Again this might be a cultural thing - how old is the chap?
I really am very ignorant about the American college system, for instance it appears from this thread that graduation takes variable amounts of time…
Good advice, especially if he has a laptop. There’s always a couple that go missing each year at my rather small school. I recall one where the boy’s roommate was in his room with the door open when his laptop was stolen (note: these doubles were basically two singles with one door to the hallway–the boy who was there was in the inner room, the laptop was stolen from the one connecting that room to the hallway.) In pretty much every case the door had been left unlocked, if not wide open.
And yes, hoard quarters. There’s laundry if your school uses coin machines, but you may also want to hit up the vending machines from time to time. I’ve lost count of how many trips to the basement I made for a can of Pepsi and a chocolate bar at 8pm.
Finally, one I learned the hard way–keep your shoes and a robe or coat handy at all times. You’ll be thankful for it when the fire alarm goes off at 2am again.
ETA: And your keys so you don’t get locked out.
Then why do you have the second-most posts in this thread, which is asking for advice about the American college system?
What what WHAT?! starts up siren Attention all incoming freshmen: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy the book until week 2 of the course. On the first day, ask the prof straightly if you will need the book at all. If you need it, first check the library for a free copy. Second, check the internet for a transcription (Plato or Shakespeare= free on numerous sites). Third, buy an outdated edition for 5 bucks (if it’s a factual book like history or math, not current events). Fourth, try to pay a friend $15 bucks to let you photocopy the important chapters. Fifth, buy the book on AMAZON!!! There is never a need to use the bookstore…NEVER!!!
Because the overview is unlikely to be that different to that of the UK system.
Thanks everyone so very much for your help (Yes, ivylass, its me.)
Quick note to British Shop Owner…You have nothing productive to contribut to this particular thread, so I would kindly suggest you stick to things that you would know about…the British Education system perhaps?
If you really want to ignore advice, my 17/18 year old dear, then it’s up to you. But whilst I might not know much about the American system in detail, I did help out with graduate recruitment for a long time, and know what real employers were/are looking for.
As others have mentioned, tell your son to not leave his stuff unattended, lock his dorm door, and keep valuables in pockets. Theft is a big problem on all college campuses, especially from food courts, 24 hour study lounges, empty classrooms, and dorm rooms.
If you are living in a dorm it would be a good idea to buy a laptop lock. If your roommate/suitemates are having a party, an unsecured laptop has the nasty tendency to grow legs and walk out.
My cell phone was stolen last semester when I left it on the table beside me while eating dinner. My roommate’s back pack was stolen because she had it propped up behind her chair, and someone grabbed it and walked off. People look for any opportunity possible, and rarely will bystanders step in to prevent a theft.
Even more important is internships. The summer after freshman year you can get by with being a lifeguard or working at Starbucks, but after that, you really want to get some real work experience.
And your GPA WILL come up in certain fields until you get your first job. You might not even realize it until you are wondering why you didn’t get selected for an on-campus interview.
I would second joining clubs and organizations you are interested in. It’s a good way to meet people.
A typical American 4-year Bachelor’s program generally starts around the first week of September (after Labor Day). Most college freshmen start the year after they graduate high school and are about 17-18 years old.
Also, no one is going to throw you out because a form is misfiled. You may not get the classes you want though if wait until the last minute.
We didn’t have the internet in my day. I actually had to go stand at the registrars office in line for like an hour to sign up for my classes.
Something else about employment…
Working while in school is helpful, but some campus jobs are hard to get. It helps to stop in the office of career services and pick up an application during orientation, fill it out, and drop it off before fall starts. If you don’t get hired somewhere on campus, apply again in late spring. That way you will be considered before the incoming fall students.
If you can’t find a job on campus, and are used to being up late at night, apply at a hotel. Often, you can get on for 2-3 nights a week, most have wireless internet (so you can take a laptop), and if you work 3rd shift you don’t have much to deal with. I work full time doing it right now, but we have a guy working 2 nights a week because he is in grad school. We also have 2 guys working evenings for us (3-11 type shift) and our GM is also in college (for the second time, he’s been retired once and went back to school to be a teacher - not bad for 35). Places like this usually have enough flexibility and can work around things. The same is not true for places like liquor stores and gas stations, which will hire kids in college but have very little shift coverage. I have worked in both. It’s nice to be at the hotel because I do all my homework while I’m there. It’s not the perfect solution to working while in school, but it’s a pretty good one.
