Do not eat crap all the time. It’s really easy to do this, because (at my University at least) the crap food looks tempting and the healthy food looks like crap. Let me just say, though, that gaining weight and feeling shitty are REALLY easy to do this way. Losing the weight and getting back into shape is not.
Keep the receipt for your books. If you end up dropping a class, your college will not take them back without one.
Do not be afraid to go to your RA for anything important. No doubt they’ve had to deal with it before. And if they haven’t, they’ll probably know someone who has.
Got a relationship? Think seriously about whether you’ll be able to keep it up long distance. It’s not as easy as you might think. And if you DO decide to keep the relationship, be sure to meet OTHER people. You know, like people who are actually within a hundred miles of you.
Quarters. You can’t say that enough. You can’t have enough of them. Alternately, Underwear.
Get a computer. It doesn’t have to be the greatest computer on the face of the Earth, it doesn’t have to be the fastest, but it does have to be reliable. Do this even if your dorm has a computer lab. Come the last few weeks of classes, it’s going to be damned hard to find a computer, the labs will be noisy, and you’ll probably have a lot to write. Also, get a warranty on any new computer you might by. It’s nice to know that if it breaks, someone will fix it for nada.
Be honest with your roommates. If the music of yodeling yak herders annoys the hell out of you, let them know. If you have to go to bed at 10 each night, tell them. If you mind having strange (possibly older and creepy members of the opposite sex in the room at all hours of the night, tell them. Basically, let them know about anything that they could inadvertantly do that could make your life a living hell. Not only will it probably keep them from doing it too often, but it also gives you an incentive not to piss them off.
If you find that you can’t get out of bed in the morning, that you’re constantly down in the dumps, that your sleep patterns have changed, or that you’re thinking of suicide, don’t be afraid to seek help. Most universities have a counseling center. If you are given medication for it, either make sure you will consistently have the money to pay for it and a way to get it or tell your parents. And by consistently, I mean every damn time, including over the summer.
Knocking back a couple of beers at a party: fun. Getting so drunk that you can’t remember what you did, but know that you smell like vomit and may have had sex with someone of either the male or female persuasion: not so fun. Getting kicked out of school because you can’t get your grades up: sucks all ass.
Running a server on the school’s computer network slows everyone else on it down. And while you might not be doing something critically important, odds are someone is, and they can’t do it because you’re being an inconsiderate jerk. Be courteous.
Get involved with stuff. Seriously, join SOMETHING. Anything. Even if you’re like me, and the thought of joining something that requires actual social, face-to-face contact makes you kind of queasy, do it. It will make life much more enjoyable.
You’re there to take classes. Do try to attend them as often as possible. However, be realistic and considerate: if you have something massively contagious and nasty, don’t go to class. Write the professor an e-mail or call him, go to the health center, and get better as SOON AS POSSIBLE. You don’t need to be 100% to go to class, but if you’re sneezing all over the place and it isn’t allergies, give it a miss just this once.
(I learned most of these from experience my freshman year, which just ended. Either my own experience or my peers. Just so you know I’m not pulling it out of my butt).
