Going off to College...

[Gizmo1990]

Try not to let having fun overtake doing your work. I had to work my arse off the later half of my first year (even more than most people) because the first half of my year took a back seat to drink and girls. 2nd year onward I balanced my time better between work and girls and it was much better.

 

[Lionsfan]

As someone who is also going off to college this week(Citadel) and has seen a brother attempt to go through college, I have one big tip,

Don't fuck around.

Take it seriously and remember you are there to get an education and learn things, not to party with jackasses and become diversified. Thats all well and good, but they are not why you are there.

Spoken exactly how I picture a Citadel student answering.


OT: Like Ryotknife said, avoid hard liquor until you know your body well. Some people might try to get you to take shots with them or something, but it's better to be the guy who "wimped out" than the kid who threw up on the floor.

Talk to people, socialize. There's no real cliques on campus, unless you go to a school with D1 athletics, and then the athletes will probably keep to themselves. Find something that interests you, and join a club for it.

Don't forget to shower.

Go to class. I know your undergrad classes are gonna suck, and it will seem like stupid busy work, but make sure to do your work and your major will kick in before you know it.

Mostly try to find a balance between having fun and making memories, and flunking out of your classes. It could mean an extra 2-3 years in school, and all the extra tuition

 

[Shock and Awe]

As someone who is also going off to college this week(Citadel) and has seen a brother attempt to go through college, I have one big tip,

Don't fuck around.

Take it seriously and remember you are there to get an education and learn things, not to party with jackasses and become diversified. Thats all well and good, but they are not why you are there.

Spoken exactly how I picture a Citadel student answering.

Haha, I'll take that as a compliment. XD

 

[GonzoGamer]

Your college tuition pays for a lot of things other than just your classes, take full advantage of them. If you get sick, don't just tough it out, go to your college's health center. Go to the gym, you're paying for it whether you go or not, might as well get some use out of it.

Don't buy books for your classes in advance. Always go to the first class, and see if you will actually need the books or not. A lot of professors will put books on your syllabus where you'll only need like one chapter, or won't actually ever use them at all.

Remember, this isn't high school, you can schedule your classes whenever the hell you want. I personally liked to give myself a 3 day weekend. It really helps to give yourself a full free day, rather than just giving yourself some extra time here and there.

If you have professors who don't treat their students like adults get the fuck out of their classes, those people are a nightmare.

That's about all the advice I have, you know, other than the standard "work hard and don't drink too much."

All of this. Especially the 3 day weekend; when else in your life will you be able to definitely do that? And the part about not drinking too much. I'll just say that I have a friend who died from binge drinking, I never heard of anyone ODing from too much weed.

I didn't go away to college but I had a lot of fun hanging out with a lot of different kinds of people. You have a much wider pool of people to hang out with, take advantage of that.

Have fun with electives but not too much fun. I took way too many electives than I needed. They were fun but it delayed my graduation because I still had requirements to fill.

But I think South Park put it best. "There's a time and a place for everything, and that's college."
Have fun.

 

[rasputin0009]

Most of the shitty people and the cliques from high school are gone! Rejoice! You'll end up making friends with all kinds of different people from all kinds of backgrounds.

Don't forget to go to class. Seriously. Go to ALL of them. Seems like a no-brainer, but it really is half the battle.

Lots of professors put their notes online. Don't just print them off, read them and think you've got a handle on the lesson. Because you don't. Rewrite the notes. Whether during the lecture, before or after. Writing out your notes is the easiest way to learn/memorize. This was a big problem for me which I learned too late.

Party hard, but not everyday. You need to relax and socialize, but if you're too hung over to study the next day, you're going too hard. And you don't always need alcohol to party. Everyone is always doing something.

And don't be afraid to make friends in your lectures. Asking to borrow a pencil or something is an easy icebreaker. With friends in your lectures, you can study and do assignments together.

