Leaving for College

[Phat_Pat]

So I am a freshman leaving for college on friday. This will be my first time living alone and in a new environment.

you guys have any recommendations or stories you want to share that could possibly make my transition more enjoyable? perhaps some shenanigans...

 

[adk]

You'll make a lot more friends if you leave your dorm room door open. Invest in a good doorstop.

 

[lamina]

You'll make a lot more friends if you leave your dorm room door open. Invest in a good doorstop.

I second that.

Just be yourself and you'll be fine. Living away from home is a huge change.

Invest in a decent microwave. Also, make friends with the network admin if you can

 

[Chundles]

1. Try everything once.

2. Get to the dining room/hall early - the food's better when it's hot.

3. If you're moving away study that map of the town/campus well, nothing says "First Year" like a kid with a massive backpack toting a map.

4. Personalise your room ASAP so you have your own little space you can call home - then get a bunch of mates in for a massive pis*-up and trash it.

5. Get a good kettle.

6. If you have a fridge, keep it stocked. Before a big night on the turps fill it up with water so it's cold and ready for when you get home.

7. Chicks dig chocky biscuits, keep a packet or two in the fridge for the random drop-in.

8. "Why put off till tomorrow what you can put off till next week."

9. No Escher posters.

10. Be kind, generous and accepting, you don't have to make life-long friends right away. People settle down after O-Week so that's when they're most likely going to get to know you.

11. Toga...ToGA.....TOGA!!!!

 

[Iscariot]

This one time at band camp...

 

[tomoisyourgod]

So I am a freshman leaving for college on friday. This will be my first time living alone and in a new environment.

you guys have any recommendations or stories you want to share that could possibly make my transition more enjoyable? perhaps some shenanigans...

best years of your life await you!

everyone's in the same boat, so you'll all end up gettin hammered - so my advice is use protection...

 

[imac/cheese]

Take easy classes your first semester. It boosts your GPA and makes that transition all the better. Save the harder classes for later semesters when you are adjusted and comfortable.

 

[furcalchick]

be on time for classes. don't sleep in, want to make a good impression on the profs, especially if this is a smaller school. and i would find a good study place early (that's not the library or your room and accessible all day and night).

also be open to talk to people, they could be your future friends.

invest in a bike for transportation in/around campus. my campus was really small (could cross end to end in 15 minutes walking, but it was downtown), but i used the bike to get all sorts of stuff like a mile or so around campus where cars weren't really efficient.

 

[Sdashiki]

9. No Escher posters.

Allow me to add:

Dali posters
Band posters
Bob Marley posters
Alcohol or Pot posters

to that list.

be unique, dont goto the giant poster sale as everyone else. youll notice as you visit rooms how many repeats of the same thing you will see, kind of stupid after awhile.

invest in a bike for transportation in/around campus. my campus was really small (could cross end to end in 15 minutes walking, but it was downtown), but i used the bike to get all sorts of stuff like a mile or so around campus where cars weren't really efficient.

and let me add

a damn good lock

to that!

 

[tomoisyourgod]

be unique, dont goto the giant poster sale as everyone else. youll notice as you visit rooms how many repeats of the same thing you will see, kind of stupid after awhile.

what's with all the posters? is this an american thing?

 

[Sdashiki]

what's with all the posters? is this an american thing?

Dont know, but at all the dorms Ive been to, the walls are painted flat and are typically boring or ugly and old.

Lots of students try to "personalize" their space with hanging things.

There is a company that tours the country selling posters at large colleges and universities during a weekend. They sell the same stuff every year, adding new movies and celebs, and everyone buys the same stuff every year.

I dont know how many of the Escher "Crazy Stairs" or Dali's "Persistence of Memory" I really need to see.

 

[tomoisyourgod]

Dont know, but at all the dorms Ive been to, the walls are painted flat and are typically boring or ugly and old.

Lots of students try to "personalize" their space with hanging things.

There is a company that tours the country selling posters at large colleges and universities during a weekend. They sell the same stuff every year, adding new movies and celebs, and everyone buys the same stuff every year.

I dont know how many of the Escher "Crazy Stairs" or Dali's "Persistence of Memory" I really need to see.

 

[iKwick7]

You'll make a lot more friends if you leave your dorm room door open. Invest in a good doorstop.

Couldn't agree with that more. The entire floor of my dorm had an open door policy for the first 2 years that I lived there. It was great- everyone knew everyone's name, hung out together, partied together, great times. The last year I was there, most people had graduated and we had a new RA- things weren't the same, no more open doors, no more hanging out with people. Nowhere near as fun.

One thing that I've noticed about college- how much fun you have can greatly depend on how you and your roomate(s) get along. I lucked out- 3 awesome suitemates and we became great friends. One of them had lived in the dorms for a year before that (most of us transfered in as 2nd/3rd year students) and was not so lucky- his first year was miserable.

Just be friendly with people right off the bat- it will make everything a lot easier for you- and a lot more fun.

There is a company that tours the country selling posters at large colleges and universities during a weekend. They sell the same stuff every year, adding new movies and celebs, and everyone buys the same stuff every year.

I dont know how many of the Escher "Crazy Stairs" or Dali's "Persistence of Memory" I really need to see.

I hate those damn stairs!

