Getting Ready for College

[TheGodDamnMaster]

So, I just got a letter in the mail for Salisbury University. I got accepted in for Fall 2013. This is pretty much the best news I've had in years, I'm almost in tears now.

 

I'm pretty intimidated at the same time, considering I'll be away from home for an extended period of time. I've been a home-body my whole life and I've only been away for up to a week at a time.

 

Anyway, are there any tips that current college students or graduates have to share? It can be about anything; studying, socializing, dorm life, etc. ?

[Ari Gold]

Don't be scared. Take it one day at a time, and make sure you soak it all in. You'll have a blast.

[OchyGTA]

Don't be nervous. Just remember that everyone else is likely to be in the same situation as you i.e. never been away from home for an extended period of time. To be honest, I've found that everyone is really friendly at uni and haven't had problems with anyone myself. There seems to be a significant step up in maturity shown by pretty much everyone between college (rough equivalent to high school) and university. Try not to worry and get excited for this amazing opportunity. I've only been at uni for about 4 months and I've loved all of it. You'll meet great people and have a laugh.

[universetwisters]

As far as dorm life goes, I reckon you've got a lot of stuff you'd like to bring from home, right? But the problem always is that there's no place for it. So what do you do, then? Go to Ikea or wherever and get a sturdy little shelf for your stuff from home. College Dorms are quite small, anyway.

[gtamann123]

I'm concerned about college as well. I'm mostly afraid about it being too hard and i'm going to flunk out.

[Icarus]

One of the main keys: a conscientious balance between your studies and personal down time.

 

In other words, don't make university about studying 24/7 and conversely, don't make it out to be a 24/7 party place. Study, but enjoy yourself and take time to relax.

[cidamelo]

Ohh this is great, my son entered in a university last year and I cried too!! Well I guess an advice is too study a lot, my son studies so much that now he is a scientist!! (now it's summer break in Brazil, but he is still working at his laboratory!) But also take some time to relax, like playing some games I did college too but I didn't complete it, I had some problems unfortunately, but it's great when you do something you like!!

[Algonquin Assassin]

I started university last year, but unfortunately I had some issues I feel I can resolve for the new semester.

 

As Icarus said it's a matter of balancing study and social downtime. I think I underestimated just how much work there is involved, but I'm going to do everything I can to fix it.

 

Though I don't live on campus. I can't imagine how daunting it would be for a younger person who's never been away from home and I often think about those students who go to universities and such overseas.

[cidamelo]

Live away from home when doing an university isn't that usual in Brazil, my son studies in an university 30 minutes far from home (it's in the same city we live), it must be hard to live by yourself in a young age, but it must be a good experience! What degree are you taking? My son is doing Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and he says it's very hard, but he is doing well because he studies a lot, he got a lot of A's!!

[gtamann123]

I started university last year, but unfortunately I had some issues I feel I can resolve for the new semester.

 

As Icarus said it's a matter of balancing study and social downtime. I think I underestimated just how much work there is involved, but I'm going to do everything I can to fix it.

 

Though I don't live on campus. I can't imagine how daunting it would be for a younger person who's never been away from home and I often think about those students who go to universities and such overseas.

What do you mean when you say "daunting for a young person who has never been away from home"?

[cidamelo]

gtamann123 I guess he said it's hard to live away from home

[Ryan]

I'm in my third year of a five year undergrad degree currently. The best advice I can give you is to be prepared for the jump form high school to university.

 

This probably seems like an obvious one, but it really got me in my first year of university. I did alright in high school. Went through getting mostly 80% (B) and thought the transition to university would be a relatively simple one. It was not. I'm not sure what the public school system is like where you're from, but where I am from, the schools have a no fail policy. Basically, they're not allowed to fail students and everyone just gets pushed through. As a result of this, many classes tend to be "dumbed down" for a lack of better words which results in those who go onto post-secondary institutions not being as adequately prepared as they could or should be. In my case, because of teachers needing to dumb things down, I went to university not having a clue how to properly write an essay, how to properly cite my sources, or what proper academic sources were. These are all things the professors expect you to know going in.

