COLLEGE ACCEPTION!

Congrads! I hope you have fun :)

Lets see uh tips:

1. The bookstores are a ripoff, if you can get them off of half.com do it ahead of time but make sure you have the edition number and isbn. Other times you have no choice but to buy them from the bookstore

2. Living in the dorms your first year (second going on third for me) can be fun a lot of the time but annoying sometimes. It is great when you can go to class thats just downstairs. If your are in the dorms try to have a roommate your first year at least. (I live in a single now, woo! But wait until your second year at least)

3. Try to take most of your required classes this year and next. They usually suck but it's better to get them out of the way.

4. If you feel a major isn't for you its ok to change it. Its also ok to be a freshman with a "no peference" choice (meaning you don't know what you want to study yet)

5. Get to know poeple on your floor if you are staying in a dorm

6. Get involved on campus but don't over do it, especially your first year

7. It might seem easy at first but it is a lot harder than high school

8. ALWAYS go to class. You might think you'll go now but when mom and ada aren't there to make sure you're in school. You might try to sleep in

9. Study, don't wait until the last min to cram for exams if you do chances are you'll fal or you'll get lucky and pass. You'd rather be safe than sorry.

10. Get to know people from different backgrounds. Hanging around the same people you've known all your life is boring.

11. Try to find your classes before classes start (my first day I got lost about 4 times in one day).

12. Be yourself no one really cares if you were the geek, prep, jock or whatever at your high school. It's almost like a clean slate

13. Don't go home the first weekend unless you have to if you are stay on or near campus

14. Have fun!!! :)

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See my blog and I'll love you forever! Or at least temporarily: www.progressiveu.org/blog/npsm18

npsm18 seems to have covered things quite nicely, so all I'll add is Congratulations!!! I'm sure you will do just fine.

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -Huxley

"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." -Gandhi

.:VVN:.
YAY! congratulations! I hope you have fun. Take advantage of your first semester because usually those are the easy semesters. Try not to procrastinate... (that is if you ever did it in high school) if you did.. that's not very good. Keep up with things esp your readings otherwise.. you'll fall WAYYY behind. Good luck on your studies!

Hm, first year college tips... This should be interesting.

1. If you have any plans on being sexually active (not necessarily sex, but anything that could potentially involve a bed) I'd strongly recommend not bunking your beds, and if you do, get the bottom bunk. If you're getting a loft, I strongly recommend a wooden loft, because they're more sturdy and don't creak.

2. Make your parents buy you lots of non-perishable food. On my campus, all the food service places close down at around 11 and, unless you want to make a run out to a local convenience store, it's really nice to have a snack that you can pop in the microwave at one in the morning.

3. College severely fucks up your sleep schedule. Probably not right away, but as you accrue more friends you will find yourself staying up later and later. For this reason, you will want to mold your schedule to allow for long periods that you can use for naptime or have your classes start late. It's much better to have a block of two or three classes than to have an hour between classes and no time to rest.

4. If you get a significant other in college, you're able to visit him or her at almost any time. Because of this, you might be tempted to rush into a very involved relationaship. It will take a bit of practice, but try with all your will to take relationships slow. You'll have the whole year, there's no hurry. Rushing things like that often end up not so good.

5. Don't be afraid to meet new people. Other freshmen especially are open to random people coming up and talking to them. Also, leave your door unlocked (or opened) when you're in the room the first week or so and consider going around your dorm and introducing yourself to random people in random rooms. If you hear alot of people in a room, poke your head in and say hello. If people think you're weird, who cares?

6. Don't be afraid to be yourself. If your open and honest about who you are, you will tend to attract a group of friends whom you will actually enjoy being around rather than a loose aggregate of people whom you regret to associate with. If someone doesn't like you, it doesn't matter, because there are likely 50 other people who will.

7. Plan your schoolwork around social events. There's nothing wrong with partying, but you should make sure you have all your homework done first. If you know you'll be doing something on a certain day or night, take inventory of the work you have and do it in advance. Don't plan on getting up early to do your work in the morning, because that never works.

8. Get involved with clubs on campus. Even if you don't stick with a club, you're likely to meet fun people in the club. You'd be surprised at the array of clubs that your campus has to offer, and you can likely find your place.

9. There appears to be alot of greenery on your campus. For this reason, I suggest that you bring a beach towel and perhaps a frisbee. Sunbathing is perhaps one of the most popular and easily sociable things to do on campus. I'm not sure how your college is, but at any informal outdoor gathering of students on my campus is bound to have at least one frisbee.

