The end of summer is approaching and I'm sure many of you will be starting your first year in college. Here's a few tips from my experience to start you off on the right foot: * Do not register for any classes before 10am. You might be thinking "well in High School I started class at 7:45am...I'm sure I could handle an 8am class in college." Don't do it! There will be too much going on (especially in the dorms) for you to do your homework and be in bed by midnight. * If you have the choice to live in the dorms or live at home, go live in the dorms! You'll make some amazing friendships along the way. Plus, if you ever need anything in the last minute (like a printer), you can just walk down the hallways and ask. * Do sports or join a club. All colleges have some sort of intramural sports or PE classes. Definitely be a part of those. * Do not illegally download music from the dorms. They're watching you. (I got busted 3 times ) * If you can't figure out what major you want to do, take a quick visit at your campus career center. I recommend taking the Strong Interest Inventory test. They'll help you narrow down your options to majors that suit your personality. * Your advisor is your best friend. He/she will help you pick the right classes, the right professors and the right schedule to spread out your difficult classes. I was a retard and avoided my advisor...two quarters in a row I took the most difficult classes back to back and my grades suffered. * Don't fall into the trap of majoring in something you have no passion for. I've seen a lot of friends that majored in something like engineering because it pays well / pleases the parents...and late in their college career, they realized they have no desire to do that for the rest of their lives. They ended up starting over completely. * Do something fun and PRODUCTIVE on the side. I started JBB for fun and it blossomed into something great. The real life lessons I learned from JBB were 10x much more valuable than anything I learned from any textbook. * Choose a professor that suits you. The worst thing you can do is take classes taught be crappy professors or professors that don't match your learning style. For example, some professors want you to figure out textbook problems yourself and THEN lecture on it the next day. Other professors will lecture you on the new material FIRST, and THEN assign homework to test you on it. * How do you find out about professors? Advisors, word of mouth and professor ratings sites. * Do NOT ditch any of your classes. Missing class means you miss turning in that day's homework assignment and missing the lesson needed to do the next assignment. Also, classes are paid for out of your parents' pocket. If you break it down, each class can easily cost a hundred bucks or more. Ditching class means pissing away your college tuition. * Do NOT ditch any of your classes. Even if you go there and end up falling asleep halfway through class, you'll at least get a heads up on upcoming quizzes and homework assignments. Professors have the right to modify their syllabus and move test dates...you'll never know about these unless you go to class.
I won't be a college freshman until next year but I'll keep this in mind. Voodoo should be coming through here in the next hour or two giving advice for drug experimentation and trafficking. Can't wait!
When does Umair give facial hair grooming 101? Great tips Mel, I'll be sure to think of this when I transfer to a 4 year. I know taking a classs at 7:30 AM @ a JC was a pain in the balls, I couldn't imagine what it would be like with the dorm life.
www.ratemyprofessors.com (a good site, if you're looking for info on your profs) Those are all good tips. I can second the importance of reaching every class and checking up with your academic advisor a lot. They help a lot.
I'm starting my first year of college this month (classes start August 29th). As a rule in St. John's, freshman starting their first semester aren't allowed to change their schedules, so I have a couple of classes that start at 7:30 AM. That sucks, I guess. But since it's my money paying for college, I don't think I'll be as lazy as I was in high school. I know you and Shape went to California, right? That's a pretty good school; how did you manage to stay on top of your classes and have time to party, play sports, and chill? Thanks for the tips though, I'm sure I'll find these helpful.
I use www.pickaprof.com and www.ratemyprofessor.com pickaprof acctually tells you how many students took that professor, all there grades, and which semesters they teach.
<div class="quote_poster">Asian Zero Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What are you majoring at St. John's? And what classes are you taking?</div> I don't have a major yet. I think I want to do something in business though. The list of classes I'm going to take are online and I don't feel like entering that long pin# and student ID thing, so this is from what I remember: Intro to Economics Pre-Legal Studies Discover New York World History World Literature Public Speaking With the exception of the first two, all of my classes are core, meaning they are required by all students to graduate.
