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College Advice
So, I managed to be online at the same time as Kyu, for the first time in roughy several trillion years.
Amoung other stuff, he tossed me a list of college advice. Namely:
1. Get along with the roommate.
2. Don't get involved monetarily with anybody. ((Meaning, don't pool money to buy stuff))
3. Drunken make-outs are fun but don't overdo it.
4. Food is very important.
5. Go to class.
6. Make note-buddies if you don't know anybody.
7. Take notes! Also, study for tests. And don't procrastinate on papers.
8. Go to class!
numbah 9 (or something): Board games are very important. Bring some. College freshman are the most nostalgic people you've ever seen--they're on their own (homesick) and confronted with adulthood (so they want their childhood back). They want to play board games and old video games and watch kids cartoons and stuff.
10: Take most (if not all) of that Target money you're going to make, save it, and make sure you have some of it available during the year. But stick to a budget of some sorts. Take it from me, it sucks spending the last month or so of school totally broke.
11: The best way to be popular is to buy somebody lunch/dinner/breakfast-at-3-am. Especially during that last month, when everybody else is broke.
12: Decorate your room. You're going to be living there and you want it to be nice. Extra lamps help, since most dorm rooms will have just a ceiling lamp.
13: Beware the "freshman 15".
14: Be prepared to get used to sharing a bathroom with 20 people. 15 of whom are slobs.
15: I'd advise against a job on campus, unless you really need it; at least for the first semester, so you can get used to stuff.
16: As a college student, there are now tons of special offers available to you, from discounts at local stores and restaurants, to major freebies (or cheapies) from all sorts of different companies. Not to mention the school itself. Take advantage of these.
17: Make friends with somebody who has a car.
18: Bring some kind of video game if you like to play them. It makes a good communal thing, too.
18: And I know you're a reader. Bring books--the campus libraries will have a piss-poor fiction selection, and you might not be able to get to a Boston branch. But not too many, because they will take up quite a bit of room in your tiny tiny room.
18: Other things you might want to bring: food-stuff like silverware, cups, plates, measuring cups, etc, in case you want to cook something in your room (although you'll probably only have a microwave to work with).
20 (?): I don't know Boston, but it is a city, and cities are not places you should be wandering around alone after dark. Take note.
21: Try not to think too hard about how many, many, many people have had sex over every inch of your dorm building.
22: Not to get parental or anything, but if you end up being one of those people, your friendly neighborhood RA will probably have protection if you need some.
23: Your RAs are there to help you out. Go to them if you have a problem or a question. Don't be afraid to ask for help or information; just like everybody else there, you're brand-new.
24: Get used to people doing drugs around you. If you don't know yet, you'll find out exactly what pot smells like, and you might even be approached by drug dealers a few times.
25: Keep your door open. Dorms are a fantastically great place to make friends, and the best way to get involved in stuff is to keep your door open. Random people will walk in, critique your music, comment on your posters, start up discussions of Russian literature, eventually introduce themselves, and finish up by telling you there's a poker tournament down the hall.
26: Call your parents at least once a week.
27: Oh, and that reminds me, since you're getting a laptop, it would be a good idea to invest in a wireless system.
2...9: Buy your textbooks used, and check online if possible. I've gotten 30-dollar books for 3 before. And if the school bookstore does it, sell them back after the semester is over. Otherwise you end up spending 4, 5 hundred dollars on books.
[EDIT: He's still adding things to my list, which means this will be changing for a bit.]
Adding to this, is of course mum's quintessential peice of advice for teens (and other people): AVOID STUPIDITY.
Oh, and the other one she gave me --always have your room key with you.
From Tho:
The best ever way to study is, after each class, to type up your notes.
What else do I need to know before I go 400 miles away where I don't know anyone*
~Sor
MOOP!
*blatent lie. Boston D&D, Persis and DHS, Lisa and Mona, Princess Stacey, and Magus will all be up there to be looking out for me, as well as a whole bunch of people I am no doubt forgetting. And Jarne has promised me that he'll train me into becoming a masshole.
Amoung other stuff, he tossed me a list of college advice. Namely:
1. Get along with the roommate.
2. Don't get involved monetarily with anybody. ((Meaning, don't pool money to buy stuff))
3. Drunken make-outs are fun but don't overdo it.
4. Food is very important.
5. Go to class.
6. Make note-buddies if you don't know anybody.
7. Take notes! Also, study for tests. And don't procrastinate on papers.
8. Go to class!
numbah 9 (or something): Board games are very important. Bring some. College freshman are the most nostalgic people you've ever seen--they're on their own (homesick) and confronted with adulthood (so they want their childhood back). They want to play board games and old video games and watch kids cartoons and stuff.
10: Take most (if not all) of that Target money you're going to make, save it, and make sure you have some of it available during the year. But stick to a budget of some sorts. Take it from me, it sucks spending the last month or so of school totally broke.
