Advice For An Incoming College Freshmen

Hello, my name is Mike and in these coming weeks I will be officially attending College and studying for a psychology major. This being said, I'd like some advice from those are are currently attending or attended/graduated from College. What are some of the issues you faced while in college? What are some tips you might know that will make College easier for an incoming Freshmen?

 

Some important advice and knowledge I think everyone should have; Don't expect it to be like high school. It's not. Remember to be organized and to always be careful to plan out your schedule. Make friends with your professors; don't suck up to them, make friends. Get help if you need it. It's always available, it's frequently free and it can make a huge difference (at my school there's a 5-10% increase in the average scores of people who get tutoring). Above all else, try to find a balance between work and fun in your life. Make sure you get your schoolwork and your job done, but also try to have some time in your schedule to have fun. Talk with a guidance counselor often, they can be really helpful.

On to more specific, "just nice to have" knowledge, pick classes with nice breaks between them, but not too long so you're sitting around with nothing to do and not enough time to do anything. Avoid morning classes, they suck. Avoid night classes, especially if you have a morning class the next day. Night classes themselves are okay, but the next morning depending on how early you have to get up... If you can, get a job close to or on campus. I'm lucky enough to be able to work on campus, but that's obviously not the case for everyone, and travel can suck if you're living on campus.

 

Welcome to college life!! I second everything above, with a few additional things to add:
-Read the syllabus. Always. If your professors are any good, the syllabus will contain everything you need to know about how to pass the class. I'm talking deadlines, grading scales, how much a particular assignment is worth, you name it. And if you do study the syllabus and still have questions, your professors will be more willing to help you because you put in the work yourself.

-MAKE FRIENDS!! Join a social club or organization that fits your interests. College is so much more overwhelming when you go it alone, and good friends will ensure that these years will be full of awesome memories! It's also nice if you make friends with some of your fellow psych majors, though it's not 100% necessary.
That being said, be careful of the crowd your new friends are part of.
-Partying, drugs, alcohol etc. sound fun, but come with so many negative consequences. Avoid the party crowd if you care about your academic success.
-Fraternities are overrated. Some are ok, but most of them fall into the above-mentioned party crowd and will drag you down. Also dues can get expensive.
-Don't use the on-campus bookstore. Most charge WAY too much. Look on Amazon, or better yet find a small local bookstore. On my campus, there is one literally just down the street that has the same books and access codes at a fraction of the price!
-It's ok to stay out late, just don't do it too often! Sleep is important, and classrooms are not suitable napping zones lmao

Ok that's it from me, best of luck!!