These kind of articles may be redundant, and yes I have written one in the past. But, in my mind you can never have enough advice before entering your freshman year. And after I published the first, I couldn't stop coming up with more things I thought freshman me would have wanted to know.
There are two kinds of freshman. One who is terrified of all things college and dreading going off into the abyss of outside their comfort zone with a little excitement hidden deep down. The second kind is the freshman that thinks they are entirely too cool for school. Being a freshman, you don't have to put yourself in one of these categories, maybe you think you are a little of both. But, either way you could use some advice. Enjoy!
1. Be Smart About the Caf.
From Brody to Case, the cafeterias can be awesome. They can also be the demise of your high school athletic body. They can serve food you've never heard of, and sometimes you don't want to. They can also force you to eat a turkey wrap three times a day for months (speaking from experience). Living in the dorms with a meal plan for two years taught me many things about the caf. Limit your pizza consumption. (Just because it's one of the only things open after nine doesn't mean it's where you have to be every night after nine). Mix up what you're eating daily so it doesn't get too boring (try out at least two different stations a day). Research what each station is serving before you get to the cafeteria. The Spartan App has daily cafeteria menus that allow you to walk into the cafeteria and straight to the pasta line when they have your favorite dish.
2. Manage a planner.
It may not be your thing or maybe you've never used one before. But in college, professors don't remind you about projects and papers ten class periods in advance like they did in high school. If you're lucky, they might mention it a few days in advance which is not so helpful if you haven't started it ahead of time. Also you don't have all your friends in your classes to talk about assignments together like you used to. Now everyone will have different things due on different days. You have to be responsible for four or more classes of different assignments now, which is nearly impossible to simply engrave into your mind. Putting assignments down in a planner will ease your mind and can only help your organization.
3. Put your phone away during class.
Turn on your will power and keep it in your backpack. This is extremely difficult in big lecture halls when there's 150 people in between you and the teacher and you're focus is fading. The professor probably isn't going to make you put it away. You're the only one to stop you. But, it will pay off so much in the end. Even if you can't bring yourself to take notes in class, being somewhat attentive instead of being into your phone will help you absorb so much more. I could always tell the difference in exams where I watched the powerpoints in class with the teacher and the ones where I live tweeted abut the snoring kid next to me.
4. Don't stress about getting a job if you don't need to.
School is a full time job in itself. You go to classes for at least a few hours every day and do homework for probably twice that. While you're adjusting to this new lifestyle it might be too overwhelming for you to manage classes, new changes and part time employment. If you don't need lots of extra spending money you'll be fine. Everyone is a "broke college kid" after all.
5. Or... Get a job, even if it's just a few hours a week.
The cafeterias are always hiring (mostly because it kind of sucks to work there - but hey). There are also lots of Sparty's on campus (all close to the dorms) with open positions. These jobs give you just enough hours a week to maintain a job status while not overwhelming you. You'll be happier with a little more spending money for your weekend activities. It also helps with time management and gives you just the right amount of responsibility.
6. Don't let one bad class ruin an entire major for you.
Granted, you might know right away that history is no longer going to be your major after your first HST101 class. But, if you've wanted to major in English and loved every class of it since you were in third grade, don't let a bitter, retired librarian's failed grade on a first paper rain all over your inspiration. Drop the things you really feel need to be dropped and stick with things that might pay off in the future.
7. Call your mom.
She'll appreciate it and you know you want to. It's always nice to hear about what's happening at home and parents love living vicariously through your way more exciting life in college. (Prepare yourself to hear stories about how "cool" - or actually cool - your parents used to be, too). Bonus: it also gives her all the more reason to send you awesome care packages.
8. Be a Spartan fan.
While most of you probably don't need to be told this.... Even if you were never a "football person" or one who enjoys watching basketball, at least try to get into it a little. You do attend a Big Ten school. Athletics are truly an amazing experience at this university. It's what makes our school so awesome. Sport face stickers and represent the place you call home at a football game. The feelings is unlike anything else.
9. You don't need to declare a major on the first day.
Or on the second. Or even in the first semester. Don't force yourself into something just to pick a major. Explore. This is a perfect time to find yourself and discover what lights you up if you haven't yet. Let it come to you, especially your freshman year. This is a time for trial and error without horrible repercussions. If you explore now, you won't have to when you decide you picked the wrong major senior year because you felt pressured.
10. Wait until you hear directly from your prof that you need to purchase a textbook to buy one.
It's difficult to think of a worse feeling than buying a $200 course pack and opening the seal to discover your professor just put it in the book list as an "optional reference material" (what does that even mean). Just cruel if you ask me. Syllabus week is handy for making a list of the texts you actually need to sell your first born for.
11. Be a "smart" partier.
Everyone is going to assume the guy passed out on the floor during welcome week is a freshman. Don't be that guy. Jungle juice is stronger than it tastes. No one is going to be impressed that you took 10 shots in 10 minutes when you projectile vom later. The cheaper the alcohol, the longer the hangover. Learn to like beer if you don't yet. One word: pregame. Go out on weekdays because it's the only time you can in your life. But don't go out expecting to "not get that drunk tonight" when you have an exam in the morning. Go at your own pace with your drinks. Drink water if you start to feel like you've had a little bit too much. Go out with a hair tie on your arm if worse comes to worse. Etc... just be smart, young ones.
12. Make mistakes.
Fail (preferably not your classes). But the only way you will truly learn is if you allow yourself to make mistakes. This advice is hopefully helpful, but in order to realize for yourself a true college experience you will fail and mess up. But you must pick yourself up and remind yourself it's all a learning experience. You can only excel from there. No one is perfect all the time and you can't expect yourself to be either. Forgive yourself and keep movie forward. This is a time in your life to embrace the future, not dwell on the past.