Brendon Small
Are you on a mission to start something in every forum?
From a young prof.
A couple of caveats about the “get to know your prof thing”-- I think I’m meeting a number of students who were urged to do this, but in a cynical or weakly manipulative way. So I’ve gotten to know their names and recognize them. . . and so I notice that although they are toadying outside of class and e-mail a lot with questions, I notice they don’t take any notes in class, their questions make it clear that they’re not paying attention, etc. And when they ask about the exam or material it’s clear that it is all an effort to determine exactly how little they need to learn to pass, AND that someone told them that they should make sure I know who they are, as if knowing their name gets an extra five points. And I’m secretly sort of pissed off at them.
So:
A) If you tell your prof that you really care about this class, it’s so neat, your favoritest subject, etc, behave like it-- they’ll notice a disconnect.
B) Never ask anything along the lines of “will this be on the exam?”, “is this important?”, “are we expected to know (whatever slight extra thing-- dates, info from the book that’s not in lecture, etc)?” and so on-- especially if that is the only kind of question you ever ask. The prof can tell a question that is ACTUALLY about the material from a question that basically feeling out how little students can get away with. I hate this-- students who can do all the math to calculate that they only need a 71% on the final to pass, but can’t be arsed to, you know, learn a damn thing. The students who suck up at office hours but really don’t give a damn will annoy professors.
C) Don’t plagiarize or cheat, obviously, and don’t blow everything off, but if you do, don’t say “But I’m a really a good student!” Well, apparently not. “I always get As and Bs!!!” Well, again, apparently not so much, eh?
D) The big secret-- from up at the podium, WE CAN SEE YOU. If you’re dicking around on the laptop, or napping, or glaring, or have no pen or paper, or are doing sudoku-- WE CAN SEE YOU. We won’t call you on it because that just disrupts everything, but WE CAN SEE YOU. This also goes for students who come in late or leave early as a habit. We don’t think you’re good students.
E) Take notes. You’re sitting in class. You don’t have anything better to do (see part D)-- so you might as well take some notes. Can’t hurt. Taking notes is not a sign of weakness. Taking notes does not acknowledge that you’re just not the most clever person we know or that you don’t have some mythical eidetic memory, etc. When students approach me after midterms wheedling about how very very hard they’ve been working and they just don’t understand why “I gave them” a bad grade, I ask to have a look at their notes. Well, there’s our problem!
Ah, I feel better! Be one of the students that we love-- you don’t have to be brilliant or bootlicking or morally upright. We love beer and Halo, too. Just give a damn and don’t resent being in class every moment. We just want you to learn some stuff and we want to help you become a better thinker and hopefully discover a field that you like.
I just graduated, and had the time of my life. Best of luck to both of you. My two cents include…
If he’s on a scholarship, he’s probably one of the top students at the University. That said, in college you’re introduced to subjects that you’ve never encountered before. I was in a similar position (scholarship, assistantship) but when it came to econ, I just didn’t have what it took. It made my freshman year hard hard hard and I think that if I would have had a little less ego and would have attended office hours or gotten a tutor it wouldn’t have been such a nightmare. Know when to swollow your pride.
Some of my friends considered changing their major after frustrating experiences like mine. Maybe it would be a great decision because you’ve discovered you aren’t well suited for a field or you just got stuck with a lousy professor. I saw too much anxiety when people didn’t want to come clean with their parents that they wanted to make a change (or thought they wanted to make a change). Discuss your expectations as far as major changes are concerned. For some people graduating in four years is a big priority when it comes to paying. For others speeding things up means that your grades suffer.
You probably won’t want to bring your laptop to class. It’s just not needed.
