College can be a magical place of growth and excitement, but the transition can be tough. Making friends, trying to figure out your life...it can be terrifying. It's the beginning of the limbo between being a kid and an adult.
These tips come from both regrets from a former freshman and a current senior observing freshman mistakes.
1. Leave petty drama and teen angst where it belongs: in high school.
2. You don't have to be best friends with your roommate.
But you do have to live together, so be nice.
3. No one cares if you don't want to drink. I promise.
In fact, the only people who might care are other freshman who are afraid they'll get made fun of if they don't drink.
4. People also don't care if you're having sex or not.
5. Find a job on or near campus, keep it all four years and save at least 50 percent of every paycheck.
You'll thank yourself when it's time to pay off student loans.
6. You can't drink as much as you think you can.
Once you throw up, back up two or three drinks, and that's your limit.
7. Don't go to every party looking for a hookup.
8. Don't worry about how everyone else at your school dresses.
Just dress like you.
9. Work out whenever you can.
You're literally getting a free gym membership. Take advantage of it.
10. You'll probably have a completely different set of friends between freshman and senior year.
That's okay.
11. Procrastinate as little as possible.
Trust me.
12. Make friends with the professors in your major.
They're a lot cooler than your high school teachers and they'll help you get through the next four years.
13. Being single in college is fine. Being in a relationship in college is also fine.
You are not obligated to do one or the other; just do what feels right.
14. Don't be afraid to make friends with people who are different than you.
Seriously, this is not the place to be judgmental.
15. You're not cool for hanging out with upperclassmen.
You might be cool, but you're not better than other freshmen just because you're friends with a senior.
16. You do not - I repeat, YOU DO NOT - have to find your soulmate in college.
17. It's okay to do things by yourself.
Eat. Go to the library. Join a club. Participate in a campus event. Go on a field trip. You don't need your friends at your heels all the time.
18. Take at least one class completely unrelated to your major.
19. Not studying abroad doesn't mean you wasted your time in college.
Do it if you can and if you want, but you're not obligated to do it.
20. Do laundry at least once a week.
Again, trust me.
21. Don't hang out with people who can't have a conversation without gossiping.
Odds are, they talk about you behind your back, too.
22. You are not better than people who don't go to college.
23. It's okay to go to class in sweats.
Just maybe not every single day.
24. Be extra nice to the maintenance staff.
They work harder than anyone on campus and have seen some dark stuff.
25. Don't be that underclassmen who's always bumming rides off of upperclassmen with cars.
Seriously, we all hate those people.
26. No one will make fun of you if you speak up in class.
They might think you're a genius and ask for help with homework, but they definitely won't make fun of you.
27. You don't have to party every weekend.
Some of your best weekends will be staying in with your friends watching movies and eating Chinese food.
28. Don't be passive aggressive with your friends.
Say what you feel, and say it respectfully. You don't always have to get along, but you do have to be nice.
29. No one will like you if you're mean to people.
30. Don't hook up with your close friends.
I know you think you can make it work, trust me, you cannot.
31. Keep your dorm clean.
32. Go to the counseling center, if your school has one.
Even if you don't think you need a counselor, seeing one might be the best thing you ever do for yourself.
33. College will change you.
It's supposed to. Just make sure it changes you for the better.
34. These may or may not be the best years of your life, but they'll be pretty awesome.
