I simply wish that I knew that the guy I ended up going out with in my First year was an idiot.
Regards your experiences at college, dont worry about it, youll get by, you may make some mistakes along the way but if you do, then youll learn from them
I went to a small school with segregated gender dorms (half the dorms were separated by floor, the other half were strictly one of the other, and no members of the other sex after 10). People hung out in the dorm lounge (open territory) or at other places on campus-- the coffee shop and such. Of course when I went there the only cable hookup in some of the old buildings was in the lounge so there was always someone there. There’s a certain freedom of lifestyle when people of the other gender aren’t allowed ito your room. . . underwear resides where it wishes to, the people you live with are much closer-knit, I think. I think I actually liked it that way-- you can mix with people anywhere else on campus, but you don’t have to worry about being seen wearing sweatpants and no bra before a shower in the morning, or with your stomach flu or whatever. Domestic space was domestic, and social space was social, and I think I liked it that way. With dorms like that one doesn’t need a Greek system, IMO. 13 years later I’m still good friends with some of the people I met in the first week.
Also, since it’s a little college, maybe get a bike so you have some way to get away from campus for a while. I had no transportation, really, and wasn’t able to get away from things much and regretted it.
Laundry: Reds and blacks together, light colors, and whites all separate.
Stay awake in class and take very good notes. You don’t have anything better to do so you might as well write EVERYTHING down to keep busy.
a few words about my school:
there are about 3,000 full-time undergrads, i don’t know how many grad students, and a grad campus in Memphis, TN
it’s a co-ed school, but all the girls dorms are on one side of the campus and all the boys are on the total opposite end of things (and married apartments are a ways past the girls)
it’s in a pretty small town, about 20,000 people, and surrounded by much tinier towns. it’s a dry county, and that’s ok by me.
curfew is at 11 Sun-Thurs and 12 Fri and Sat (a little early for me, but I guess there is always AIM, oh yeah and studying). You get a few one-hour extensions a semester. Chapel is at 9am M-F, you get a few skips a semester.
umm I don’t think there’s anything else terribly relevant that I won’t get to if it comes up. Oh! cool bit - we have “suites” - two rooms with two people in each, connected by one bathroom. the toilet’s in it’s own stall and we’ll buy a dark colored shower curtain, so a couple of us can be in there at the same time in the mornings. My only question about that is, if roommates are roomies, are suitemates “sweeties”? hehe.
IYO, should I avoid getting into any serious relationships for the first year or so? I don’t think it’s going to be a big question, but I know it will be for some friends at other schools - and hey, who knows what wonderful wonderful man I might meet!
Thanks again everyone :)!
Sweeties? Never heard that one before. At my school we have the same system, but the pairs are called canmates. Don’t know when that moniker was released, but it’s been around for a while.
DON’T SKIP CLASS! I know it’s tempting, especially when you can’t really understand the prof, or he/she’s going over stuff you learned in high school. You learn so much in class.
Also know that you can say no. I remember before I started first year we were told in the welcome session to get invovled, but to remember to say no to stuff. I didn’t think I’d get involved with much; but there are so many clubs and such out there that you’ll find a couple that you’ll fit into. Also a good way to meet people outside of your dorm.
At mine - General Dorms were segregated. A dorm for guys and a dorm for girls. Honors housing was co-ed, and boy, if that wasn’t a good reason to keep your grade point up, I don’t know what is!
Serious relationships? I avoided, but YMMV. I went to a school that was far away from my parents and far from where I wanted to work. So I wasn’t interested in anything permanent. But I also didn’t want to get married until after age 21.
(My mom had a bet with each of us kids: if we… A. Didn’t get arrested B. Didn’t have sex C. Didn’t smoke by age 21, we got a tidy little sum of money. and bragging rights 
)
I’m another young college student, about to start my third semester tomorrow so this thread is very timely! I may print it out and take it with me. There’s some good tips I still didn’t know about. Anyway, here’s my recommendations:
– Make a checklist of all the vital, day-to-day stuff you need to bring from home, like underwear, shampoo, towels, feminine items, toothbrush and paste, etc. You’d be surprised at what you forget and leave behind. My first semester I arrived at the dorm with ten pairs of shoes and no makeup or toothbrush. Eeeep! Don’t make my mistakes.
– Take a variety of classes, not just padding for your major. Try science classes, physical ed, music, etc. Helps keep the brain stimulated. I took piano last semester and am taking karate this semester.
