"public speaking, critical thinking, writing, conversing, formulating a logical thesis and arguments, etc."
I didn't realize that us math and science types don't engage in critical thinking, talking, and writing.

I don't disagree with taking liberal arts courses though. Be thoughtful and plan ahead though, so that you'll get a minor or two instead of just fulfilling some stupid gen ed requirements.

I'm going to disagree with Invictus. Fraternity is a waste of time. I've met and hung out with a number of them (sample analysis if you will) and they are, inevitably, monosyllabic dicks who think mostly about parties and girls. If you think you need a group of people to make you feel better about yourself, I guess whatever. But if you can make do with the friends you make in classes and in professional organizations or service clubs, then do that instead.

@Invictus - Haha see? I am flustered. I knew something sounded wrong about the way I said it. Thank you for the advice. Never been much of a social butterfly, but it has kinda been harder than easier on me these past four years and I am looking forward to branching out.

@2WL - English always has, and always will be, my least favorite subject, however I can not argue your logic and realize it is necessary to develop these skills, especially as a teacher where I will be talking to several groups of students all day everyday 5 days a week (or 4, depending on where I teach).

@zultar - always glad to hear another perspective. Like I said, I am not particularly happy with my lack of social skills, and I will be looking to branch off, however I also realize the need to find true friends and not just make something out of nothing to "make you feel better about yourself" :)

I'm seriously impressed with your ability to handle yourself, ePICFAeYL. You are thoughtful and articulate. Most of the highschoolers we have on webdip think really really really highly of themselves and they throw around their AP classes and GPAs and their damn symphonies.

If some of our "adult" members could pick up some of your characteristics, jmo and I will be out of our mod jobs.

I take English class and me talk good because liberal arts teaching and brain learning.

"No embarrassing thing you do will last" unless it takes nine months to grow...

I agree with Zultar's comments on fraternities but I'm sure there are some good ones out there.

@zultar - Thank you for the compliment. I will not sit here and say that "I have had a horrible life and know all there is to know" or that I "Have had such a tough life", but I have had a couple events throughout high school that have made me grow up and realize some of the realities of the world, like how much more I have to learn and experience.
I will have to credit my thoughtfulness and my articulation to my parents and my 8th grade English teacher. They taught me more on how to act than anybody else I have ever known.

@2WL - I english real good two.

@jmo - Haha, I am not going to risk throwing my life away just for one night of fun. If an opportunity like this arises, I will take the necessary precautions to avoid an accident like that.
And on fraternities: I will look at them, and see what my school can offer, but will keep an open mind to what people have said against them as well. Thanks for all the advice to far everyone :)

I am going to be staying on campus. How do you guys recommend dealing with a roommate that I do not know? I do not know this guy, and therefore have no reason to trust him alone with all of my valuables, but I do not want to come off as a jerk with my potential new roommate either. Any advice on this?

Just trust him at first unless there is an obvious and warranted reason not to.

Your roommate will be fine in all likelihood. Don't try to be his best friend either. Don't waste your money on a frat.

@zultar,

"I didn't realize that us math and science types don't engage in critical thinking, talking, and writing."

Speaking as another math/physics major, I can say that I agree with 2wl's implication. In a lot of cases, science majors have too little exposure to writing or critical-thinking type training, and it often shows. (A great many on here would be exceptions, but then, this is a Diplomacy website).

Of course, OP is majoring in history, so I don't see that being a huge problem.

I do agree with those who question the value/necessity of fraternities. I went to college and was a pretty danged studious type; I certainly did not worry that I was wasting my youth if I found myself spending the evening in by myself reading or talking to a friend instead of out partying.

And that said, I still made incredibly good friends at college, people I'm still in touch and who will meet up together at any excuse; and I many awesome memories from that period of life.

So, live how you will during college; but don't feel like you have a duty to yourself as a young adult to be out drunk every night or you're wasting your last best chance at fun. Frankly, that's a pretty demeaning suggestion.

@Thucydides - Okay, I will make sure to keep that in mind. Thanks!

