Is that a euphemism, I know some people who like it up the crazy

Yeah I will deff try not to make that mistake gold.

Of course nigee I never leave my room without my sawed off shotgun in my pant leg... That was my only pass through high school!

I would like to study abroad but I don't know if it will be possible with the sports factoring in..

Does football carry into the Spring Semester? If not then just go away for one semester.

Have fun. Make friends. Don't drink until you are retarded more than once. Don't be an asshole.
Most of the people you meet in the first couple of weeks will probably remain friends for the rest of your college career/life.
Balancing sports and school isn't that hard, but it's a fine line to walk while you transition to college. Since you have 30 credits going in you may be familiar with the workload. I wish I would have scheduled more when I was in school.
Last advice: Don't do drugs, they are harmless until they aren't.
Good luck!!

Don't get overwhelmed its just like a job with a lot less working hours

Don't fall to peer pressure

Don't get involved with girls unless you can handle it (and I mean handle it all going wrong)

Obi's List of 12 Things to Know For College:

1. When you get drunk on a Friday or Saturday night, be sure you've got a buddy to haul your ass to the couch (and be ready to do the same for him.)

2. When you get drunk any other night, be sure you don't have important shit the next morning

3. Chances are, in any given semester, 1/5 of your professors will be the most miserable verminous pieces of reheated shit and slime that ever festered in the bowels of the sewer and somehow transmogrified into what passes for supposedly-intelligent life. Know this. Digest this fact. Brace yourself for it. Prepare to deal with it. IT WILL HAPPEN...SO PLAN AHEAD...and if you can, BUILD A COALITION--you have no chances swaying other professors or powers that be that your professor's a scmuck on your own, you NEED a good few fellow profesors and a good chunk of your fellow students behind you before you shout "VIVA LA REVOLUTION!" and try and revolt against that slime-ball and restore the GPA that he or she has so wrongfully wrecked (and, if nothing else...you'll drive yourself crazy and just look crazy bitching about said professor on your own, kvetch in groups.)

4. Likewise, 1/5 of your professors will likely be an amazing individual. Know this person. Make sure this person knows you. Make sure this person knows you on a first name basis. Make sure this person knows you at sight 50 feet away and is happy to see you. MAKE SURE OF THIS. As #3 indicated, you may need said individual to help you out in the fight against Mr. or Mrs. Gestapo...and if you're trying to get a job on campus, again, you want this person to be able to sit down and HAPPILY write you a letter of recommendation.

5. If you're a freshman, that means you just finished being a senior in high school. The key word there is FINISHED--high school (thank God) IS OVER. Anyone still acting like they're still in high school? Fuck those people and stay the fuck away from them (and if you act like you're still in high school, this is what folks will say and think about you.)

6. Don't listen to what they say--if you know (and I mean *KNOW*) that you write better on the night before a paper is due and you are 310% certain you can and will be able to write an excellent, A+ paper if you wait until the night before, do it. Writing is a bit like singing or pitching in baseball--everyone has their own style, rituals and routines to get ready and perform at your best...if you work best spreading it out over many weeks writing tiny tidbits here and there between Facebook time, do it. If you work best thinking over what you're going to write in the back of your head for weeks while watching sports on TV and then sit down and in a concentrated burst knock out 20 pages, do it. But make sure you won't get docked, and if you wait, you BETTER be sure you can do it and do it looking pretty damn good with nothing for them to pick apart and criticize and say "See, if you'd started earlier, you COULD have done better.

7. That being said, while A's are awesome and if you pride yourself as being talented in a field you should always strive for them...as a law student friend of mine said before, "C's get degrees." Sometimes you're gonna get a C. No matter what. That evil Nazi bitch/bastard of a professor I described above? If he/she doesn't fail you, chances are, best you'll get is a C, even if you're a young Shakespeare or Cal Sagan or whatever. Know this. Plan for this. If you have Nazi Professor's paper and another professor's paper to do on the same weekend, put more effort into the paper for the professor who might actually possibly maybe give you an A, and resign yourself to the C for the other professor, and ration your time and effort and how much you give a shit accordingly. C's are the cheap bloop singles of academia--but hey, even Babe Ruth didn't hit a home run every time...you want to always at least get on base and avoid striking out.

