6 Uncommon Pieces Of Advice I Wish I Knew As An Incoming Freshman

1. You don’t have to raise your hand to ask permission to go to the restroom.

Don’t ask. Just get up and leave. Take care of your business (or text your significant other back while you’re outside, or make that phone call you need to make) and come back to class quickly. Unless your professor has a specific policy against leaving to go to the restroom, it’s not your professor’s business if you don’t disrupt class.

2. Buy previous editions of textbooks.

The previous editions of your required textbook are likely the same as the current edition, except cheaper. Ask your professor if it’s acceptable to use a previous edition. They’ll probably say yes – unless there’s been a drastic change between the editions or you’re studying a newer, rapidly developing field like nanotechnology.

3. Or just find free files of textbooks online.

There’s a decent chance your textbook is available as a digital file somewhere on the internet. If you search hard enough, you’ll probably find it.

4. Always carry business cards.

You never know who you could run into, especially on a busy campus, and it looks significantly better to pull out a business card than to rip a scrap of paper from your notepad to give your contact information to someone. If you don’t already have a box of business cards with a professional email, your number, and your website if you have one, you can usually find a printing company online that will allow you to design and order a box of 100 cards for under $15 online.

5. Let the students handing out club or event flyers talk to you.

It might seem like a nuisance or a bother, but unless you have urgent business awaiting you, you should take the extra minute or five out of your day to let the students advertising their club or event to you explain what it is they’re publicizing. People usually tell freshmen to “get involved,” but this method is significantly easier and faster. Instead of going out of your way to find a club or event, you can let them come to you in the form of those students approaching you on your way around campus.

6. Do not take a class at 7 a.m.

Unless you regularly wake up that early, do not sacrifice those precious extra hours of sleep just because you think you can force yourself to wake up early for class. You don’t have to have an early class. You don’t even have to have classes every day. Create a schedule around what know you can handle, not what you think you can handle. What you think you can do is usually different than what you're comfortable doing.