@semck - I have never been one for those big, up all night kind of parties. And when it comes to alcohol, I am not really interested in putting my degree in danger because of some underage drinking infraction of school policy. I do not know River Fall's specific policy, but either way, I am not interested in hardcore partying. Partying, yes, but not the stereotypical college way. I have tried Rum w/ Coke, a Long Island, a Peach Dream, regular beer, wine, etc (all legally. While I live in the USA, when I have taken trips to Europe and Jamaica/Bahamas, I have tried alcohol with my parents permission), but I have yet to find an alcohol that I actually enjoyed drinking. And while some people say you drink the alcohol for the feeling and not the taste, I really just do not see a point in drinking something where I do not enjoy the taste. No sort of feeling is really worth that to me.

By the way, sorry if I sounded in the last like I think that all fraternities spend all their time drunk. That's not true, and some of them can doubtless be wonderful experiences. Look into them, as you said.

I was just responding to an earlier post that did seem to make that connection, and tied them together with the need to "do embarrassing things" and take advantage of "thousands of people exactly your age who are desperately looking to make friends and have sex," lest you stay in and waste nights.

Fraternity life isn't for everyone, but it totally can be for most guys. I don't see what's not to like about living with your friends and having the collective resources to enjoy this time of your life to the fullest. All I can say is look into it. Where you're going may be small enough that all the guys really are tools, but that's probably not the case. Give it a fair shot and you may make one of the best choices of your life. But if it's not for you then it's not for you.

And keep in mind that the forum for the online version of a strategy board game isn't exactly the place to get fair, accurate opinions on Greek life. Take everything these geeds say with a heap of salt.

"I was just responding to an earlier post that did seem to make that connection, and tied them together with the need to "do embarrassing things" and take advantage of "thousands of people exactly your age who are desperately looking to make friends and have sex," lest you stay in and waste nights."

I meant embarrassing things like having the courage to talk to a girl cold and going mud sliding on the quad. As for making friends, welcome week is the perfect time to do that in college and it's also the perfect time to get some action, regardless of whether there's booze about. How old are you that you don't remember that being pretty high on an 18 year old's list of priorities? And nights out can be with some club or concert or rally, not necessarily out at bars. I just mean nights in on Facebook or whatever doing nothing are nights wasted. Try not to jump to conclusions.

you should try hardcore partying, try to get into it at least once. those are crazy memories.

College is a proving ground. By the time you hit college, you think you know who you are, what you believe in, what you think is important, and how the world works. That's all based on your life up to that point and whatever experiences you had, wherever you came from. Now you're thrown into a bigger pool, with new and different people from different places with different thoughts and different ways of doing things. Maybe even radically different. You get a chance to test your ideas and beliefs against those of others, whether that be in classroom discussions, cafes, or late, late nights in the common room. Some people's pre-college identity withstands the testing and they come out exactly the same. Some people totally change. Most people fall somewhere in between.

Grades are important. Tests are important. Class, not so much (I'd say differently if you were on a STEM track). Study for tests, do the reading at some point, make extra sure you go to the review sessions before a midterm or final. But any individual lecture? Screw it. There's a lot more to life, and especially college life, than sitting in a lecture hall listening to somebody drone on about the importance of 18th century Germans, or how Gone With The Wind is full of secret freemason references, or why rabbits shouldn't be classified as rodents (they're lagomorphs). Don't sweat missing any individual class, or even many classes, if there is a more interesting alternative. Exceptions: any early attendance that is necessary to make sure you do not get dropped from the class, such as in popular impacted classes, and again those crucial pre-midterm and pre-final review sessions.

Meet people, talk to them. That's how you test yourself against the world. If you come in as a studious, anti-social nerd and spend all your time outside of class living alone and studying, you're not getting the college experience. Meet people in class, in dorms, in frats, at sporting events, in cafes, in social clubs. The opportunity to meet a wide variety of people with different perspectives is one of the most valuable things about college. Before you get there, you had the time but not the breadth of perspectives to use as sounding boards. Once you leave, you'll have the breadth of perspectives, but not the time.

Your roommate in all likelihood is just a regular dude like you. If you're lucky, you'll become lifelong buds. If you're unlucky, you'll hate each other and move on after a year. Either way, it's a good life experience. There has to be some level of initial trust because you live together. That doesn't mean you have to leave cash lying around in the open on the first day. Also, your roomie may be trustworthy but that doesn't mean that his friends/guests necessarily are.

