Need advice for incoming college freshman

In My Humble Opinion
101

[QUOTE=Anne Neville]
Agreed. But this is a good time to start thinking about something that is very important when doing any research- not all sources are of equal quality, and not all sources are unbiased.

Don’t take what those “rate my prof” sites say as gospel, for example. The people who post on those sites may want something very different out of a professor or class than you do. Maybe they can’t stand professors who talk about their lives in class, but you don’t mind that so much. Maybe they wanted a class where they could get an easy A, but this class is something you’re particularly interested in, so you want a class where you learn something (or vice versa- everybody takes some classes they’re not interested in and just want an easy A in, no shame in that).

Your best resource for this sort of thing will eventually be other students in your major. It’s worthwhile to get this network started by joining a club related to your major- your school’s Society of Physics Students chapter if you’re a physics major, for example. Clubs associated with your major can also be a good way to get to know some of the professors in your major (if you’re going on to grad school, professors in your major are probably the ones you want as references). Of course, take the advice of other students in your major with the usual grain of salt, though their motivations in taking a class are more likely to be similar to yours than some random person off the internet’s are.

Agreed. Better the devil you know…

You might be able to check out websites for the class from previous semesters, too. This will give you a good idea of what you might be expected to do in the class.

Many majors have one or more classes that are infamous for having a really heavy workload, or being really difficult. Which class(es) it is will vary from school to school and professor to professor. Some majors have these classes early on (as “weed-out” classes to get rid of people who aren’t serious), some have them later (as senior projects, theses, or the like). Find out which classes fit this description in your major, and try to arrange your overall schedule so that you’re not taking more than one class like this at a time, if possible. Yes, you should be thinking about what you want to major in and what classes to take in your overall time in college. If you don’t do this early, you can end up with problems later on, especially in majors like engineering that have lots of required classes.

Don’t expect every class to be a wonderful experience, even in your major. Some classes, even a subject you’re very interested in, are just not going to be all that. But bear in mind that just because you didn’t find freshman physics to be a religious experience doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a physics major (or vice versa- just because you enjoyed Astronomy 101 doesn’t mean you should major in astronomy).
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Indeed. The Rate my Prof sites tend to be little more than the electronic equivalent of bathroom graffitti.

102

I found this to be true as well. Talking to upperclassmen in your field is the best way to get a handle on what is to be expected in certain classes, but…

ask around campus to see if there is a widely used student-specific site. At Michigan State, allmsu dot com was a treasure trove of student resources. Part craigslist, part professor and class ratings, part calendar of campus events. Everyone I know used it for subleases, finding cheap couches, ticket exchanges, and class hunting. The prof ratings were very helpful descriptions of what to expect in class.

Also, you had to be a student to use it… no faculty, staff, or non-affiliates allowed. I’ve heard that other large schools have something similar, so it’s worth investigating.

103

Exercise!

Unless you want to gain the freshman 15, go to the gym, play some intramurals or whatever.

104

[QUOTE=Anne Neville]
In this example, if the student is 18 or older, the staff members couldn’t legally discuss his condition with his mother even if they wanted to (and believe me, they don’t). Medical privacy laws apply to parents as well once you turn 18. Likewise, your professors legally can’t discuss your grades with your parents without your written consent (even if your parents are paying for you to go to school) if you are over 18, due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. I suspect a lot of staff members wouldn’t even discuss such things with a parent if the student was under 18.

But you do have rights- you don’t just have to sit back and take whatever mistreatment a professor or advisor wants to throw at you. Reading the catalog can be a good way of finding out what some of those rights are, and what you should do if you feel you are being treated wrongly or unfairly.
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I work in a college counseling center - I know about FERPA. This mom wanted me to tell her what to do with her depressed son when she could have just gone to check on him herself. (As an aside, this one wasn’t even technically a student anymore AND we’d never seen him in the office.)

But, parents of freshmen should understand they have very few rights anymore.

And, yes, you do have rights, but colleges, especially private colleges, aren’t required to provide certain things high schools are. Plain and simple. For example, lunch is going to be way more expensive because there is no hot lunch program. And it’s up to the student to find time to have lunch. But, certainly there are rights.

105

[QUOTE=Anne Neville]
Including when you are asleep- you don’t want someone like this coming in while you are sleeping…
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Thank You, Anne Neville! Inside of that thread is where I posted a link to this, which is about the best 10 bucks you can spend on dorm room security (that I can think of).

106

Quarters are still useful if you want to take your clothes off-campus to wash them.

That said, so much is tied into your student ID that it should be protected like any other credit/debit card. Laundry money, meal plan/flex cash, library privileges, computer lab privileges can all be in that little magnetic strip. If it goes missing, you may lose some or all of the money you’ve got and some miscreant can take books out of the library and keep you from getting your grades or from scheduling for the next semester or from graduating until you get the mess straightened out. If it does go missing, and I don’t mean “it’s in my other pants” or “I left it at home” missing, but GONE, report it to the campus police ASAP so none of these things happen.