Is study abroad a big deal at the university? If it is, start exploring your options early because many trips are offered only so often. If not, try to find a way to make it work. For most of my friends (and myself) study abroad was an intregal part of our college experience. It not only gives you an invaluble learning experience, it makes your resume stand out. If cost/time is an issue (and it is for everyone) summer experiences are often cheaper and shorter.
Have fun. Meet people. Join a club or an IM sports team. Get tickets to football or basketball if you’re interested. Show up to class and do the reading, and you’ll be fine grades wise. Know the signs of when partying is becoming a problem. Call home or email often.
Not to be difficult, but I’ve had some bad experiances with ‘Cut-Throating’. (The practice of checking out all the library copies of that prof’s book and not returning them until the final or intentionally cutting out/destroying sections) People know that classes are graded on a curve and if its easier to fail you then to study to get better grades themselves, the results are the same.
Q: How much would you pay for a copy of that book before the mid-term after the bookstore has shipped all the copies back and after all the ‘free’ copies have been ‘eliminated’? Well, I guess there’s Fed-Ex & internet vendors.
Also, never leave any of your course materials, papers, or research unguarded in a library (I’ve had them stolen too).
Interesingly, the term “frat” is considered offensive by Greeks at my college.
Speaking as a fraternity member, this statement is true. Then again, everyone is someone elses douchebag.
The fraternity “rush” process can be very stressful if your school is heavily greek (like mine was). It can actually be worse than high school because it’s essentially like having to go through an 8 week interview for which clique you will be a part of. Friendships can also be tested if your buddies all split off into different houses or go independent. Or you might find a group of guys you really get along with on your freshman hall and you’ll all end up at the same fraternity together.
Don’t just join a fraternity just because it’s the thing to do. Make sure they are YOUR kind of douchebags.
I lived 100 yards from the dining hall my sophomore year. We really just “borrowed” plates and such since we would bring it back to be cleaned.
Good advice but I would make some minor adjustments:
Pre-game with your friends first before showing up to the party late. There’s nothing worse than showing up totally sober when everyone else is already three+ drinks in. Expect that your group will break apart during the evening as they try to pick up girls. Don’t hang out until the end of the party because the’ll be nothing but the dregs left (and possibly drunk assholes all violent because they didn’t hook up. As the party starts to wind down, go find some people to get some late night food with (pizza, IHOP, Denny’s, whatever) or go find a late-night party.
You know what they call the guy in med school with a 2.2 GPA undergrad? They don’t. You don’t need to be valedictorian, just keep it above a 3.0.
Those of us who have high GPAs (mine was a 3.76 in undergrad, 3.94 in grad school) also tend to have other activities. We’ve simply learned to manage our time to make the most of the experience. Employers also know this, which is why many of them care.
Depends on the internship and on the job. In terms of the internship, you want to make sure you’re going to learn something from that company, and that the company isn’t just looking for free labor. Talk to other people who have interned at that company to find out what they did and whether it helped them. My own experience is that, while I learned how to do my job in a professional setting and I made a professional contact, the company is less likely to hire an intern than they are to hire elsewhere. I don’t consider the internship to be a waste of time because I learned a lot, but it wasn’t helpful to my career goals.
That said, sometimes summer employment at Starbucks (or Target or the corner Kwik-E-Mart) can be just as valuable if you’re using skills that could be relevant to your job. For example, customer service is as valuable in journalism as it is in retail because you can be nice to the people you interview. You can also take orders and collaborate with others, both good skills to have in the professional workplace. And those are at minimum.
Robin
It’s normal to assume that everyone is drinking more than you, having more sex than you, and having more fun than you. They’re not. It’s totally acceptable, desirable even, not to be the guy wearing the beer hat. There’s nothing wrong with having a couple of drinks at a party, but you don’t want to be the one puking in the bushes. It’s not fun; you feel like an ass the next day; and the ladies don’t find it impressive.
Truer words were never spoken. Be very, very nice to the secretaries and any other admin folks (financial aid, bursar’s office, study abroad office, etc) you deal with. Most of us really do want to help you. We remember the nice students and we remember the mean ones. I’ll go a lot further out of my way for Joe PleasantandPolite than I will for Little Princess Entitlement.
