- Wait to buy your books
This one you might have heard before. Don’t buy your books before the first day of classes! Seriously. Every dew-eyed freshman does it, and then tells the next year’s freshmen not to. It’s not worth it – textbooks are extremely expensive, and even if the book is listed as required, there’s a chance you won’t need it. Wait until the first week of classes. You might add and drop classes, you might find that you need none of the textbooks for any of your classes, and you might even find an upperclassman who can sell you the books you do need for a fraction of the price.
2. It’s really easy to get lost in the tide
Most of you have spent the past 18 years living with your parents, and attending any number of schools that, to a certain degree, monitored your attendance. College is different. If you don’t go to class, nobody will notice. If you don’t do your homework, nobody will give you a second chance. If you don’t come home to your dorm at night, chances are that even your roommate might assume you are off frolicking and won’t worry about you. It is extremely easy to use this power to your advantage – all of a sudden, nobody is checking up on you on a daily basis. Even if you talk to your parents every day, they have no way of knowing what you’re actually up to. Be weary of this, though, as it is all too easy to simply abandon your responsibilities and see how far your adventurous spirit can take you.
3. Skipping class can actually be useful
To contradict my previous point about falling off the face of the earth, don’t take all of your commitments too seriously. Understand how to prioritize. If one of your classes gives you no credit for going to class and all of the material that’s touched upon in class is also online (and you’re motivated to learn it on your own time), consider ditching class now and again if you have something more urgent to get done. It should be noted, however, that this advice is very easily abused.
4. The library fills up….fast (especially during finals week)
Don’t expect to saunter into the library around 8 pm on a weeknight and find any kind of study space, especially if a) you’re with a large study group, or b) it’s finals/midterms week. A lot of college students find their dorms unsuitable for doing homework, and the library becomes a very popular hotspot pretty early on in the evening. If you’re looking to snag some prime real estate, reserve your spot by showing up in the early afternoon to claim it. (PSA: Brody also has a service where you can reserve study rooms for certain hours of the day).
5. Don’t rely too strongly on your advisor
They have (at least) 100 other advisees to look after! They won’t come nagging you to sign up for classes or make sure you have all the requirements you need to graduate in four years. They are an important source if you have a specific question, but take matters into your own hands when it comes to actually figuring out what you want to do with your four years in college.
Photo Credits: http://news.uic.edu/files/2013/04/DSC_1290.jpg (library), http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/admitted/files/gilman2.jpg (Gilman)