OKgirl

You could maybe throw something in about knowing self defense.

Get to know your teachers and go to office hours if you need help. This will come in handy when it comes time for letters of recommendation!

Bigredmed

#1 thing - get involved on campus and get involved EARLY. Find SOMETHING that you can identify with and you'll be better off in the end. You need something that will make you feel like a part of the campus, something that will provide you memories of what a great time college was when you're old and gray. Whether it's a fraternity/sorority, student government, intramurals, or the anime club, get involved and make it yours. The people who end up not liking their schools are the ones that think everything is going to happen on it's own. When it doesn't they end up thinking about home and all of a sudden are trapped in the vicious cycle that is homesickness. Trust me, if you're too busy having fun to think about home, you'll never have to worry about being homesick.

As sort of a side note to this - if you're shy, your best move is to join a fraternity or sorority. 100% serious. Then the parties are set up for you, you have a smaller group of people who are looking to be your friends (and with whom you already have a common bond and a common set of acquaintances). Even if you think "I'm too shy to go through recruitment" TRY IT, and then for a week, say "F it, I'm going to talk to people even though I'm uncomfortable" and see where it takes you.

Saxonthebeach6

While you should explore what your school has to offer, don't bite off more than you can chew. That is to say, try as many things as you can (clubs, sports, activities), but don't be afraid to let go of some of them. There are only so many hours in the day, and everyone needs some time to hang with friends and decompress.

jack4640

Another piece of advice: Buy a gun! There is no reason why you shouldn't carry a moderately-powerful concealed weapon in this day and age. Most leading gun retailers offer discounts to college students - take advantage! Guns are awesome.

darvit

Should I be insightful?

Grades ARE important, don't forget that. Unless you're really going to do something where your grades don't matter...I guess. But in a lot of cases, whether it's med school, law school, grad school in general, lots of different industries, employers will have to weed people out somehow. So regardless of what people say about classes only being a small part of college and how it's better to do all these crazy things and don't stress too much over grades, don't take that to mean that you can just let your classes take care of themselves and be satisfied with whatever you get. Basically don't get carried away by college. Know when to do fun things and when to sit down and do serious work. You don't want to regret things.

But with that said, do take time to explore all the opportunities you have. Clubs, speeches, events, parties, etc...if it sounds interesting, then go do it. You're seriously never going to get another chance in life to have all these things right at your fingertips, usually free of charge, with your friends and thousands of other people your age you can do them with. Even if something sounds intimidating or not something you would do normally, try it out. Then at least you won't be wondering what they were like. Also by doing things, you get to meet people. Who knows if you'll meet someone who will become a good friend? Or if you'll meet someone you really start to admire and can learn from? It also never hurts to build relationships that you can use to get jobs and such after college

Look to the future every once in a while. Think about where you're going, what you want to study (if you're not sure yet), if you're taking the right steps to get there. Planning ahead never hurts. Use your resources if you think they're going to help. Don't think resources are just the advisors or professors or whoever. You're going to get just as much information from your friends/ random people you talk to who are students too. Know how to ask all the right questions...if you find someone in a major you're interested in, ask them about it. Ask people what they're studying, what clubs they're in, what their plans are, what classes/professors they recommend, why they want to do whatever they want to do. It's SO helpful, trust me, and people like talking about themselves.

That's basically my 2 cents.

Oh and, let loose once in a while. Have a good time. But don't forget that there's college, and then there's the remainder of your life. That's 4 years vs. 60/70 years? So don't screw up and wish you'd done a little more work during those 4 years to make the rest of your life better.

I must have been bored to type all that.

shan324

12 pages of advice on a thread from the summer:
advice for the class of '11

shan324

ALSO:
Quarters are like gold.
Two meals a day is standard.
Road trip whenever possible.
Going to the mailbox was never an ego booster/breaker before.
You will begin to nap again.
Your bookstore bill will almost equal tuition.
Squirt guns = stress relief.
E-mail becomes your second language.
College students throw paper airplanes too.
You never realized so many people were smarter than you.
Western Europe could be wiped out by a horrible plague and youd never
know,
but you can recite last weeks rerun of Seinfeld verbatim.
You will never rent more movies in your life.
No one is too old for video games.
The health service nurses are there because they couldnt make it in a
real
hospital. Never, ever forget that!
Care packages are right up there with birthdays.
Campus is only clean for family weekend and freshman orientation.
It never sucked so much to get sick.
Nothing you want to register for will be open.
Beware of the freshman 15.
Be creative in the dining hall.
Classes: the later the better.
You are no longer thankful that fire alarms are here to protect you.
Disney movies are more than just classics.
Asleep by 2:30 AM is an early night.
Cereal makes a meal any time of the day.
New additions to food groups: Jolt Cola, Ramen, and Pizza.
ATMs are the devils advocate.
Duct tape heals all wounds.
Pro Wrestling is suddenly cool again.
Keys have never been so important, yet you seem to lose them even more.
Showers become less important, sleep becomes more important.
You will eat anywhere that is a buffet.
You realize college is the ideal lifestyle, except for those pesky
classes.
Procrastination is an art form.
Jeans may be worn as many times as the wearer desires.
The only time to dress up is when all your jeans are dirty.
Youll eat anything if its free.
College football is the coolest thing on the planet.
Cartoons are for all ages, especially Scooby Doo.
No matter how hard you try . . . You are never alone
A cancelled class is almost better than christmas.
Just because you have no bowl doesn't mean you can't make one out of a paper plate
Flip flops and padded bras double as tree ornaments in the quad
Flying kites is not just for 7 year olds
You will need an air freshener, even if you have never bought one before
Caffeine addiction is a given
Suddenly cheap beer becomes the beer of choice and taste no longer matters
When at home you realize how awesome taking a shower is without flip flops.
You can never have enough snacks or money

cbaile08

wow! this is going great!!! thank you soo much!
and thank you for that thread shan 324!

AUlostchick

Haha, I like Shan's.

To bigredmed, I really don't think that's the best advice. Greek life is not for everyone. Sure, many people have a great time in a frat/sorority, but I for one could not imagine ever being in one and I doubt most of my friends could either. As diverse as the Panhellenic Council and IFC like to pretend they are, generally they are for a certain "type" of people, and that's definitely not me.

bassxx2099

shan's message is good but to break the wall of text...
C-C-C-C-C-Combo breaker

leah377

When you first get to school, make socializing your priority. Once you've established yourself some friends, THEN crack down on your classes. You'll be much happier in college if you have an enjoyable social situation to balance out the academia, and it's easiest to meet new people at the beginning of the year.

lollybo

C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-ombo Breaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

zicon189

Don't make fun of people who visit high school from college who are fat. You'll realize that gaining weight is so much easier than you thought it'd be.

Learn to write letters. And bring stamps. Nothing is quite as depressing as not getting a single piece of mail for a while. Write letters and your friends will (hopefully) write some back, and your mailbox will be less like a depressingly empty box.

Regardless of how vigilant you are about it, you won't go the gym as often as you plan to.

Love your laptop, regardless of how old/big/clunky/whatever it is, because if it happens to break, you'll realize just how much you depend on it.

If you bring ziplock bags to the dining hall, you can steal a ridiculous amount of food - even salads.