8. Fuck frats, frat boys, and anyone involved with a frat...you can find better places to get a drink and better people to drink with, UNLESS you want to be a frat boy, in which case, well, have fun...and just remember that frat boy friends might share your view, but employers, by and large, share MINE--if you're gonna be a frat boy, don't be a dumb one.

9. You will, whatever your class, see many people around you taking notes. I have always had a no-notes policy, period, unless notes are absolutely demanded of me and are a part of my grade (which is bullshit, but anyway.) Instead of taking notes, consider some or all of the following: if you're allowed, record the lecture using your laptop, a recorder, phone, or other device...many professors put the key points, Powerpoints, and study sheets online nowadays, so skip to those, that's what they want you to know anyway...if you can, look at the professor, make eye contact, and actively listen to what he or she is talking about, rather than keeping your head down like a drone and copying down facts and formulas and notes about the plot of Hamlet...far better to UNDERSTAND 3/4 of what they professor is saying and WHY and then find out from others who HAVE taken notes what the other 1/4 of the lecture was about than to write down the whole lecture but only understand/comprehend about 1/4 of it.

10. On a more specific note, speaking of Hamlet--if you take Shakespeare, DO NOT READ THE NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE OR CLIFF NOTES VERSION. AT AL. WHATSOEVER. IF THERE IS ONE THING I CAN BE TRUSTED TO TALK ABOUT HERE AND ACTUALLY KNOW IT'S SHAKESPEARE...EVEN IF YOU KNOW AND UNDERSTAND FUCK ALL ABOUT SHAKESPEARE, DO NOT USE THOSE VERSIONS. *WATCH* THE PLAYS ON YOUR COMPUTER. FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE TEXT. USE ONLINE SOURCES TO HELP YOU FIGURE OUT QUESTIONS. USE FELLOW STUDENTS. *DO NOT USE NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE.* I HAVE HAD MORE TUTORING CLIENTS COME TO ME NOT UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE LARGELY BECAUSE NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE HAS SCREWED THEM UP THAN FOR ALMOST ANYTHING ELSE...YOU WILL *NOT* GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRUE NATURE OF THE PLOT, CHARACTERIZATION, AND *ESPECIALLY* THE LANGUAGE OF SHAKESPEARE USING NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE. YOU. WILL. NOT. AND. YOU. *WILL.* BE. TESTED. ON. THOSE. YOU WILL. I PROMISE. SO...DO NOT USE NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE AT ALL WHATSOEVER MY THOUGHTS BE BLOODY OR BE NOTHING WORTH!!!

Ok? Ok. Good. Moving on.

11. Whatever your field of study, make sure you have enough and a broad enough wealth of knowledge that you have a safety net, because there WILL come day when you have a pop quiz or surprise essay and you'll have to bullshit your way through it because you blew off the reading or assignment last night, didn't understand it and was hoping today would clear things up, or both. As such, make sure you have a way to work through everything--ie, if you're an English major...knowing Shakespeare, the Bible/authors like Dante and Milton who reference the Bible like crazy, and one other author that you know very well will USUALLY help you bullshit your way through if time is running out and you don't have a clue what to write.

12. College women are complex and confusing, except when they're not, and college men are stupid and irritating, except when they're not. Frat boys/sorority girls are exempt from this rule on the grounds that they are already covered in the aforementioned "Fuck frats or Love frats but fuck you, frat boy" rule above. Additionally, you will, in your time at college, to maybe date many girls...or a few...or none...

In any case, chances are that, eventually, despite protestations that this will never, ever happen to you, you WILL have a Henry Higgins/"I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" moment where you just WANT to be with a girl no matter what because "She almost makes the day begin!"

You will then all at once become achingly aware of every single last imperfection about your body and brain and the fact that you are, in fact, an oily smelly hairy fat ape...and you will wonder how the HELL you are going to conceal this fact from this lady, who is herself, logically, an oily smelly fairy fat ape on her own, but damn if you don't see her as anything BUT that and everything better than you.