11: The best way to be popular is to buy somebody lunch/dinner/breakfast-at-3-am. Especially during that last month, when everybody else is broke.
12: Decorate your room. You're going to be living there and you want it to be nice. Extra lamps help, since most dorm rooms will have just a ceiling lamp.
13: Beware the "freshman 15".
14: Be prepared to get used to sharing a bathroom with 20 people. 15 of whom are slobs.
15: I'd advise against a job on campus, unless you really need it; at least for the first semester, so you can get used to stuff.
16: As a college student, there are now tons of special offers available to you, from discounts at local stores and restaurants, to major freebies (or cheapies) from all sorts of different companies. Not to mention the school itself. Take advantage of these.
17: Make friends with somebody who has a car.
18: Bring some kind of video game if you like to play them. It makes a good communal thing, too.
18: And I know you're a reader. Bring books--the campus libraries will have a piss-poor fiction selection, and you might not be able to get to a Boston branch. But not too many, because they will take up quite a bit of room in your tiny tiny room.
18: Other things you might want to bring: food-stuff like silverware, cups, plates, measuring cups, etc, in case you want to cook something in your room (although you'll probably only have a microwave to work with).
20 (?): I don't know Boston, but it is a city, and cities are not places you should be wandering around alone after dark. Take note.
21: Try not to think too hard about how many, many, many people have had sex over every inch of your dorm building.
22: Not to get parental or anything, but if you end up being one of those people, your friendly neighborhood RA will probably have protection if you need some.
23: Your RAs are there to help you out. Go to them if you have a problem or a question. Don't be afraid to ask for help or information; just like everybody else there, you're brand-new.
24: Get used to people doing drugs around you. If you don't know yet, you'll find out exactly what pot smells like, and you might even be approached by drug dealers a few times.
25: Keep your door open. Dorms are a fantastically great place to make friends, and the best way to get involved in stuff is to keep your door open. Random people will walk in, critique your music, comment on your posters, start up discussions of Russian literature, eventually introduce themselves, and finish up by telling you there's a poker tournament down the hall.
26: Call your parents at least once a week.
27: Oh, and that reminds me, since you're getting a laptop, it would be a good idea to invest in a wireless system.
2...9: Buy your textbooks used, and check online if possible. I've gotten 30-dollar books for 3 before. And if the school bookstore does it, sell them back after the semester is over. Otherwise you end up spending 4, 5 hundred dollars on books.
[EDIT: He's still adding things to my list, which means this will be changing for a bit.]
Adding to this, is of course mum's quintessential peice of advice for teens (and other people): AVOID STUPIDITY.
Oh, and the other one she gave me --always have your room key with you.
From Tho:
The best ever way to study is, after each class, to type up your notes.
What else do I need to know before I go 400 miles away where I don't know anyone*
~Sor
MOOP!
*blatent lie. Boston D&D, Persis and DHS, Lisa and Mona, Princess Stacey, and Magus will all be up there to be looking out for me, as well as a whole bunch of people I am no doubt forgetting. And Jarne has promised me that he'll train me into becoming a masshole.
no subject
If you don't have access to one, I have a spare AirPort Express that you could borrow. A warning, though: Some schools (maybe a lot, I don't know; mine is, at least) are picky/paranoid about what equipment you hook up to their network. Wireless routers are usually near the top of that list, because it puts the network at risk from people who don't know/care to properly secure their personal wireless network.
Also, some schools have wifi across the whole campus, obviating the need for your own router. I don't know if Lesley does, but that's something you should check on.
If item number 27 is meant to be "invest in a wireless system inside your laptop," that's easy because all Mac laptops have it by default now, and the vast majority of Windows laptops do too (on the off chance that's what you'll be getting). So then, no worries on that count.
AVOID STUPIDITY.
Also, eschew obfuscation. While your learnings may be hard, they're not usually complicated.
no subject
...I wish my iBook had inbuilt bluetooth...
no subject
Mine does! Except that, to be honest, I haven't found Bluetooth to be incredibly useful. The Bluetooth keyboard is nice, but a wired one would work just as well. Although...hmm...my barcode scanner is good, and a wired one wouldn't be so great. Nevermind then. I'll say...Bluetooth has limited uses, in my experience. (The one thing that I would love to find but doesn't seem to exist is a full-size Bluetooth mouse. My hands are too big for the little mini laptop ones, and having a real mouse would be a nice thing.)
no subject
no subject
My school is one of the most wi-fied, and has wireless virtually everywhere on campus--but it still wasn't actually inside the dorms.
no subject
no subject
!!!
Eric, is this offer still valid? If it is, can we figure out a way to get it to me? I'll totally pay you back for postage or whatever.
~Sor
no subject
(Anonymous) 2008-08-31 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)