Dear Freshman,
This is it! You are just days away from entering your freshman year of college! You have probably received a lot of meaningful advice from your cousin who went to college 15 years ago or your uncle who never went to college but visited his friends at school for parties.
Here is some relevant tips from someone who just went through it!
1. Make sure all of your paperwork is done.
There could be some hidden paperwork you need to do. Head to your online portal to make sure you waive your student insurance fee if you need to! Also make sure that you have the correct textbooks and see if your textbook requires an online e-text. The e-text is often more expensive than the textbook. Also, get to know your school's online portal system.
2. Get all of your supplies after your first classes.
The materials online are often different from what the professor actually wants you to have and you don't want to waste all of your money buy things you don't need. You may want to wait it out for the textbooks as well. I've walked into about a quarter of my classes on the first day, textbook in hand, only for the professor to tell me that he/she doesn't use the textbook.
3. Become friendly with your classmates ASAP.
You will want to have someone to text your questions to. You can also pair up to do homework or take home tests
4. Get to know your professors.
Teacher's pet is a very real thing. You will want to have a good way with your professors because they make the difference between a B+ and an A. Participation is the key to your professor's heart. Sit in the front row and away from your friends. This will keep you more focused, less distracted and gives you more of an opportunity to ask questions and interact with your professor. Put your phone on do not disturb mode during class and study time.
5. Show up to class a few minutes early.
Re-read last classes notes quickly. This will help you take a fresh start on the new lesson and build ideas off the last one. Your professor will love if you relate something to a previous lesson.
6. No, you do not need to ask to go to the bathroom.
Your professor will tell you his/her regulations on the first day of classes, but for the most part, just get up quietly and do your business and don't disrupt the whole class.
7. Do all of your assignments!
I cant even count the amount of times my professors decided to grade something after they realize nobody did it. There is no better feeling than pulling out that piece of paper to hand in while all of your classmates groan. If your professor offers extra credit, do it!
8. Get an agenda.
Copy dates from the syllabus into your agenda. Use your agenda. For those of you who have never used an agenda in their life, I found it useful to set reminders on my phone to check and fill out my agenda until it became routine.
9. Figure out when the best times to grab food in the dining hall are.
Plan out when you and your friends are both free to meet up an grab a coffee or work on that project. Take a stroll through the library and decided what times are good for you to go, which areas are social, quiet and where the outlets are.
10. This is the advice that most parents aren't doing to like, but it needs to be said.
If you have never done drugs, be honest. People will not judge you, but will look after you. Do not drink the punch at frat parties unless you watched them make it. Even then, just drink something that hasn't been opened. Dress up for the themed parties. It's so fun and makes for a great Insta!
11. Find a spot that you can go to that will get you away from everything.
It's nice to know you have your spot when you need an escape. Try the library, like the actual library where they keep the books and encyclopedias.
12. It is OK to eat alone in the dining hall, nobody will judge you, nobody has time for that.
Popularity does not exist in college. Anyone who acts like it does is probably still stuck in high school.
13. By the time the second semester rolls around you will have almost completely lost touch with most of your best friends from high school that you thought would be your friends for life.
The truth is that you were probably only friends with them because they were the only people you knew and you saw them five times a week for years. Take this new opportunity to make new friends. It is OK if the first couple of "friends" you meet do not stick. Don’t focus on what made you in high school. Instead, figure out how you are going to make your mark during these next four years of college.
14. Put yourself out there!
Go to general interests meetings. Go to club fairs, this is where you will learn a little bit about the clubs your campus has to offer. You also have an opportunity to meet the people who are in the clubs to see if it feels like a fit for you. Ask questions like how often they meet or if there are any dues. If you were too embarrassed to join the student council in high school for whatever reason, now could be your chance!
15. Write down all of your passwords!
There is nothing worse than having to get something important done and not being able to do it because you forgot your password. Try to keep your passwords relatively similar. Keep them in a safe place along with all of your important papers.
16. Your roommate will be your lifeline.
When you have nobody to get food with, they will almost always be down. When you lock yourself out, they're there. You have someone to keep you company during cleaning day. You don't have to be close with your roommate.
Before you know it, you'll be a sophomore so make the most out of your freshman year and don't be afraid to ask questions!
Sincerely,
Your sophomore friend.