 

[spartan231490]

As the title says, I'll be moving to my dorm for my first year of college this Saturday...

I'm not sure how the feels should be...

What was it like for you, leaving off to go somewhere new? Any tips and tricks for successful colleging?

1 huge tip I can't stress enough. Don't declare your major until sophmore year. 75% of college students change their major at least once, getting your gen eds out of the way while you talk to professors about what they actually do in their fields would save every one of those that does some headaches. No job is exactly what you think it is, so talk to someone who has actually done it before you make up your mind.

Other than that, don't worry about it too much. Before the month is out you'll make a bunch of new friends in your dorm. Also, don't piss off your roommate, you've got to live with him/her for the whole year. Lastly, just try not to stress. Every one of the freshman is going through the same thing. It's why it's so easy to make friends in your first month in the dorm. Every one is looking for some familiarity and some comfort. Anyway, you'll be fine, it is very different from high school, but it's not anywhere near as hard or as scary as people say.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Any tips and tricks for successful colleging?

As someone who failed at colleging, the best advice I can give you is to go easy on the drugs. Yes, everyone will be doing them and yes, you're going to have a hell of a lot of fun with them. Just don't get hooked to anything, never let the partying get in the way of work. Don't be that guy, who we shall call WonicSaffle, who ends up smoking weed every day and never attending classes until they kick him out.

It's not worth it.

Party like a fucking maniac, because it's unlikely you're going to get the chance again unless you totally balls your life up, but know when to say no. All things in moderation.

 

[vashthblackseed]

As other have said. Take the work seriously, however; don't forget to cut loose a little. And if you hear some is going to be running a Humans vs Zombies game, try to get your ass in the game.
http://humansvszombies.org/

 

[SquidVicious]

Invest in a decent pair of headphones (I would recommend something from Sennheiser), they will save your life come study time.

Also I would recommend checking out a show called Undergrads. It's an animated show from the early '00's that's set during the first year of college and has a lot to say about the college experience. It's a very underrated show and I think you could learn a couple of things from it, plus it's just funny as hell. The entire series is uploaded to YouTube as well.

 

[hooblabla6262]

Everyone experiences everything differently.

Your experience will be determined by a number of factors such as which institution you will be attending and what you plan on taking.

Just make sure you show up to class. Try not to let yourself get overwhelmed.

And be aware of your limits. Too many kids think they can juggle the party and academic life.
Very few public schools prepare you well enough to pull it off.
I was lucky in that respect

 

[TK421]

I didn't leave my home town to go off to college, but I do have some of these

Any tips and tricks for successful colleging?

First of all, go to class. You now have the freedom to chose whether you attend or not, but I promise you that the less you show up, the less motivated you will be, and your grades will suffer for it.

Secondly, always study for tests, and don't procrastinate. This isn't high school, and things will be a lot harder. Your first semester might not be too hard with just gen-eds and such, but you want to start out with good habits, not have to develop them mid-way through your junior year of college. (believe me, it sucks)

These are really the only two things that I learned and would do differently if I had to start over. Good luck to you, I hope that you perform well and that you are able to get a degree that you are interested in that is able to land you a good job.

 

[sextus the crazy]

As someone who is also going off to college this week(Citadel) and has seen a brother attempt to go through college, I have one big tip,

Don't fuck around.

Take it seriously and remember you are there to get an education and learn things, not to party with jackasses and become diversified. Thats all well and good, but they are not why you are there.

Quoted For Truth. Aim to make the most of your investment. College is fucking expensive; aim to be the best in whatever you want to do.

Do something because you enjoy it. Whatever you major in, work hard at it, and try to get as much research and summer intern stuff done as possible. A business major with Bs and no work experience isn't as hire-able as an english major with As and multiple internships.

Make the use of the resources they offer. Colleges usually have career centers, free access to hundreds of databases, access to professors, and a shit ton of other stuff to make use of.

