Dear Freshmen,

Congratulations! You’re out from under the grip of your parents and finding yourself in the “real world”, finally!! However, you are about to learn more about life and yourself in the next four years than you have in your whole life, so here is some advice from a Senior. Sincere congratulations on choosing a school, that is half the battle.

I hope that you are confident in why you chose your school, and that it meets your educational needs. My sympathy if you chose it because of the girl to guy ratio, kudos for going for your MRS degree, or the 24/7 house parties. Either way, you are on campus and the welcome activities have begun, and once classes begin the honeymoon phase of being on campus ends. Here are some general rules to help you out. First off don’t wear your lanyard around your neck; upperclassmen can already spot you a mile away without the dead give away.

Also, don’t think you have to be loud and obnoxious to get people to notice you, or you will be dubbed “that” freshmen. Just take a moment to breathe, when you get over the jitters you can see that all it takes is a genuine, friendly personality and able to roll with whatever comes up. Secondly, the sooner you ask an upper classmen how the food lines actually work the quicker returning students are to like you. Nothing sticks out like a sore thumb more than the freshman who made up their own food line leading all the way to the dining hall entrance. Thirdly, don’t get cocky with taking your gen eds.

This is not high school and so you will actually have to study, if you’re not careful you will be filling out a “drop form" half way through the semester so that your parents don’t see how much you dropped your GPA. When you start feeling the academic pressure, realize that everyone has to take gen eds and you’re not the only one who has had to suffer through it. When it does come to school, don’t freak out because you are “pre-declared” and do not know what you want to do for the rest of your life.

Personally, I was pre-declared, a transfer student, then changed my major, and doing five years of undergrad working for my bachelors of science. The quicker you realize everyone does college differently, the less frequent your panic attacks will be. Next, when you need help there is no shame in asking for it; most professors commend the student who asks for help when they start to feel like they are going under. Also as a side note, don’t be that underclassmen who complains about the parking — every upperclassman did their time walking from the far parking lot, you want to be an adult? Congratulations, this is part of it.

Last but not least, think about your life after college and don’t waste your time during it. It is important to have a social life, but balance is key. You are literally paying thousands of dollars for an education that will give you the tools to be an adult and hold a job. That will provide you with the money to pay back all those loans you had to take out and have a life or else you will live in your parents basement forever. Most college kids have this in their future, just don’t waste your time in the classroom. The key to growing up is embracing the facts that you are learning to apply responsibility to your everyday, in how you study, manage your time, and build relationships. With that, best of luck this year.

- A Senior