In this eventuality--let me know what you come up with, as I don't know what to do myself.

;)

If you run up against a brick wall, go around. Or recover for a while and then take another path. Just don't give up.

Obiwan 's advice - get drunk and write your paper the night before, then bitch about your professors failing you and getting a C.

seth,

Theodoore Roosevelt's "Walk softly and carry a big stick" is particularly applicable to college life. Make friends, be the best student you can be and don't post your successes and failures on Twitter.

red, that would be "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Slight but important difference.

Okay noted.
But I meant it in the Teddy Roosevelt sense of the word, walking softly as you would through the woods, not making too much noise.

Don't take success for granted. You've likely been successful in most things with less effort than others. This will continue, but not forever. So don't allow the boredom to let you fall behind (because it may take you by surprise when you reach that point of actual challenge).

There are numerous paths to success in college. Seek advice or help when you need; delaying on that will cost you.

Money and time are your two big resources. Spend both wisely. Recognize that someone will be eager to to spend either at any given moment--you'll have to exercise restraint.

Finally, everything else is personal. One person may drop out because they got over involved while someone else drops out because they had no connection. Most horror and success stories will have little to do with your experience. Listen to cautionary tales, but forge your own with perspective and introspection.

Most of the time uni will be easy enough but every now and then, do to the unique way these institutions are organised, you will find yourself with a load of simultaneous deadlines and totally overwhelmed. The best thing you can do is keep an eye on the future and spot these things before they become a problem. Sometimes this is damned impossible, so make sure you know in advance what balls you can get away with dropping.

Those lectures you snooze through and you have the distinct impression you could learn more by reading a book in a library? You really can. When time is gold skip them and catch up later.

That assignment that is damned hard, is taking up countless hours, is worth virtually nothing and you don't have to pass? Do a half arsed job and focus on the big stuff.

Know the penalties for late work. If missing the deadline on a piece of work means it will be capped at 60%, and there's not a hope in hell of you getting more than 60% if you hand it in on time, miss the deadline and take the penalty.

Make sure you impress the lecturers who care, because they will back you up and help you out. Same goes for tutors.

As far as the social side goes, it's simple. If you don't like it, don't do it. Don't feel the need to try everything, either. If something looks tempting, give it a go. If it really doesn't, give the twerp insisting you should "get involved" a slapping and move on.

"Obiwan 's advice - get drunk and write your paper the night before, then bitch about your professors failing you and getting a C."

No no no no no, Sy--

Getting drunk is for AFTER you write the paper the night before and AFTER the professor gives the entire class F's (because when the whole class fails, hey, that's their fault...far more likely 30 people just individually all fucked up than 1 tenured schmuck who KNOWS they have tenure and can do whatever they like short of raping students and keep their cushy job just gave bad instructions and doesn't give a shit, right?)

;)

Oh, top tips for exam season

That question that has appeared without fail in the 2010 paper, 2011 paper and 2012 paper, and you can do in your sleep... That will NOT appear in your paper.

It's always a good idea to find past exam papers early on and make sure you can answer most of the question(s) on the parts of the module you have just covered. If you can't, find out why.

For exams do what they are doing in the UK, allow the students to take the same paper twice so they get better scores next time around(they know all of the questions) ...... another great success for school league tables.

Thanks everyone on this thread! Great advice! Red, obi, ock and JCB special thanks I got a lot out of that. Also anyone else I missed, I appreciate it!

I don't post on the forum too frequently, but, as an engineering major, I figured I'd be helpful.

First, no offense, Obi, but your no-notes strategy doesn't work quite as well for math classes. Say the proverbial "lightbulb moment" happens while the professor is working an example in class. For me at least, taking note of this newfound understanding was meaningless unless I had specific points in the example to immediately refer it to. You'll thank yourself come exam time. (and on a side note, math professors are often foreign and hard enough to understand anyway, and the distortion from a recording, along with being unable to watch their mouths, can make understanding them impossible).