– Make LOTS of friends. Hang out with everybody, you’ll meet people from every background, religion, ethnic group, creed, etc. College is great for expanding your horizons and teaching you about the real world outside mommy and daddy’s house.
– Get a good breakfast. Even if you’re late, grab a snack bar or something. It’s hard to concentrate on that physics test when you’re about to pass out from hunger.
– Get to know your teachers. College professors are so cool! I’d hang out after class with my western civ. teacher and talk about Roman history for hours.
– Take advantage of campus events. Go support the football team at a home game, visit job fairs, and most of all, donate blood when the Red Cross truck visits!
– Keep copies of important records on hand. You never know when you’ll need to show some campus burocrat your birth certificate. Keep them locked in a traveling trunk with your books and the key in a safe place (don’t forget to stash a backup in a hiding place!)
That’s my advice, YMMV. Best of luck and have lots of fun!
.:Nichol:.
There’s a curfew? Ah, that might make a serious relationship hard to sustain, especially since a good bit of your time will be devoted to getting used to all the new things around you.
[sub]A curfew … at college … what do they teach the administration at these schools?[/sub]
Most important thing you don’t learn (or rather aren’t abele to take advantage of) UPPER CLASSMEN CAN BANG DAMN NEAR ANY FRESHMEN THEY WANT
Its so easy it’s almost illegal
its true
its true
I don’t have any specific advice to give YOU, but I will tell you precisely what I wish some prophet had said to ME.
If you tell your first landlord that you are moving out after your first semester, you HAVE TO MOVE OUT. If you haven’t found a place to live, you may end up living with 8 of your best friends in a soon-to-be condemmed house with no utilities. This is not fun.
Upon moving into the condemmed house, if you don’t find a job, and neither do any of your 8 friends, you will be hungry. This is not fun either.
If you and your 8 friends have a huge party every friggin’ night and sleep until 2pm every day, you will probably not make it to class often.
If you do not attend your classes, chances are you and your 8 friends will probably start to fail said classes. If you fail enough of them, the school will issue warnings.
If you are still having a party every night, you and your 8 friends will probably ignore those warnings until things get SERIOUS.
If you and your 8 friends are a bunch of high, drunken idiots, you may turn tail and drop out with only two weeks left until graduation.
When you realize that this was a BAD THING, you and your 8 friends might move to Buffalo, NY and live in crappier and crappier apartments while working several minimum wage jobs until you finally GROW UP.
Thank Og things turned out okay in the end.
Moral of the lunacy:
Moderation, man, moderation. And go to class. Also, make no major decisions until the “artificial intelligence” wears off.
Damn, I was a dumb kid. :smack:
gosh, you guys are too quick for me - I really do wonder now how it is possible to post so much and stay up to date on the threads you’re involved it!
great tips, everyone - i’m picking up on a lot that I never would have thought of in advance! I’m all the more convinced to get involved in a lot of things (I was in high school, too, but for a while I was doubting whether I would “do well” in clubs and activities in college), but I’ll also try not to overdo it.
Should I really take my birth certificate? I’m so used to “Mommy” doing all that, I still feel too “young” to be a real responsible adult making decisions and doing things for myself (well, except for making decisions about when I come home… that’s been made for me - but a dose of accountability will probably help me in the long run!)
I guess the reason I asked about getting into serious commitments is just because I’ve heard some say it’s a bad idea for the first year or so - that it’s too hard to make friends and join activities when you’re tied to someone and don’t know what’s out there. Not that I have anything against getting tied down, and I do plan on getting married before I turn 25 or so, I’m just wondering if you all think I might be better off avoiding it until I make a few footprints of my own on the school…
MonkeyMule, I am SO thankful that that wouldn’t happen at my school! I know, there are bad things at every school, but they really don’t go long unpunished at Harding, especially not anything like that. It’s a conservative school, even in comparison to the area around, which is pretty conservative. I’m cool with that though!
and thanks, Nichol, it’s great to hear from someone who just did it all last year. You taking 10 pairs of shoes again? I forget how many I have, but I don’t think that many, not sure though… I have almost everything packed but i could really use some guidelines - how many of everything I really should be bringing. Oh well, guess I will learn as I go and do better next year!
How I keep up:
Keep multiple windows open.
Type 60+ wpm.