With respect to registration, you generally have a certain period of time to do this. Just because the class you want is closed when you first schedule doesn’t mean it won’t open up later. You can also talk with your department secretary to see if they can get you into the class (if it’s in your major), or the relevant department secretary. Some professors don’t mind an extra body or two, others do. But it’s still worth asking. Oh, and chocolate doesn’t hurt. :slight_smile:

Finally, be nice to the TAs and GAs and work-studies. They’re there to help you, but they’re also pretty busy themselves, so don’t get pissy if they’re not in their office all the time.

Robin

107

Be sure to find out if the money you don’t use on your meal plan rolls over, is refunded or is lost. If it’s lost, you should either treat your friends who have run out of money or swipe your card for them in exchange for cash.

Oh, and be sure you understand the meal plan well in other respects as well. Here we have something called 19+ which is very confusing but basically means you have 19 meals per week at a flat rate - I think.

108

Living alone for the first time is a perfect time to force yourself to learn how to cook. Buy a decent cookery book and stay clear of ready meals.

109

[QUOTE=Caricci]
I work in a college counseling center - I know about FERPA.
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I figured you did, but some incoming freshmen (namely, the ones who get their parents to bug college staffers for them) presumably don’t. Some of the stories I’ve heard about parents calling staffers or professors to ask about their kids make it sound like some parents of college students don’t know about it, either.

110

[QUOTE=Anne Neville]
I figured you did, but some incoming freshmen (namely, the ones who get their parents to bug college staffers for them) presumably don’t. Some of the stories I’ve heard about parents calling staffers or professors to ask about their kids make it sound like some parents of college students don’t know about it, either.
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Parents have also been known to email or call professors and complain about the difficulty of the assignments or the amount of homework. In college. Really.
Our dept. heads and deans have advised us not to do anything more than merely acknowledge the message, if even that much.

111

[QUOTE=Dominic Mulligan]
Living alone for the first time is a perfect time to force yourself to learn how to cook. Buy a decent cookery book and stay clear of ready meals.
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No problem there…Ivyboy is quite a good cook, and makes tasty mistakes. He made stuffed pasta shells the other day…but forgot to cook the pasta first before he put them in the oven. So, we had very crunchy shells filled with homemade tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.

Yum!

112

Yes, I do make good food, and the mistakes are pretty tasty…but all in all, I don’t think I’ll be doing to much cooking…the college doesn’t let us have cooking material in the dorms…fire hazards and the fact that money you spend outside of the college to get food doesn’t come from their overpriced on-campus resturaunts or something like that…

113

This one is about money. It is important.

I’m in my third year of university. The best advice I can give anyone is don’t buy books until you need them, unless you enjoy wasting about $150 per semester. Just buy them as you need them. Especially for 101 classes that everyone needs; those seem to just utilize lecture formats and don’t rely upon books very much.

And don’t get a meal plan unless it’s absolutely critical. Often you’ll be paying about $7/meal for rice and pasta meals at the food court. A complete ripoff no at nearly every university.

114

Quick question…some rumors have been running around that it is possible to get through entire courses without a textbook, just by relying on study groups and other students with the required text.
I’m not saying that I plan on doing this, but some verification here would be much appreciated.

115

[QUOTE=Ivyboy89]
Quick question…some rumors have been running around that it is possible to get through entire courses without a textbook, just by relying on study groups and other students with the required text.
I’m not saying that I plan on doing this, but some verification here would be much appreciated.
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It depends on the class. Some classes that have more than one section with more than one professor are notorious for this. You could just ask at the beginning of the semester (the professors here are pretty good about answering honestly), or just buy them during the semester if you notice that there are assignments that are going to come out of them.

116

[QUOTE=Ivyboy89]
Quick question…some rumors have been running around that it is possible to get through entire courses without a textbook, just by relying on study groups and other students with the required text.
I’m not saying that I plan on doing this, but some verification here would be much appreciated.
[/QUOTE]

Sure it is. Depends on the course. Some “professors” (usually it’s the teaching assistants who do this though) just read powerpoint slides which are a rehash of the book material – and then they’ll post the slides online so you can use them to study. Some schools require a professor to pick a book, so they do, knowing full-well they’ll only use it for reference, if that.

Err on the side of caution. If you’re pretty sure you’ll need it to look at some, but not all the time, I suggest seeing about the library first, then thinking about going in on one with another person or two from the class.

117

I haven’t had a class where I felt comfortable ditching textbooks.

Ask yourself: do you really feel comfortable with other students’ initiative and learning abilities enough to rely on them for exams?

For me, the ultimate Type-A “If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself” person, the answer is a resounding “No”. YMMV, of course.

118

I did that with my Mass Comm Law class. I’d heard rumors that one question on the tests came out of the book, the rest from the lectures. So it was possible to have no book and still score an A in the class (which, I did :smiley: )

Find out from classmates who’ve taken the course what was required. I’m sure others have had similar experiences.

(Is it weird that you’re sitting right behind me as I’m typing this?)

Plus, it’s kind of tacky to borrow your friend’s textbooks…they bought their book, you can get your own.

119

(Is it weird that you’re sitting right behind me as I’m typing this?)

No, it isn’t weird at all. I’m getting help. Besides if you think it is weird to reply to my question while you’re in the same room, you could have just turned around and told me.

120

Yes, but I wanted to share my experiences with the group. Don’t you have a paper to write for a scholarship?