[Disclaimer: This is my opinion. I also provide personal experiences in the brackets. The drinking age is 21 in the United States, but I still provided tips because underage drinking isn't unheard of in college.]
My Best Tip for Current High School Students:
My Best Tip for Current High School Students:
Take AP classes (if you can)! Now, don't waste your time if you don't think you can pass the AP exam. Even if you can't get full credit, this depends on where you will be going anyway, the general credits will be a blessing. If you want to either get a minor or double major, those credits will eat up the troublesome general education requirements. Less general education requirements to worry about will mean you can focus on your major, graduate sooner, and maybe take classes just for fun. Besides even if you don't get an A, colleges will like it because it shows that you are ready for college material. They rather see you take higher level classes and power through it than take easy classes. The only draw back is that you can't be a lazy senior. (Although, after the AP exams are done you'll have at least a couple weeks to chill before graduation.)
~ College Freshmen ~
Selecting Classes:
Plan ahead even if you don't know what your major will be. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, so I took a variety of classes that I was interested in (at least sort of). [I took Economics, Japanese, and International Relations my first semester.] I highly recommend looking up the professors online. A professor can make a difficult class immensely easier. If you know anyone who attends the same university, ask them for recommendations. They might have a list of classes to take or avoid. You should take a peak at your general education requirements while you are at it, especially if you are bringing in AP credit. You can skip unnecessary classes and find a variety that also take care of your requirements. Starting off you will have a lot of options to choose from. Hopefully in orientation they will explain to you how the requirements work. Ask about what the normal credit amount is for your school, and consider taking it easy the first semester. If you are really unsure about what classes to take pick up one or two extra. When the semester starts you can get a better idea if you like the class or the professor and drop them in the first week. If you don't know what your major is don't worry. If you enjoy a particular class, take a related class the next semester and look into what majors it corresponds to. [My favorite class was Japanese and now I am a Japanese major. I wish I was better and liked Economics, but I didn't.]
Main Points
- Plan ahead before you sign up
- Look up the Professors (Rate My Professor)
- Ask for recommendations (if you know upperclassmen)
- Look at general education requirements (especially if you have AP credit)
- Plan out the perfect schedule ahead of time (have back ups)
- Schedulizer is your best friend
- Undecided about your major? Don't worry about it
- Take classes that interest you
- Undecided about which classes to take? Sign up for a couple extra
- After the first couple of classes you'll know which ones you like
- Drop it after the first class or first week
- Do not keep too many (take the average amount of credits or less for the first sem)
Academics:
If you were a straight A student or one who got all As or Bs, do not expect to do the same amount of work and get the same grade. You may need to study more. I recommend going to the library after class and then leaving around dinner time, or go after dinner and go back to your dorm before bed. Studying frequently is better than cramming. It helps to find friends who like to go to the library to study. Peer pressure can be a studying tool. I was one and trust me my standard for an acceptable grade has lowered. A high GPA is easier to achieve if you don't overload yourself. My lowest GPA occurred when I took 17 credits. The next semester I took about 14 (the lowest amount of credits I have ever taken) and got my highest (two ABs and an A). GPA will be more important to you depending on if you want to get into programs like the business school, graduate school, study abroad, or even what major you declare.
If you liked curves in high school, you may not in college. College has made me hate them with a passion. I've taken one or two classes where it works in my favor, but the majority not so much. Curved classes are often large and were recommended to me as easy classes. The problem is your grade depends on how intelligent or how well you study compared to the rest of the class. The exams, which usually account for most of your grade, are set up to create a bell curve. The problem with curves is that the majority of the class will either get a C, or if the professor is nice a BC. For example, after the first midterm I had a better idea how to study for the next exam. I studied harder for it and got a higher score. However, the class average also increased and I got the same score as I did for the previous test. I usually fall with the majority of the class, which is quite frustrating. In classes where the tests and class is designed so that the students actually learn the main points I do significantly better in.
Social Aspects:
This section greatly varies based on which school you attend.
- Alcohol: If you are not accustomed to drinking alcohol, then wait till you make some good friends and throw a small drinking party just for you guys. This way you don't need to worry as much about safety. If you've picked the right friends, they won't take advantage of you. I suggest either sleeping over or having it close to where you live so you don't have to worry about getting home. Prepare by having people bring drinks like soda and juice to mix with the alcohol and snacks. Pace yourself and try to find the point where you feel tipsy. Once you get there don't drink more. If you start sobering up and the party is still going then drink a little more just to get back to that sweet spot. Make sure to keep snacking on food. I personally like to sober up before going to bed. If you haven't learned drinking safety or tips from a legitimate source, then you might want to look online. It might be a good idea to have emergency phone numbers in your contacts in case something goes wrong.
- Friends: Well, if you plan on drinking you might want to find friends first. [I was fortunate that I was on a language floor, so there was mutual interests. Most of the girls already knew each other so I just joined that group of friends.] College can be a hard or really easy place to make new friends. [I'm a shy person so making friends can be difficult. I took a six credit course, so I had class eight times a week with the same people. I found seeing people every day made it easier to make friends.] The best places to try are in your classes, in your dorm, and then social or club events. I've heard from some of my friends that they didn't like their first year because they weren't close with anyone in their dorm. You don't need to be friends with people on your floor. It just helps to make friends early on. It is great to make friends with people in class because then you can ask to borrow their notes and can form a study group. I find that proximity is a big factor, so try people you sit near in lecture or in discussion. Try starting a conversation before class starts or after class. If things go well introduce yourself. An easy conversation starter is something related to the class. Most colleges have clubs and social events for freshmen, so you will have plenty of opportunities to find people. I just recommend trying to make friends early on because it can make the college experience better.
- If you attend a university which has a big sports program try going to a game or watching the game with friends. I wasn't into sports until I entered college. Unlike high school, you picked this college and it picked you too. Have some school spirit. It will give you an excuse to throw parties and let loose with the rest of the school.
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