 

[jessep28]

The University I went to was pretty much a commuter school, so I missed out on the dorm life for the 5 years I went. But even then most of the people lviing in the dorms were from my city anyways, so it never was a true college dorm setting.

Anyways,

1) Again, take easier classes the first semester or two. Transitioning from high school won't happen overnight.

2) Keep up on the reading - it's easier. The professors won't baby you to do your homework/reading every day. Reading is easy to procrastinate on. Trying to read and understand 5 chapters of material 2 days before the exam never works. I've tried.

3) Sit in the front row. I always sat towards the front and got good grades and felt more engaged. The classes I sat in the back row I never learned a damn thing and daydreamed more.

4) Naps are you friend.

5) Take a day off every week. Consider college your full time job. Set aside a day you don't do anything course related if you can. It's harder since Freshman usually are stuck going to class 5 days a week but try anyway.

6) College gets better. Your first couple years are the hardest since you are taking general classes in areas you don't care for (e.g., speech). But when you get into your major area, then the classes are fun.

7) Take classes with your harder working friends. Avoid taking them with your lazy friends.

 

[furcalchick]

The University I went to was pretty much a commuter school, so I missed out on the dorm life for the 5 years I went. But even then most of the people lviing in the dorms were from my city anyways, so it never was a true college dorm setting.

Anyways,

1) Again, take easier classes the first semester or two. Transitioning from high school won't happen overnight.

2) Keep up on the reading - it's easier. The professors won't baby you to do your homework/reading every day. Reading is easy to procrastinate on. Trying to read and understand 5 chapters of material 2 days before the exam never works. I've tried.

3) Sit in the front row. I always sat towards the front and got good grades and felt more engaged. The classes I sat in the back row I never learned a damn thing and daydreamed more.

4) Naps are you friend.

5) Take a day off every week. Consider college your full time job. Set aside a day you don't do anything course related if you can. It's harder since Freshman usually are stuck going to class 5 days a week but try anyway.

6) College gets better. Your first couple years are the hardest since you are taking general classes in areas you don't care for (e.g., speech). But when you get into your major area, then the classes are fun.

7) Take classes with your harder working friends. Avoid taking them with your lazy friends.

agree with everything expect 6 and 7 in some aspects.

#6: in science and some other majors, the work gets harder, not easier in many cases.

#7: especially in really small colleges (mine was 2000-ish), there are only 1-2 sessions of the course per semester, so there wasn't much of an option to take certain classes with certain friends. in alot of cases, both of the types (slackers and hard working) were in the same class. not sure how large your school is though, but i would look at the professors teaching the class more than what friends are in the classes.

8. read ahead of schedule if possible. it was my best friend my last semester when i was about a week ahead of readings and i needed most of that time to finish up a paper from another class.

9. try to refine your study techniques early in college. it will help you later on down the road. i wish i had the study method i used the last year of college earlier, could have helped me in freshman/sophmore classes.

10. don't bring your computer to class. never had this problem, but trust me, you're better with pen and paper.

11. a backpack is your friend. i don't know why, but most people in college never had one carrying their books. i always had a backpack (and the same one) to carry my books, frees your hands and alot easier to gather your stuff after class.

 

[jessep28]

agree with everything expect 6 and 7 in some aspects.

#6: in science and some other majors, the work gets harder, not easier in many cases.

#7: especially in really small colleges (mine was 2000-ish), there are only 1-2 sessions of the course per semester, so there wasn't much of an option to take certain classes with certain friends. in alot of cases, both of the types (slackers and hard working) were in the same class. not sure how large your school is though, but i would look at the professors teaching the class more than what friends are in the classes.

Well I meant better in that I found the more advanced material more interesting. Also, I was treated more like a professional in my final years at college vs. a high school kid.

Finding the better/easier professors is almost a given. There is always one or two classes though (usually the more advanced ones) where the one pain in the butt professor is the only individual teaching that course.

In terms of friends, I found the lazier ones just mooched off of you. If you went to class all the time, they would never go and "borrow" your notes. It got old quick.

However, the ones with a strong work ethic were fun to be in class and you produced high quality work in group projects. In addition, it produced an excellent team environment when it came to study groups.

That's what I was getting at.

 

[ricgnzlzcr]

In my senior year of college right now and these are the tips I have which might have been mentioned by others:

-Keep your dorm door open because people might like to pop in and say hello
-Be friendly and introduce yourself as much as you can. Everyone is knew and everyone is nervous because they've left everything behind. Try meeting new people and find those that match your personality.
-Don't talk behind other peoples back. If you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all (most especially in a small college)
-Try to keep track of the calories and quality of foods you eat. The freshman 15 is a reality for a lot of people and can be more of a freshman 30 recently. Be active.
-Join clubs you find interesting. You'll find others like you and meet tons of new people.
-Invest on something cheap to put on your door knob if you want to prevent your roomie from seeing you in an interesting situation
-Take simple 101 courses your first year not only to get them out of the way, but because they're easy and give you time to socialize and learn about the college.
-Be courteous when you're hanging at someone's place you don't know.
-Play any drinking games by the house rules and don't complain
-If you're of the drinking type, get good at beer pong
-Enjoy. College is one of the greatest experiences in your life. It'll have its downer moments but it's been tons of fun.