10. Find a spot. Sometimes, you'll just want to get away and be by yourself. The dorm is nice, but usually you'll have the problem of roommates or loud people in the hall. Find a somewhat secluded spot that you can go to when you just want to be alone.

11. Stay involved in your classes. Unless the class is strictly a lecture class, your professor will likely open the floor for discussion and answer questions. If you have a question that you can't ask in class, take advantage of your professor's office hours. Most professors are glad to help you with material that you don't understand and see your effort as positive and flattering.

12. When signing up for classes keep in mind three things:
1) What classes do I need to take in order to graduate (General Education Requirements)?
2) What classes do I need to fulfill my prospective major(s)?
3) What am I interested in?
Although the degree is your ultimate goal, you should take classes that you want to take. Don't take a class just because it fulfills a requirement. Then you'll be likely stuck with a class that you don't like which might lead you to skip the class or not stay involved which may ultimately cause you to have to withdraw or fail the class. If you aren't sure about a class, you can always visit the professor and ask him or her what the syllabus is like (for incoming freshmen, e-mail correspondence can work quite well).

13. Start planning a packing list far too early. It's never a good thing when you realize that you wish you had something. For this reason, start a list of things that you want in your room a month or two in advance, and take notice of the things you do on a regular basis, so you will have those things. Also, start organizing who will bring what communal stuff to the room with your roommate about a month in advance. This way, you can have time to divvy things up and figure out who buys what.

14. Get used books. They're especially helpful if they have notes in the margins. This way, if you forget to do reading for a class, you can skim over the notes and have a general idea of what's going on in the class (this does not work for test preparation).

15. If you have an orientation leader or know an upperclassman, get into contact with them about what the best things are to bring to school. Every college is different, so there's no help better than someone who's done it before.

16. When packing, pack as much as you can into boxes. Boxes are much easier to bring up stairs and you won't end up having to sift through a giant pile of crap in the middle of your room in order to put stuff away.

17. Get friend's contact information. In fact, get contact information from everyone you meet. It's nice to be able to just randomly call on a friend to hang out. You'd be surprised at how many more friends you get if you call them up to get a bite every once in a while.

18. Everything you heard on the campus tour is a lie. Don't believe any of it. Even though tour guides are students, they speak on behalf of the administration. If there is a public bus, it will be slow and unreliable. If there is a zero-tolerance drug/alcohol policy, it's usually laxed within the first few months. It doesn't matter where you go, there will be theft on campus, there will be crazy parties, there will probably be an unofficial frat if there are no frats on campus. Be careful at frat parties, especially the first one of the year. At my school, this party is derisively called "Kegs for Kids" and what usually happens is the frat boys get freshmen girls who don't know their limit trashed and have sex with them. Don't become a statistic.

I think that's all I have to say. That was a fun list. There's probably a bunch of stuff I forgot. If I come up with more, I'll add to this list.

Congrats on getting into your first choice and I hope you have a wonderful time.

--Mike

Be prepared for roommates; you can't pick who you live with. Some will smell, some will be dirty/clean/obsessive compulsive, some will hate your music, some will even do their business on the floor. And by that I mean bathroom business. No joke; a friend of mine had to room with a guy like that.

Gross.

(aka take lots of purell with you.)

"Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity--and I'm not so sure about the universe"
-Albert Einstein

Well, I have a few tips of my own, some of which may contradict the tips given earlier.

1) Figure out a study schedule and stick to it. I'm in my second/junior year, and I have finals and the MCAT coming up in 2 weeks. I wish I had stuck to my schedule that I planned out, because it's going to be hell trying to study for finals now.

2) If you can, don't buy books until you visit the class. I have bought all my books for every class I have taken, and I haven't really used my two chemistry textbooks, each which cost me $100. I've used my genetics textbook a little, but I don't think it was worth the $90 I paid for it. My physiology textbook was worth it, though.

3) Learn to cook. Even if you're going to be living in the dorms (with only a microwave at your disposal, living off cafeteria food), every once and a while, it'll be nice to get into a kitchen and make something that isn't dripping with fat.

4) Experiment with class times. I used to hate 8 am classes, but this semester I was forced to take them every day. I don't regret it now, since I do my best work in the 3 hour break I have between my classes. I also took a night class last semester and absolutely hated it.

5) Go to events. This is the one thing I really regret not doing. I would be really interested in an event, but then not feel like going when the time came. A lot of interesting things happen on a college campus. Make the most of your time. Besides, it'll look good if/when you apply to grad school.

