How do I deal with having a roommate?
So, it’s been a of couple weeks and you can’t stand your roommate? Don’t panic and start drawing a line down the room! Unless you plan to live with your parents your entire life you will have to encounter this experience at some point or another. One key thing that all new roommates should do to prevent future conflict is set ground rules. If you didn’t do this before you moved in, it’s not too late yet.
Even if you’re living with your best friend, ground rules are still important to make sure everyone is on the same page. Some ground rules to consider are: having guests over, routine cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, doing dishes, cleaning the bathroom), what’s considered shared expenses, food, and anything else that may bug you if your roommate does or doesn’t do it. It’s always good to clear the air and be on the same page before you find yourself drawing a line down the middle of the room.
How do I deal with this schedule?
Your schedule is most likely completely different from what you were used to in high school. You’ll have a lot more time between classes and a different schedule every day. So how does one keep track of it all and not show up to the wrong class on the wrong day? Everyone has their own way of keeping track of their schedule, but one of the most popular ways is to create an online calendar. There are several apps available to do this on smart phone and tablet devices. Don’t have a smart phone or tablet? USF actually gives you a free customizable Google calendar connected to your USF email, go to http://mail.usf.edu/ and click “calendar” and then on the left side click “create” and start adding in your classes and times. Set them to repeat each week.
You’ll also probably find that you have large gaps between classes. This happens to a lot of freshman and can be a difficult adjustment. Some things you can do to fill that free time are: going to the library to get some homework done; asking around to see if any of your friends are free at the same time; grabbing a meal from one of the many dining options on or around campus; or just enjoying the outdoors — with the free WiFi all over campus you can take your homework anywhere.
Am I going to fail?
At some point or another you’ve probably been told that failing a class your freshman year is hard to recover from. The bad news is it’s true. The good news is you don’t have to fail! More often than not, your teachers want you to pass their class and give you plenty of opportunities to improve your grade before the end of the semester. Take advantage of office hours, every teacher is required to have them and sometimes a little explanation or clarification makes all the difference. If what you hear in the office hours still isn’t making any sense, visit the tutoring center in the library. It’s free and they work around your schedule.
A big mistake that a lot of college students make is thinking that they don’t have to study because they never studied for anything in high school and still passed. You also have to go to class! You have probably heard students say that they never go to class, but they’re probably not doing very well in their classes. When you miss class, you could be missing important information that could make or break your grade and some teachers do factor attendance into their grades. Remember you’re paying to take the class, why not get your money’s worth?
Photo Sources:
http://mycollegeguide.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/collegeroommat…
http://www.charlottesmartypants.com/wp-content/uploads/busy-calendar-hel…
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