one does get to be called “freshman” by upperclassmen when they walk to parties in a mob of people.

2. Some of the best stories happen after 2 a.m.

3. Upperclassmen live for meal swipes from freshman because they are poor and need free food.

4. People are struggling just as much as you are so you're not alone.

5. You will never take privacy or personal space for granted ever again.

6. You are not the only one who has slept on the community bathroom floor after a night out.

7. Skipping class for Netflix is a valid excuse.

8. It’s totally acceptable to bring a pot of coffee, a sleeping bag and a pillow to the library.

9. Having class with a friend is the best because you can trade off days on who goes to class.

10. When you are a senior, you take the easiest classes to boost your GPA.

11. How to pull an all-nighter.

12. How to handle drunk people.

Subscribe to our
Newsletter