Dear Freshmen,

It’s Ned, here. I mean Jard. There’s a lot of things about college that I wish I’d known going in. It’s like there’s some sort of hidden curriculum. That’s a sociology term, I learned it in Dr. Shannon’s class. A hidden curriculum refers to the social norms, values and knowledge learned as a byproduct of any educational environment.

First, I want to touch on roommates. I happen to be lucky that my roommate and I are close friends . However, I’ve learned that it’s not necessary to be best friends with your roommate. The most important components in a rooming situation are feeling comfortable being yourself and open communication. This means being able to coordinate your schedules from sleeping to partying and overnight guests.

I also suggest choosing a random roommate. Although it may be tempting to room with someone you’re already familiar with, the very nature of college makes it likely that your handpicked roommate will be a new person by the end of the year. One thing people constantly tell me is not to room with your best friend. The requirements for a good roommate and a good friend are completely different. Sometimes friends just don’t sync up whether it be their sleep patterns, attention to cleanliness or even their music taste.

Don’t worry about switching your major. A lot of people arrive at college and end up changing their career path and concentration by the end of your first semester. In fact, I switched from being a neuroscience major the first week of school. But this was due to a misunderstanding. I thought that neuroscience was explicitly tied to the pre-med track.

There’s an important difference between tracks and majors. Majors are concentrations that focus on extensive knowledge and experience in certain subjects whilst a track consists of suggested prerequisites for getting into different specialized schools whether it be law school, medical school or business school. Although your parents have jammed it into your head that majors are important, they often have little or nothing to do with your future profession. Changing your major isn’t the end of the world.

Remember to use that freshman drop, if necessary, before the time is up. First semester I failed microeconomics because I decided after the deadline that I wanted to drop the class.

Balance your social life. During the first few weeks of school, everyone’s going to be looking for new friends. Make sure to get as many numbers and names as you can, even people that you don’t see yourself hanging out with in the future. Trust me, it’ll come in handy. I can’t count the number of times I found myself in a frantic situation during class and easily caught a hold of a classmate.

And now something exclusive to college, party culture. Don’t go out every weekend. I know that it’s tempting, trust me. For the entirety of first semester, I went out nonstop. I suggest that whenever you decide to party, the details and fun are already cemented. Don’t follow flaky addresses on twitter and end up behind a carpet warehouse or show up to a random frat expecting it to be turnt. Trust me I’ve been there and done that.

I can't guarantee you a successful college year if you follow this guide, but I can promise you a better one than mine.

Sincerely,
Jard Lerebours.