6) Don't overload on classes. Life will be hell if you try to take 18+ credits of upper division classes in one semester, especially if you have bad study skills. Plan out what you want to take and when you should take it, allowing for a little bit of flexibility in your schedule. Don't overdo it.

7) Do not room with your best friend. Your roomie may become your best friend, but they shouldn't have that status beforehand. You will come to hate them.

~C
Visit my blog.

I'll be a freshman this fall too and this is what my brother told me:

1. Brings lots of ziplock bags. Seriously, they can be used for everything and anything.

2. Be sure to bring lots of the necessities that you don't think much about. Band-aids, lightbulbs, tape, stamps, batteries, etc.

3. Bring a simple sewing kit in case your favorite shirt's hem decides to fall out. A couple of needles in various sizes, a pair of scissors, and a couple of different colored spools of thread should be enough.

4. Aspirin. It's your friend, especially during midterms and finals.

5. Bring a small window fan, in case they decide to not turn on the A/C when there is a surprise heat wave.

6. Be very prepared for your roommates. My brother thought his roommate was an all right kind of guy over the phone, but as soon as he moved in his roommate turned into the roommate from hell. Try talking to them directly first, and don't beat around the bush for things that are really worth bringing up (e.g: stealing, disrespecting you, etc). Be calm and constructive while doing so though. We don't want things to get ugly. If it doesn't work, then try tranferring out if you can.

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"They can smash your cookie, but you'll always get your fortune."

My blog

1. For first year, living in the dorms is the greatest.

2. Meet many people.

3. Choose a schedule that works for YOU. This is one thing that is great about college. If you liked waking up early like in high school choose early classes BUT if you are like me and hate to wake up in the wee hours of the cold early morning then choose late :).

4. For your first semester or quarter you should not overload on work. See how classes are like in college first and then the next quarter or semester attempt to take more if you felt like you did good on the first or less if you felt like you did not do as well as you wanted to.

5. I recommend taking some GE's and prereqs. This will let you explore a bit and at the same time if like some of the classes that is required for your current major you are thinking about you can knock out some of the classes you need and be done with GE at the same time.

6. Go to class as much as possible. If you miss a day make sure you get the notes from the professor, TA or friend.

7. Study ahead of time and study hard. It will be different than high school and more difficult. At first you might think it is going slow and then next thing you know in 3 weeks you all this homework, papers and midterms given at once.

8. Be social and take a break from you studies every now and then. Try to balance yourself.

9. Do what YOU want to do. Do not let others make you do something you do not want to. Peer pressure is tough but the choice is yours and nobody is going to stop you.

10. The best of all, GET READY FOR THE BEST FOUR YEARS OF YOUR LIFE THAT IS COMING AND HAVE FUN!!! and do becareful.

I am now kind of sad I only have 3 left. Goes by so fast...

Wow! Sounds like you want to “go somewhere” with your life. Must have big plans. Sounds like you want to be versatile. Having more degrees in several different fields is a good thing. That way, you’ll have more chances of “survival”. (Getting a good job and keeping it, that is.)

You sound like me. I love to learn, too! I also want to be versatile. That’s why I’m going to college for fine art and interior design. I also want to study graphic design and web design in the future.

Hm…Advice. Well, you can buy books from the bookstore on campus. That way, you can return whichever ones you don’t want to keep at the end of the semester and get (usually) a lot of the money you spent back.

The first day of class, get there 15 minutes early and bring everything for the class that first day and every day afterwards.

Get to know the instructors and email them ahead of time to ask them if there is anything that you should bring that it not listed in the syllabi. Getting to know them lets them know that you are interested in more than just the class. (It’ll let them know that you are not just there to get “a passing grade”.) It’ll also help you to get to know the “real” them.

Allow two hours of study time for every three hours of class time and study ahead of time. Doing this will help you to do better on: homework, quizzes, and tests. Read all of the material – including the captions under the pictures and the colored-boxed sections in the chapters (especially for psychology and sociology).

Get all of your questions answered – even if the question sounds dumb. See the teachers during their office hours or schedule an appointment to see them if you have to. This lets them know that you are serious about your academics.

Well, I hope this helps. Good luck! I’ll be starting back at Delta College May 7th!

Yay for you! I'm a double major in sociology and political science and I love it! So you picked a good area of study I think.

Congradulations!

Wow, i hope I can get this amiunt of responce when I get my acceptance letter! (said w/ confidence :) )

& Im glad I got to read everyones tips, they're gonna hlep me out too.