Get out there and meet people. College is a great place to meet people with similar interests and just lots of cool smart people in general. These 2-4 (and possibly more) years are pretty fun all in all.

EDIT: don't put anything off to the last minute. Your work will suffer for it. If you are given an large assignment due in a month, work on it a little everyday. You cannot do excellent work at the last minute on large projects. Your grades and sanity will benefit from a little planning and foresight.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I went to University in my home city and stayed at home for the first 2 years before moving out/in with my girlfriend. Damn fine experience for me though as University was just SO much better than High School for me, I was better at the Academic Work, liked the people more... it was just a much better time.

But yeah tips...

Be careful with food! The "Freshmen 15" is no lie, it is VERY hard to stay eating healthy in University/College. If you drink coffee I recommend learning to drink it black or with Skim/Low Fat % Milk because, if you're like me anyway, you'll be up to 6 or 7 cups a day during Midterms and Finals. I'd say learning the various vendors around your campus is a good idea, know who sells what for how much etc. it's just handy for planning your meals and managing your budget. If you have the ability to cook do so, but don't trust communal fridges... your food will go missing with great frequency (I had room-mates when I moved out/in with my girlfriend, this was a constant problem... especially when you're a broke student and a few missing pizza pops can mean a few lunch-less days, tended to cause a lot of fights).

As for Booze... Hard Liquor and Mixers are your best friend! Rum and Cokes, Vodka and Juice, Tom Collins's if you want to avoid the sugar etc. Also avoid Bars if you can, it's nice to go out on occasion but overall house/room parties are just so much cheaper than whatever you're likely to be charged in a Bar.

 

[generals3]

As someone who is also going off to college this week(Citadel) and has seen a brother attempt to go through college, I have one big tip,

Don't fuck around.

Take it seriously and remember you are there to get an education and learn things, not to party with jackasses and become diversified. Thats all well and good, but they are not why you are there.

I beg to differ. It's a matter of being good at fucking around. I fucked around for 5 years and never failed ^^ Heck... I think I worked more in highschool than college... (considering i went to an average of 20% of the classes) This said fucking around isn't something everyone can afford to do. Some people don't even fuck around and fail miserably.

 

[SmokingBomber465]

Join a fraternity, make great friends, drink yourself silly, and have fun. You will only be able to do this once in your life so make the most of it.

College is a breeze, don't spend the whole time studying. Only a moron can't handle the coursework.

 

[acillies45]

Honestly I would say two things:

Study as hard as you need to get good grades (Don't kill yourself over them, but you're paying to go there, might as well do the best you can). While some say good grades aren't NECESSARY when someone looks at a resume or transcript, they certainly don't hurt much either.

And meet as many people from as many different groups as you can. Don't just hang out with one group of friends the entire time who are into all the same stuff. The best you can do is get to know people who are different from people you are used to hanging out with. I'm not sure if you're just studying film or if you plan to go into film, but it's all about who you know in that industry (I'm trying to get into film currently) and even if someone isn't going into film themselves, they may know someone in the industry or someone else breaking into film. And beyond that, having a wide variety of friends keeps things interesting.

I miss college, I just graduated in May. I never drank (that's just me) but I would go to parties and just hang out and talk/dance with people. Have fun. We're only young once. Just don't be stupid about it.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

Focus first on your studies, then for the love of god make friend's. Join club's, try and talk to people, you need to make an effort.

 

[bojackx]

Well make damn sure you have decent social skills, or at least that you're fine on your own. My first year at University was last year, and after 3 weeks I hated it so much that I ran back home. In the end I ended up transferring to a better university that I can commute to every day so it turned out pretty good, but it ended up costing me almost £900 to learn that lesson and I don't have any friends at my new university either.

The best advice I can give you is to socialise as much as possible and make yourself some good friends. Get way out of your comfort zone if you need to, don't just sit in your room all day, and remember to not fuck up because there's some serious money on the line.