As for the social aspect, I can't put it much better than what Octavious said. Have fun and try new things, but take note when something just doesn't feel right. As long as you don't spend all day in your room, you'll have no problem meeting people.

Finally, take advantage of anything you find interesting that would help you find an internship or job later on. Whether this is a design team (I'd highly recommend these if your school has them), a simple resume-writing help session, or some sort of honors program, it's always good to make connections and get a head start on improving your prospects for the wonderful world of employment.

"First, no offense, Obi, but your no-notes strategy doesn't work quite as well for math classes. Say the proverbial "lightbulb moment" happens while the professor is working an example in class. For me at least, taking note of this newfound understanding was meaningless unless I had specific points in the example to immediately refer it to. You'll thank yourself come exam time. (and on a side note, math professors are often foreign and hard enough to understand anyway, and the distortion from a recording, along with being unable to watch their mouths, can make understanding them impossible)."

Fair point...

I could never keep math in my head with or without notes, and in all other subjects they just got in the way (again, actively listening and participating works for me as a better way to remember things, I'll remember a conversation in class far more than a formula I wrote down, no matter how many times I wrote it down or look at it...the conversation sticks with me more...I know there are different ways people learn, so I guess that's what works for me, whatever sort of learning is represented by conversation and discussion...that's worked well for everything else, and math I just had trouble with no matter what, even when I did try and have discussions to remember it.)

Besides, discussing things is far more fun, and professors often give participation for that and take note...so if I'm on the border, I can always count on participation (and not just "you showed up, good for you" participation, I mean actually showing up and talking and being somewhat intelligent...so I suppose the opposite of my usual WebDip ramblings ;) ) to put me over the top.

lol Obi says don't' take notes?...and yet every response he ever makes he has taken notes...he includes a "quote" from what he is responding to.

The best most honest advice that I can give from personal experience is join a sports team. Even if you've never played sports before.

You stay fit, trainings give you some sort of routine to life. For my course I only had 11 contact hours a week of Lectures and Seminars, So being part of a sports team gave me trainings to schedule, sounds stupid. But when you have THAT much free time to organise, you might appreciate your captain doing some of it for you.
You get to travel the country with a group of awesome people.

If you think you suck at sports, and have no chance of making any team, join something peculiar like Ultimate Frisbee. Not to say Frisbee is a weak sport or anything. (because believe me it isn't). From personal experience. People who play more peculiar sports are far less likely to be jerks, and far more likely to be great lovely people who willl help you along, and intergrate you into the team more.
Because the sport is less popular, they take what they're given, and do their best to make you an amazing player.

Good luck :)

Good luck :)

Yeah,

Obi's advice about not taking notes is terrible for math courses. (That's reasonable, he's not a math person). You will be absolutely screwed if you don't take notes in a math course. Not every math course, mind you, but that one will come, and it will come with some frequency.

His advice about 1/5 of your professors being idiots on whom you should march with other professors and the class is also not really correct. You will have to work a lot harder to get along with some, and to meet their standards; it's absolutely worth doing, however. Go to their office hours, talk to them, try to figure out what it is they're looking for, ask about what you don't understand, etc. I did have some pretty bad profs, but I never experienced one I just couldn't adapt to, and only had one about whom I complained to other profs. (Which is an option if absolutely necessary).

Incidentally -- going to professors' office hours is some key advice that I should have put in my first post. GO TO YOUR PROFESSORS' OFFICE HOURS. If you're struggling AT ALL, go. Most of them like you to go, you get to know them, it gives you a relationship with them, makes them remember you (including remembering you as a hard worker when they grade), and you'll often actually learn. (Sometimes they're in a chatty mood and will really teach you a lot about connections between the material and other things, e.g.) They're also excellent resources for advice, and can become friends over the long term.

This connects with Obi's point 3 to some extent, obviously.

