College Advice
Jun. 23rd, 2007 08:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorcyressSo, 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.
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no subject
on 2007-06-24 09:06 am (UTC)[yeah, i didn't follow this advice either, and dear god i wish i had. twenty years hence, you'll want to remember even the really sucky times. nobody under thirty is going to believe me when i say this. at least some people over thirty aren't going to believe me when i say this. but twenty years hence, you'll want to remember even the really sucky times.]
and kdsorceress only sort of counts. if doing it online is convenient, create another journal (on livejournal or on one of the other services) -- one you TELL NOBODY ABOUT -- and make every single post private/locked. there's something quite therapeutic about pen and paper, but it isn't for everybody, your hand eventually hurts in a way that typing doesn't provoke, and it doesn't have password protection. on the other hand, it doesn't have a "delete" key either, so there's less chance you'll have a dismal day and destroy it. at least not without a book of matches.
another possibility is to give yourself another gmail account and write yourself letters. if it's easier, "address" them to your mother or your sister. but you need a place for you and your writing voice -- and nobody else -- to palaver regularly.
get up early one morning and listen to the traffic reports with a map of boston in front of you.
repeat as necessary until you understand each and every portion of bridge and spur and interstate and parkway.
there's a unique local nomenclature to every city that takes some getting used to, and you'll want to be able to be able to give and take directions without needing a translator.
accept the fact that you'll be unhappy -- possibly even really unhappy -- at least some of the time, and forgive yourself for being human.
this ties into the drugs thing. far, far too many people fall into the trap of assuming they need palliative care for the disease of being alive. college is no different. you're going to have bad days. people around you are going to fight, and sometimes with you. you're going to get stressed. you're going to get lonely. none of these things require a pill. they require a hug (or some tea, if nobody's around) and a good night's sleep.
if you ever decide to use a smudge stick in your room, introduce your RA to the smell it gives off when you burn it.
just trust me on this. (also: put a towel under the door.)
never, ever put anything on a credit card that leaves you with a balance you can't pay off completely at the end of the month.
one thing about credit cards nobody really explains is that they really are good things to have, and use, and use regularly. but only if you can pay off the balance every single month. there's nothing wrong with putting something extremely practical, (and/or considerate, like a tank of gas for whomever's car is taking you on whatever roadtrip you find yourself on), on the card every once in a while. the reason is that your credit rating gets a not-insignificant percentage of its numbers from the length of time you've had a positive credit history. but other than the once-and-a-while minor charges, you should probably use a check card instead of a credit card absolutely everywhere else.
listen to your instincts.
not "follow them," necessarily. at least not all the time. it'll take a while before you get the knack of knowing what's a good instinct ("put the 'LOOK! i've got an IPOD!' headphones in your pocket before getting off of the subway") and what's a bad instinct ("i like pizza. i like pixy-stix. what could possibly go wrong here?").
get a camera. take it everywhere. take pictures. all the time. of everything.
this ties in with the journaling thing. take a picture of your desk. the sculpture of beer cans in the study. your roommate when she's asleep. the pizza from your favorite pizza shack. that door down the hall with all the funny quotes on it. everything. upload copies of the important ones to your private journal and annotate, annotate, annotate. what are the names of the people in the photos? when was this? what were you doing? why was it fun? what happened next?
no, YOU'RE the one with the funny accent.
s'true. you'll get used to it. eventually.