<div class="quote_poster">Mel JBB Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> * Do not register for any classes before 10am. You might be thinking "well in High School I started class at 7:45am...I'm sure I could handle an 8am class in college." Don't do it! There will be too much going on (especially in the dorms) for you to do your homework and be in bed by midnight.</div> My first class is 9:30 in the morning, on Mon-Wed-Fri. Tuesday I have 1 class in the afternoon for two hours and I get Thursdays off. Plus my first class (calc) would be a 3 minute walk from my res building. So I think my schedule is pretty sweet. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">* If you have the choice to live in the dorms or live at home, go live in the dorms! You'll make some amazing friendships along the way. Plus, if you ever need anything in the last minute (like a printer), you can just walk down the hallways and ask.</div>Double room, 2 bathrooms per floor. Big ass dining hall. I lucked out and got my first choice in the lottery. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">* Do sports or join a club. All colleges have some sort of intramural sports or PE classes. Definitely be a part of those.</div>I'm interested in a few already. Intramural basketball is a must, and I'm thinking of being a tour guide and/or a campus night patrol team member. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">* Do not illegally download music from the dorms. They're watching you. (I got busted 3 times )</div>The States have it tougher but at Western Ontario I get 1 GB of external downloading per day and unlimited internal downloading. DC++ ftw! Thanks for the advice Mel. Any tips on what to bring and what not to bring to res?
Most important tip. Don't be in a rush to graduate and start working. College is one of the pinnacles of your lifetime so make the most of it. Don't put pressure on yourself to graduate in 4 years. Also don't get involved in any serious relationships in college until maybe your senior year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">* Do not register for any classes before 10am. You might be thinking "well in High School I started class at 7:45am...I'm sure I could handle an 8am class in college." Don't do it! There will be too much going on (especially in the dorms) for you to do your homework and be in bed by midnight.</div> Agreed. A lot of my work freshman year got done between 9 AM and noon, depending on whether or not I had a class during that time that day. I barely did any studying at night, because like Mel said, there was just so much going on. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">* Do not illegally download music from the dorms.</div> Amen. At U of M, they'd expel you if it ever became a problem. The smart thing to do is to buy an iPod before you go down, load it up with hundreds of songs, then just update it every time you come home for breaks. <div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Also don't get involved in any serious relationships in college until maybe your senior year.</div> I don't know about that. If you meet someone who you connect with as an underclassmen, then that's great, imo. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I won't be a college freshman until next year but I'll keep this in mind. Voodoo should be coming through here in the next hour or two giving advice for drug experimentation and trafficking. Can't wait!</div> Invalid Video Link ^^^Listen to the man. Don't do drugs. Seriously, college is a time of fun and experimentation, but don't let yourself become addicted to anything. I don't advocate the regular use of marijuana (for everyone at least), because a lot of people just can't handle it. It's not uncommon to get really lazy and lethargic on it. Yes, the health risks are not half as bad as the government propaganda would have you believe, but the truth is, it impairs your judgement and can just make you very comfortable with sitting around and not doing anything all day. You don't want to be reclusive and unproductive in the most important time of your life as far as both social networking and education go. You need to find a balance between work and play from the start. Another thing I think people should confront but not many people talk about is homesickness. I know that most of you going off to college for the first time will love the freedom, but at times, you'll also want to be at home with your family where everything is familiar. It's important to think of this as not cutting ties though but more like a vacation. If you keep a positive mindset about it, you can avoid the homesickness. Most of you are probably anxious right now, and that's really common. Pretty much everyone else is just as anxious and as eager to make first impressions. Again, it's all about the mindset. You can get rid of social anxiety just by approaching it from a different perspective.
So what's US college like course-wise? Do you jump straight into a program (like say engineering or business) and get a schedule of courses you must take, or do (as I understand it) have one or two years without a major or whatever, when you just pick and read courses that may or may not prepare you for the major that you want to pick?
