20 Things College Freshmen Need to Know
1. Don’t try to meet everyone too soon!!!
This is one of the most common mistakes among freshman college students. You will probably be nervous and probably a long way from home and you probably want lots of friends, but the best thing to do is not to try to make friends with everybody all at once. If you know too many people than you will be the talk of the town. Everybody will know your business and spread it all around like soft butter on bread. You have to be patient and take your time to make friends because if you make friends too soon then you may end up losing more than you began with.
2. Don’t party too much!!!
Partying is fun but you have to remember that you are not in college to stay out all night drinking and partying with upperclassmen. You have to realize that you are at an institution to get an education so that you can earn a degree and then have a descent career. Many of the people who partied their way through college are either flipping burgers or bagging groceries in order to pay off their student loans. So be smart don’t party too much.
3. Don’t skip classes!!!
You have to realize that college is not like high school and ditching just isn’t as cool as it was there. Your parents, grandparents, yourself, or whoever is busting their butts to get you through school, has enough faith in you that they are willing to invest thousands of dollars to help you earn a degree. College isn’t free so when you skip classes it is like paying your professor thousands of dollars to talk to other people, which don’t make very much sense. Besides many professors don’t care if you show up or not they just want a paycheck and you need a good grade. Show up!!! Only miss if you have to.
4. If you have a curfew abide by it!!!
Many schools nowadays have curfews for the freshman. This is to make sure that no one ends of pregnant or out wandering the streets late at night. I remember as a freshman I had to be in my dorm by 11:00 p.m. weekdays and 1:00 a.m. weekends or else there would be a $50.00 fine that I would have to pay. $50.00 to college students is a lot of money and you or your parents cannot afford to keep paying these types of late fees. So the best thing to do is to be on time every night. Most schools don’t play games they will penalize you even if you are 2 minutes late.
5. Don’t spend all of your money too soon!!!
Everyone on campus has a tendency to look nice and want to do all sorts of things in order to stay up to par with everyone else. No matter how nice those pair of shoes look or how great this expensive party is going to be, you have to realize that you need to eat. Scrounging around for Ramen Noodles from your roommate or eating a bag of stale chips isn’t always appealing when you are starving. It is better to have a couple bucks in your pocket and not to spend it all in one place, unless you can afford it.
6. Don’t get a credit card!!!
You will see booths all over campus saying sign up for a Visa and get a free t-shirt or sign up for a student MasterCard and get a 500 minute phone card. Stay away from these booths. Giving a college student a credit card with a $5,000 limit is not one of the smartest things that I have seen happen in my day. Try to avoid the temptation of getting a credit card because you will be in the mall spending away and then you will receive an enormous interest filled credit card bill a month later. Don’t do it. So many people ruin their credit in college and then they can’t ever get a car or house and sometimes a cell phone. Stay away from these evil things while you are in college.
7. Don’t tell too many people your business!!!
You should never give too many people personal information about yourself. You have to understand that you will probably be going to school with people from all over the country or world and giving out too much info to them isn’t very smart. You may think that you can trust this person but you could really be hurt in the long run. You may know someone for a few months but you don’t know what they were doing before they came to college. You may have a clepto running around your dorm or an identity thief. Friends are cool to have, just be cautious of who you let into your life.
8. Don’t expect to find your husband!!!
Many girlsâÂ?¦well I think most girlsâÂ?¦maybe even all girls expect to find their husband at college and many of them will go to great lengths in order to do so. Be realistic, most college guys are just trying to have a good time and they don’t plan on playing house until after they graduate. If you find a husband in college that’s great but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
9. Don’t fight with your roommate!!!
I had to learn this one the hard way!! Fighting with your roommate is never fun considering the fact that you have to keep all of your belongings in the same room as your enemy. If you and your roommate don’t see eye to eye and you end up having an altercation you should really consider talking it out before the tension escalates. You have to realize that your are in a new relationship with someone that you barely know and you will not always get along, so do your best to be an adult and don’t fight with your roommate. Besides some schools will charge you a $1,000 fine for fighting on campus.
