Just finished first year! Advice for 2014ers

zephyra
Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:57:04 +0000

You’ve probably heard a lot of this before, but I thought I’d share anyway.

ACADEMICS
*Don’t study for the placement exams.
*Be prepared to get bad grades and not freak out over them. My first midterm grade here was the second lowest in the class. But at the end of the quarter I finished with an above average grade.
*Work hard. Put 100% effort into everything, because professors respect hard working students and, if they like you, will open doors you didn’t know even existed.(In particular, offering research assistantships, directing you to good programs, etc.)
*Even if you’re planning on taking three classes, register for four. That way you can drop the one you like the least.
*It’s easy to get into graduate classes. I’ve heard of first years in language classes, second years in bio grad classes, third years in physics grad classes, etc. Question is, can you actually handle them?

CHICAGO
*Don’t carry a purse into Chicago.
*Always keep money on your CTA card (which you’ll get at the beginning of the year). If you have it on you it’s $2/swipe onto the bus. But if you don’t you need to pay $2.25 in cash and they don’t give change, so if you’ve only got a $20, you’re screwed.
*CTA trip planner will be your best friend if you’re the kind of person who loves the city. You can put the exact time you’re leaving and the exact time you need to be back and it’ll give you bus routes and arrival times.
*Keep an eye out for student discounts on opera/theater/concert tickets and museum free days.

OTHER
*Don’t worry about making friends. It takes a little longer for some people, but by now pretty much everyone’s found their “group” and made good friends.
*Be proactive. Work-study jobs get snapped up quickly, so start searching as early as possible (maybe even the end of the summer). It’s also quite easy to get officer positions in RSOs as a first-year.
*Start searching for summer employment/internships/lab positions in winter quarter. DON’T PROCRASTINATE ON THIS. Have a backup in case your first choice doesn’t work out.