Preview only if I use a lot of coding.
To quote Cecil Almighty, “no x, no frsh r, brly tim 2 p”. Can’t find the blasted column, though.
Short responses.
Mostly when a lot of people aren’t on. Easier to post with 5 others than with 25 others.
Don’t check spelling (spell pretty well anyway).
ha! punha I may not be able to top your post count (ever), but I type faster! smug look
btw, I’m proud that my very own first thread got to a page two! woohoo!
aww geez, I brag so much more than **punha[/p] too, guess I got him topped in the egotistical dept. too! wait, that’s no compliment…
once I further acquainted with the coding here and quit editing and re-editing my own posts, I think I will at least be able to pretend that I’m on par with the big fishes!
did I just hijack my own thread?
official countdown: I leave in about… 31 hours. am I a freak for counting like that?
Well I was going to suggest that you enjoy as much sex, drugs and rock 'n roll as possible when I first saw the thread title but I don’t think that’s likely given your other comments thus far, or the description of the school and the county it’s in. I didn’t even realize there were still dry counties in the US anymore…
A few bits of advice I can offer that I havn’t seen so far. Don’t buy your books each semester until after the first week of class. The lists given in the bookstore don’t always (or even often) match reality, go by what’s on the syllabus your prof gives you on the first day. Never buy the optional books, just the required ones (well maybe the answer guides for math/science classes, but wait till you know you’ll use them) they’re almost always useless. Of course buy used books whenever possible, also when it comes time to sell your books back at the end of the semester try and sell them to another student instead of to the bookstore, usually you’ll both come out ahead.
Skip classes, it’s fun and no one calls your parents or writes you up, so it’s all good. Everyone once and a while just go ahead and sleep through a morning class just to show your contempt for mornings. However I would suggest that if you take a stats class and end up with an A average during the first three months that you not skip the entire month of april to hang out with the cute girl in the econ class you have right after stats. What you miss out on during that month can cost you a letter grade on the final. :smack:
Actually, come to think of it, going to class is about the worst thing you can do in college because going to class eventually leads to graduation and if you do that you have to leave school and get a REAL JOB. Trust me, you don’t want one of those. At most schools you’ll meet a few people, usually hippy looking types ranging in age from mid-twenties to late sixties who are quite possibly the happiest people on Earth, they are Permanent Undergrads. They keep switching majors, they take every class in the catalog and they are in no danger of graduating. They’re at all the good parties and they never stess over anything. Find them, become one of them, you’ll be happier for it 
punha! ya big jerk! I follow your advice to quit using post preview, and what’s the first thing I do? I make my first coding mistake, the one time I can’t fix it before anyone sees it…
and of course I meant once I am acquainted with… I may be going to Arkansas, but…
that’s what I get for following the advice of the
isn’t it?
meant in the friendliest of ways, of course
thanks, cowboy! I never would have thought that professors would recommend buying completely unnecessary books, but then again, I did look through the school supplies thread earlier today!
interesting to hear the other perspective on the skipping class issue! I’ve always been a bit of a goody-two-shoes when it comes to that, but I had my fun the last couple months of senior year… so maybe I will have to slack a little in college… just not make it a habit!!!
how on earth do ‘professional students’ make it financially? I don’t know about most people, but all the offers I received from schools were good for either 8 or 10 semesters! I wouldn’t think the feds or the parentals would continue paying for that long, either… but I guess if you never intend to quit going to school, you can rack up as much student loan debt as you want and never have to pay it off… or something.
LifeinHIM86, perhaps I should clarify that I type 60 wpm one-handed;)
[sub]no offense taken:) I haven’t had a low post count this century[/sub]
Oh. Books. Right.
Get the ISBN number of the required reading and go to bestbookbuys.com (note to mods: I make no money/other compensation off this whatsoever. I am not tied to it or its assigns/subsidiaries etc in any way. Just a friendly link.).
I have saved hundreds of dollars shopping there for books.
ah! bad thoughts! oh wait, consevative university mindset… I suppose I should be assuming that the other hand is occupied with something as innocuous as an apple…
perhaps that’s what you meant anyway… you know those sheltered kids are sometimes the ones who think of the worst connotations for everything…
I’m eating a can of soup right now, which should save your pure mind at least until you check out a flirt thread;)
Apple? Innocuous? ::cough:: Eden ::cough::
Better study your Bible some more:D