10. Don’t get caught up in the glitz and glamour of school life!!!
School is fun, flashy, and exciting, but you don’t want to get caught up with the faÃ?§ade of campus life. When this happens students can want to get involved with everything on campus except going to class. It is cool to get involved, just make sure that your main focus is to get an education.
11. Establish a study schedule!!
Making a good study schedule will leave lots of time for you to enjoy campus life and hang out with friends. You just have to make sure that you set a time and place aside for studying and completing assignments. The worse thing is to have to make up tons of work at the end of the semester because you were too busy having too much fun.
12. Use shower shoes!!!
There are millions and millions of microbials wandering around campus and they love to breed in college showers. Always wear your shower shoes because if you don’t then you can end up with a strange itch or fungus growing on your feet by the end of the semester. Think about all of the students who were in there before you.
13. Don’t give your professor a hard time!!!
There is nothing wrong with challenging your professor but there is something wrong with giving them a hard time for your own personal entertainment. Sometimes professors can get so frustrated with their students that they may walk out and leave you high and dry. Remember your professor is a person too, they may be a weird person, but they have feelings just like you.
14. Don’t go to class wasted!!!
Most college students have seen it time and time again or they have done it time and time again and most of the time it doesn’t work. Don’t go to class high or drunk. If you are wasted then you have the potential of missing very important information or getting in trouble if you get caught. Be smart and don’t be a lush or a pothead in class.
15. Stay out of the opposite sexes dorm room!!!
Many schools are cracking down and keeping men and women separate from each other. If you do attend a school where coed dorms are nonexistent, then stay out of the opposite sexes dorm room. Someone always tries to sneak in but they always end up getting caught. There are cameras in most dorm hallways to monitor who comes in and out. Besides if you do get caught you run the risk of getting kicked out of school and your parents kicking your butt.
16. Don’t do anything that could get you kicked out of school!!!
Streaking, getting super drunk and mooning the dean, or carrying a deadly weapon are only a few of the things that are bound to get you kicked out of school. College is fun and doing fun and outrageous things have to have a limit. You have to act responsibly and not place yourself in a situation where you will end up back at home in your parent’s basement.
17. Know your surroundings!!!
If you are in a new location and you don’t know your surroundings than you can end up in trouble. Know your surroundings and learn about the neighborhoods surrounding the school area. Many Historically Black Colleges are located in rural urban areas of large cities and the locals may have a field day harassing and intimidating the newcomers. You have to be smart and maybe scope out the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. You should do this with a group of people or in a car, never do this alone. You may find some interesting neighbors or you may find a neighborhood that you probably don’t want to go into. Just know where you are so that you can stay safe.
18. Girls don’t go anywhere at night alone!!!
Most girls know that stalkers and predators love to prey on beautiful college girls and the best way to catch one is when she is walking alone at night. Many girls end up raped or even killed because they didn’t take the proper precautions when going from one side of campus late at night to the other side. Many schools now offer a safe service where a security guard will escort you to where you need to go on campus. Women should take this into consideration when leaving the library late at night or leaving out for any reason.
19. Be considerate of your roommate!!!
Realize that you and your roommate are two different people with two different upbringings. They may do something one way and you may do something the other. Whatever the case may be, you are bound to clash in some form or another. Just be considerate of them and hopefully they will do the same for you. Staying up all night on the phone when your roommate has to get up for an early morning class is inconsiderate. Leaving dirty underwear in the middle of the floor is inconsiderate, and using their things without permission is inconsiderate. This is one of the rules that you learned in kindergarten, treat others like you would want to be treated.
20. If you feed them they will come!!!
Leaving nasty food out will be sure to draw rodents and bugs to your room. One of the worst things is to have to chase a giant roach around your dorm room at 3:00 in the morning. You should never leave any food, toothpaste, or other tasty treats around for pests, because if one room gets infected then everyone’s room will soon be too.
I hope that God willing this guide will help you get through your first year of college!!!
