i went on a college tour the other day :D Any tips for college?
ou good question!!
let me introduce u to….
*radio announcer voice*
SAFARI’S OFFICIAL TIPS ON SURVIVING YOUR (FIRST YEAR OF?) COLLEGE
This is really long so here’s a line break for your benefit:
RESIDENCY
WHAT TO CONSIDER:
Do you know where you’re staying? Most colleges have dorms built into the student life plan for freshman, but it’s always good to check. You can usually find this on their website, but you can also call to ask. I promise they will not laugh at you.
If your residence is further away from your campus, how are you going to get there? Is it reliable? What are the chances of a problem happening with it?
MY SPECIFIC TIPS:
- If you have a dorm, remember that while you are going to be living in it, it’s not your permanent home. Don’t buy decorations for it that you wont be able to pack and take back to where you’re staying over the summer.
- Buy a toiletry caddy. I got mine at Target. Chances are you will have to share a bathroom with your hall or wing, and you do NOT want to worry about losing your things or mixing them up with others. This also makes carrying everything a whole lot easier.
- Connected to the previous, buy shower shoes. I literally just got flip-flops from dollar general (I think, I’ve had them since before I went to college)
- ALWAYS make a copy of your house/dorm key and keep it somewhere you physically can’t lose. Don’t use this key unless you genuinely misplaced your first. I had mine inside a small zipped pocket in my backpack.
- If you’re paying rent or bills, calculate the exact (or as close as possible) to how much this will cost per payment window. Bills are finicky, so try to keep your water/electricity usage the same every month. After a bit of this, you can calculate the average price. Set this money aside in a separate account for billing.
- Get to know your (possible) roommate(s). They don’t have to be your best friend. You don’t have to even hang out often. But PLEASE, at least learn each other’s names, primary study departments, and contact information.
CLASSES AND SCHEDULING
- For the love of god, you do not have to know what you’re majoring in the moment you arrive. Try out anything in any field of interest. Narrow it down later.
- Yes, you have required classes, but try to fit in classes that you’ll enjoy in between them. Breaking up my standard segments was super refreshing for me.
- PLEASE do not schedule classes for first thing in the morning or late at night. You’re going to want all the sleep and study time you can get.
- Schedule all your day classes to be relatively consecutive. If you go back to your residence in the middle of the day for a bit, you’re not going to want to leave.
- I did my best to have three classes per day on weekdays, none on saturday, and one on sunday. my basic schedule went:
CLASS 1 - 9:00
BREAK
CLASS 2 - 12:00
LUNCH
GO HOME, USUALLY STUDY OR WORK
DINNER
CLASS 3 - 18:00
Sunday are mostly free, but I like to have one class starting somewhere between 17:00 and 18:30, never later than 19:00.
- Before your first day of classes, make sure you know where every room is, which wing it’s in, entry codes, etc.
- INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR TEACHERS. IF YOU CAN’T DO THIS IN PERSON FOR ANY REASON, WRITE THEM AN EMAIL, OR BETTER YET, A PHYSICAL LETTER IN THEIR STAFF MAILBOX. ASK THEM TO GO OUT FOR COFFEE WITH YOU. I PROMISE THEY ARE NICE PEOPLE AND ARE VERY HAPPY TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU.
STUDYING AND WORK
- Do not stay up past 1:00 if you can help it. I get that all nighters are necessary at one point, but you WILL regret it in the morning.
- Waking up early is not a requirement. While I recommend not waking up after 8:00, you don’t need to be up at 6 or earlier. Pretty much nobody expects you to.
- I swear to god, I know how hard it is to stay organized. I used digital notes for everything, and I had at least a folder for each subject. Every subject had a different color, and most of them were thin enough that I could keep them all in a bag at once.
- Again with organization, spend time at the beginning of every quarter deleting unnecessary files, putting everything in correct folders, and labeling documents properly. Your brain is not going to understand “AS4.2/LO-DAY 5 NOTES.html” for longer than 5 minutes.
- I know we all hate Google deep down, but I have to admit I use Drive to organize my notes. I have a folder for every class, where there is a subfolder for every quarter. within these, I have a folder for each unit, or other important category. This is super helpful when studying for finals.
- Do not drink coffee or any other caffeine to stay up later. “Chugging an espresso” is not going to help you study at 24:00. Have a cup in the mornings, but never have caffeine at least 2 hours before sleeping. Power through the pain, it gets easier to stay awake as you keep going.
- DO NOT WORK IN BED. DO NOT STUDY IN BED. DO NOT WORK OR STUDY WHILE IN A PLACE YOUR BRAIN ASSOCIATES WITH SLEEP. TRUST ME ON THIS YOU WILL NOT GET ANYTHING DONE.
- Outlines are your best friend for writing essays. Literally search up “essay outline template” and go wild filling that shit in.
- While you SHOULD read the book, I don’t expect you to read everything. Spend some time summarizing what you DO know on paper, then do some research to fill in the gaps.
- Body doubling works wonders. If you can have a study buddy (bonus if they live with you) that you can check in on to keep them on track while they do the same for you, do it ASAP.
- Yeah I don’t expect you to be fully prepared for your first year in terms of study prep. Don’t worry, neither do your professors.
- Speaking of professors, please please PLEASE email them (or ask them in person!!) if you have questions or need help with their class. It’s so much better to admit you need help than to lie and postpone the inevitable.
- Charge. Your. Goddamn. Devices. You. Will. Be. Fucked. If. You. Don’t.
STUDENT LIFE
I KNOW IM AN ANTISOCIAL FUCK BUT TRUST ME ON THIS OK. I MAY NOT GO TO EVENTS OFTEN BUT I HAVE GENERAL TIPS.
- Don’t drink until you’re of legal age. Don’t do drugs ever. It doesn’t end up well, it doesn’t make you cool. Yes, THC is a drug. Yes, adults can tell if you aren’t sober. Ideally don’t drink at all unless it’s a special occasion.
- Always have the contact information of someone who isn’t at the hangout or party you’re at. Ok admittedly I didn’t go to parties but like do this anyways.
- Yeah most people don’t care if we can hear your music through your headphones unless It’s like the library or something. Or silent working time.
- Yes. You. Can. Make. Friends. With. Seniors. AND. Juniors. AGES DON’T MATTER MUCH IN COLLEGE FRIENDSHIPS.
- You literally do not have to go to any events that you don’t want to. I don’t care if people judge (they probably won’t). Just tell someone who is going where you’re going to be (even if you’re staying home!)
- Skipping class to mess around with friends once in a while is okay. I mean like once every few months. Don’t do it regularly, and make sure you get notes from anything you miss.
- You also don’t need to have friends! While it’s nice, as long as you are able to contact at least a few people for safety reasons, be as solo as you want.
- Clean up after yourself- I SWEAR IF YOU MAKE CLEANING STAFFS’ JOB MORE DIFFICULT I WILL FIND YOU.
I’m genuinely sorry that was so long, but I hope that helps in some way. I’m not used to displaying responsibility online lmao.
For added context: Im actually still in Uni. I have been since I was 19, and I plan on staying for 3 more years before doing life shit. All of these tips, even in past tense, are things I do currently/have done.
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