In a few months, you're probably going to say you go to U-Dub River Falls or UWRF.

OK, so I am an old foggie. I graduated high school, went into the Marines, got out and got an Associates of Science in Computer Science / Programming. I am.jist starting back some 30 years into my career to get my Bachelors because I want it (don't actually need it). So I can neither speak of this so called "college experience" nor would I try. I will just say that I think the idea of blowing off classes in your field of study is foolish. Sure, if you aren't going to be a German Lit major, blowing off a class whose entire coursework for the semester is Beowulf might be worthwhile. Cram for that exam and do what those above.mention. But I, personally, would relish soaking up the knowledge from an expert in my field. But that's just me: a conservatice old geezer with real world experience who knows some 18-22 year olf "scholastic student" doesn't actually have a clue what it is like out here in the dog eat dog world of business.

I'm with Draug.

The reason universities ultimately exist is to provide access to extremely well-trained thinkers in the fields that interest you most, access that you would have a hard time getting any other way. (Unless you happened to know one, or something).

Whatever you're majoring in, it should be something that interests you. (And it sounds like, in your case, it is). So take advantage of this opportunity to learn from the professors themselves. If there's one that's so bad that you conclude after awhile that he's a total waste of your time, then reevaluate that one at that point; but in general, if you're not availing yourself of the professors, what's even the point?

Sadly Draug, there are a lot of professors who are far more concerned with their research then they are with teaching. Even at a smaller school with no TA's allowed some of my professors just didn't care. In those classes they post everything online and literally read their slides. I skipped those classes quite frequently. However, if you have a good professor it would be foolish to skip class. Those professors will notice, you want them to know you, but not because you are the person always skipping class.

If you think you are ever going to want a letter of recommendation from a professor do NOT skip their class. Same applies if attendance is mandatory, some professors like hiding "if you miss 5 classes I fail you" clauses in their syllabus. Also never skip the first week of class, most universities now have rules allowing the professor to kick anyone who misses the first week of class out of their class no questions asked.

Small world--I know quite a few people who went to UWRF, and some for teaching. There is no reason you should think you won't love it/aren't ready for it.

@abgemacht: I did take a badminton course in college. Aced it.

The point, or at least my point, is that any individual class is only one small component of the total college experience. I'm not saying skip every class. I'm saying that college is made up of a whole smorgasbord of opportunities and experiences, and you shouldn't feel constrained to miss out on other valuable experiences just because your schedule says you're supposed to be in Room 10 at a particular moment.

I have no problem if others disagree with me. OP asked for tips, and I'm sharing mine. That approach worked out fine for me. I don't regret at all the classes I missed on Politics of the Soviet Union, Geography of the City, Existentialism in Film & Literature, Society and Mass Media, etc. The professors were world-class, and excellent lecturers. Sometimes, I had other (sometimes better, sometimes not) things to do and I think in the long run I'm better off for having done it the way I did it.

In regards to Roommates:

I was randomly assigned to a roommate my freshman year. 8 years later, we're still living together. Obviously, this isn't normal, but for every roommate horror story you hear, there are also amazing successes.

I living on an engineering floor my freshman and sophomore years. It was great living around people who shared similar interests and also had a similar work load.

@zul

How did you get so many degrees and minors? How long did it take you? In four years I was able to get a BS in EE, but I was 2 courses short of double majoring in math.

I heard he got his minors by hanging around the gates of the lower school with a big bag of sweets holding a little puppy

I came in with 30ish AP credits (I think). I took at least 15 hours per semester, and I took classes during intersessions for fun, and I planned for a number of eventualities. So basically counting the number of hours/classes per major/minor and working backwards. I was one class short for a minor in history but I decided to take it easy my last semester as a senior. Well, that and I was getting married to my best friend a few days after graduation, so I thought that was more important than a history class on Eastern European. My wife and I had to plan the whole wedding and we paid for the whole thing, so it took a bit of effort.

In retrospect, both choices were poorly made. I should have discovered Webdiplomacy and I could be admin emeritus by now. :)

Or by now you could have a competing site called Zdiplomacy.net.