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Agreed. A lot of my work freshman year got done between 9 AM and noon, depending on whether or not I had a class during that time that day. I barely did any studying at night, because like Mel said, there was just so much going on. Amen. At U of M, they'd expell you if it ever became a problem. The smart thing to do is to buy an iPod before you go down, load it up with hundreds of songs, then just update it every time you come home for breaks. I don't know about that. If you meet someone who you connect with as an underclassmen, then that's great, imo. Invalid Video Link ^^^Listen to the man. Don't do drugs. </div> College is the time to experiment and experience as much self-growth as possible. Being tied down to just one girl forces you to sacrifice a lot of freedom. More often than not, your tastes change from the time you entered college to the time you graduate.
I'm not going to college for another 3 years, but does anyone know any good programs for student loans? I don't think my family has enough money to afford 4 years of college
<div class="quote_poster">Brian Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not going to college for another 3 years, but does anyone know any good programs for student loans? I don't think my family has enough money to afford 4 years of college</div> You can always go to a JC for two years, finish all the b.s. general ed classes, figure out what you REALLY want to do and then finish your major at a University.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You can always go to a JC for two years, finish all the b.s. general ed classes, figure out what you REALLY want to do and then finish your major at a University.</div> But if you go to a normal college/uni(?) you start a program with a set schedule of courses?
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">College is the time to experiment and experience as much self-growth as possible. Being tied down to just one girl forces you to sacrifice a lot of freedom. More often than not, your tastes change from the time you entered college to the time you graduate.</div> I could not disagree more. A connection is a connection, regardless of how old you are. I met my girl when I was in grade school. We just got back together this summer and have never been in a stronger relationship. To each his own, but I don't see any reason why you can't be free and actively searching for a relationship as an underclassmen. <div class="quote_poster">Bahir Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">But if you go to a normal college/uni(?) you start a program with a set schedule of courses?</div> Your freshman year, you take core level classes (ie: Intro to English, Intro to Applied Calculus, etc.). It varies from person to person, but you usually don't declare your major until after two years of college, and that's when you start taking pretty much only courses dedicated to that major. BTW - Damn, this thread has grown... fast. I edited my post above, looked down, and three people had posted under me.
<div class="quote_poster">Bahir Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">But if you go to a normal college/uni(?) you start a program with a set schedule of courses?</div> Unfortunately it's not like this. My political science teacher made a great analogy about the politics at any school in the US. Every department wants a piece of the pie to help students become "more well-rounded." Even if the student has no interest in chemistry, science, or advanced english, trigonometry etc. Each department is funded based on the amount of students enrolled in their courses, so each department tries to get a curriculum passed with the board of directors at a school. The board of directors also have a self-interest in prolonging a student's time in college, because it generates more money for the school. This is why I usually recommend for people to save their money and go to a JC for a year or two. Get all the b.s. courses you're not interested in, but are forced to take out of the way, and then when you get to a University you're ready to focus strictly on your major. Another problem with filling your course work at a major University is the lack of availability to get a course you need to graduate. There's only 'x' amount of seats available per semester, and everyone needs that course in order to graduate. I remember I had to schedule an entire semester around a geology class. It was ridiculous.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Most important tip. Don't be in a rush to graduate and start working. College is one of the pinnacles of your lifetime so make the most of it. Don't put pressure on yourself to graduate in 4 years. Also don't get involved in any serious relationships in college until maybe your senior year.</div> Ditto that. Take six years at least, run up student loans if you have to. Don't think about money, major in something you enjoy doing no matter how much it starts out paying. The real world sucks no matter how much you make if you don't really enjoy what you are doing. Take advantage of year overseas progams. Take literature classes, once you graduate you will have very little time to read. Nail every girl who looks your way, no matter how plain she looks now, later you'll think damn why didn't I hit that.
<div class="quote_poster">whatthef? Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Ditto that. Take six years at least, run up student loans if you have to. Don't think about money, major in something you enjoy doing no matter how much it starts out paying. The real world sucks no matter how much you make if you don't really enjoy what you are doing. Take advantage of year overseas progams. Take literature classes, once you graduate you will have very little time to read. Nail every girl who looks your way, no matter how plain she looks now, later you'll think damn why didn't I hit that.</div> what if she has herpies??? i have one more year left in high school i can't wait for college. and Shape my cousin went to a JC and after 2 years transfered to WVU and they only accepted 1/2 her credits and made her re take some classes.