I’m so glad you posted this. Often students assume that if they’re not majoring in a foreign language or the humanities, then they can’t study abroad, but there are great study abroad programs out there for students in all majors.
There’s lots of scholarship money out there, too, especially if you are willing to study in a non-Western country. I’ve known students to get great scholarships to study development work in Uganda, Chinese in Beijing, wildlife management in Tanzania, and business in Japan. The Gilman Scholarship and the Freeman-ASIA Award are just two of the scholarships out there. Your study abroad office can give you more information, especially if you’re Joe PoliteandPleasant.
If you know you are going to drop a class, than actually go through the steps to drop the class. Know what date you must drop by and understand that you may need multiple signatures to drop. I can’t tell you how many kids just quit showing up and think the professor is going to drop them from the roster.
I am back in school now working on my 3rd degree. Here are some thoughts.
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Quarters are no longer important on my campus. Even the vending machines take the campus ID card. So look into the reality of quarters vs. cards before investing in a quarter-hoarding strategy. Waiting in line for registration is also a thing of the past, since it’s online now.
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If you won’t have a car on campus, arrange for mom to make a run to Target or Wal-Mart with you at move in time. You will need stuff, and prices on campus will be inflated.
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You will need to keep a lot of stuff organized for your classes. After much trial and error, I recommend the following system: Plastic folders that close with elastic or velcro and hold a semester’s worth for each class and legal pads to take notes. Systems that rely on you three-hole punching stuff to put it in binders become too tedious, and those folders with pockets on both sides are recipes for losing stuff. Legal pads are good because they are easily reused if you only take a few notes for one class. Set up a separate plastic folder and legal pad for any organizations, internships, etc. that you are involved in. Keep one or more decent pens in each folder. You can reuse the plastic folders.
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Make sure it is possible to get from one class to another in the time between them. No one else is checking this but you. My freshman year I did the following 2 things: scheduled myself to a class on the 4th floor of one building right after a class on the 5th floor of the building on the exact opposite of campus (no elevators) and scheduled myself booked solid 8:30 to 2:00 on Mondays, missing dining hall lunch hour and making myself miss class or get sick with hunger. Don’t be me
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I recommend a middle of the road approach to books. I don’t recommend the extremely cheap, sometimes verging on unethical tactics mentioned above. Doing the reading before class is one of the most influential things you can do in terms of increasing how much you actually learn from a class. Cramming may or may not get you the grades. And reading before class is pretty much a prerequisite to making the “get to know your professors” strategy work. There is a big difference between the student whose question is “on page 216 when the author argues X, how would that apply to situation Y?” and the student who asks “how do you spell …?” With that said, I recommend getting the syllabus before class, look at what assigned reading comes from what texts, and get online ASAP to buy used copies of any with significant amounts assigned. In a few cases you will have to break down and buy insanely expensive textbooks. Budget for it. If only a few pages are assigned, often the professor will put a copy on reserve at the library for you to copy pages or read at the library. So don’t necessarily buy that book by the prof’s buddy where only the preface is assigned…
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Save your receipts for books. I am not a tax advisor, but my experience has been that scholarship money not used to pay for tuition, fees, or textbooks is taxable income. You’ll want to be able to deduct the cost of books if that applies to you.
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Budget for printing and photocopying. I find that increasingly professors are assigning articles from online databases and you have the choice of reading online or printing. If you can read online, more power to you, but if the material is tough don’t compromise your learning to save a few bucks. Also, when you are assigned research papers, you will find yourself copying or printing journal articles to do your research.
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If you are a reasonably outgoing, well-adjusted sort of person, consider becoming a resident advisor in the dorms. That could make a lot of financial sense for you, since there are housing benefits and that will probably be one of your main expenses. If you want to become an RA, it is usually necessary to avoid being one of the people your RA is writing up all the time your freshman year.
Heh (raises hand). I tried exactly that. Didn’t get the job.
To add to what others said, yes yes yes check out study abroad programs. Probably the very coolest thing I did in my whole undergrad career.