I also don't really agree about grades, to be honest, although this depends on your goals. I'd say, "Work hard to get good grades," but instead let me say, understand how your grades impact your options. For some paths, it really doesn't matter much. But if you want to go to law school, business school, or grad school, it absolutely does. Obi's friend in law school may have said not to worry about C's; but he'd have better job prospects if he did worry about C's.

Yes, if you get one, don't freak out about it -- move on. But only after you get one.

Waiting till the night before is fine, unless you end up sick, having to comfort a friend, or otherwise unable to work that night. Keep that in mind.

Anyway, good luck. :-)

Oh, and obi -- does this mean you have fallen for a girl? =-o

seth24c: Be yourself and do what you want to do. I assume you drink already, but, for example, if you don't like the taste of alcohol and don't like the idea of losing some control, then don't drink. Don't try anything 'new' just because you feel like you should have had the experience at least once. If you know you won't like something then be yourself and don't do it.

Couldn't agree with semck83 more. Go to office hours. The worst professor I had in college refused to answer emails with more then 10 words. I was completely stuck on a program, and couldn't finish it. Went to his office hours and he sat down with me for 2 hours and taught me more about coding then I'd learned in all my other classes combined.

Professors are generally very good at what they teach, your goal is to find a way to get them to communicate that knowledge to you in a way that will help you. Office hours, emails, whatever that takes, DO IT. You're paying absurd amounts of money to learn, so if you don't you're just wasting your own money.

This is more for next year when you have an apartment, but stale bread is still OK for a few more days as long as you toast it.

And learn to hold your liquor as quickly as possible.

"Fuck frats, frat boys, and anyone involved with a frat...you can find better places to get a drink and better people to drink with, UNLESS you want to be a frat boy, in which case, well, have fun...and just remember that frat boy friends might share your view, but employers, by and large, share MINE--if you're gonna be a frat boy, don't be a dumb one."

obiwanobiwan is not the one to give anyone advice on getting a job. If you're going into a white-collar profession then the odds are actually quite good that the person interviewing you went Greek in college. The people who are successful in business, law, government, and many other fields are lopsidedly members of fraternities or sororities.

It's not a life for everyone, but it can be a life for most people. What's not to like about living with your friends and having the collective resources to throw amazing parties? What's not to like about potential alumni networking after graduation? And a place to go every homecoming when you visit in the future? And the friendships, have I mentioned the friendships?

Like anything, you can't be an idiot about it and pickle yourself in beer while you ignore grades. The thing to do is to go to events during rush right as the year starts and see if you like the guys in a house. If so, keep going and you'll get a bid to join. If you don't like the guys then it's not for you. But at least you avoided the irrational anti-Greek hate boners people like obiwanobiwan have developed.

"That being said, while A's are awesome and if you pride yourself as being talented in a field you should always strive for them...as a law student friend of mine said before, "C's get degrees.""

That law student friend was a moron who is probably now at an awful law school with no prospect of employment after graduation. As semck83 said, it depends on your field if a high GPA is really a huge deal. An engineer can get C's and still be hired with few problems, someone who needs to get a graduate or professional degree does not have that luxury.

You needn't kill yourself over grades, but for God's sake never have a "C's get degrees" attitude. That's a one-way ticket to a less successful life than you might have had.

I wasn't in the frat system, but about half the people I hung out with in college were from fraternities. Some of them looked like they were stamped in a mold once they got in to the system, and they talked alike and walked alike, other remained uniquely themselves.

As for my non-frat friends, some of them looked like they were stamped in a mold, and whatever culture they came from, they stil walked and talked like that and they sought out their own kind. Others were uniquely themselves.

Get the picture.

There are a lot of benefits that can come from a frat (and from being friends with frat guys), and I know my frat friends often benefited from a pre-built business network after college Nothing wrong with that, as long as membership in a fraternity doesn't cause you to do anything that violates your personal morality and principles.

As for not being in a fraternity, in a way I had a large network of fraternity access -- i.e. parties (the ones open to the outside) without the requirements of being a member...though I did not get the after-college benefit of a network.

Join a frat if you want to. Don't listen to any jaded, angry people that are judging them with trite, ordinary complaints.