 

I guess the best way to put it is like this. Just because you did good in high school doesn't mean anything when it comes to university. University is completely different, and you should expect it to be completely different. Most people adapt to the change, but I know people who I went to high school with and were 90% (A) students and they couldn't handle university and dropped out.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Ryan

[cidamelo]

Ryan yes, that's what my son says!! He had always been a good student, but in high school he didn't study a lot, just before the tests, and still he only had good grades. But he thinks college is waaaay harder than school, so he studies every day to get good grades! Sometimes he wakes up 6:00 AM in weekends and studies until midnight, only stopping to eat

[Mr Rabbit]

it can be daunting, moving from your home. best thing to do is during the introductory week (if you have it) is jump in with both feet.

[EscoLehGo]

Best time of my god damned life, it's like a f*cking fantasy world, embrace it, meet new people, get a f*cking meal plan because those things are amazing and don't exist in the real world and don't be afraid to piss your freshman year away, most people do that anyway.

[Algonquin Assassin]

 

gtamann123 I guess he said it's hard to live away from home 

Yeah that's what I mean.

 

Ryan is right. What you done in high school doesn't necessarily carry over. I spent a whole year in a course designed to prepare people for university. I done pretty well, but I initially found the change tough.

 

Personally what took me a while to get used to was going into a lecture theatre wilth several hundred other people rather than in a classroom of 20. I always found it hard to ask the lecturer a question. There are tutorials which are more high school-ish, but it's still hard to adapt atleast for me.

 

It will definitely test your ability. I guess it would be similar coming from a minor league sports team and stepping up to a major league one.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Miamivicecity

[TheGodDamnMaster]

gtamann123 I guess he said it's hard to live away from home 

Yeah that's what I mean.

 

Ryan is right. What you done in high school doesn't necessarily carry over. I spent a whole year in a course designed to prepare people for university. I done pretty well, but I initially found the change tough.

 

Personally what took me a while to get used to was going into a lecture theatre wilth several hundred other people rather than in a classroom of 20. I always found it hard to ask the lecturer a question. There are tutorials which are more high school-ish, but it's still hard to adapt atleast for me.

 

It will definitely test your ability. I guess it would be similar coming from a minor league sports team and stepping up to a major league one.

I think it will be harder on me considering I haven't been in school since May 2010 when I graduated from high school.

 

How does tutoring work usually? Do you do it with a professor, or are there study sessions with other students?

[Algonquin Assassin]

How does tutoring work usually? Do you do it with a professor, or are there study sessions with other students?

I'm not sure how it works in American universities, but over here some are run by volunteers aka students and others are run by lecturers/professors themselves.

 

It also depends on the type of courses you undertake.

[LeThaL AsSeT]

I just started my first year of University last September, I was nervous cuz i didnt know what to expect plus im not a very big fan of school in general, I hate going to school but i know that if you wanna be successful in life, you will need an education, honeslty there is nothing to worry about the work gets slightly harder but that about it, just remember the toughest part was getting to university now all you have to do is stay in, my advice to you is find a good group of friends that you can hang out with the do work with thats what helped me get thru my first semester with passing grades

 

Since your gunna be living on campus your probably gunna have the time of your life too, I heard living on campus is alot of fun, im still at home cuz I live fairly close to the university I attend but honestly dont stress yourself over school man just do your best and have fun

Edited January 11, 2013 by LeThaL AsSeT

[Icarus]

How does tutoring work usually? Do you do it with a professor, or are there study sessions with other students?

Most professors will usually hold office hours for a few hours each week. This time is dedicated to helping students in the courses they're teaching. Some of them tend to be quite wonderful during office hours and others are just horrible (but that's professors in general - some make excellent teachers and some should just stick to research). You can also e-mail the professors, but sometimes they'll ask you come see them in person.

 

If there's a lot of students in a course, there might be dedicated teaching assistants that you can go to for help during the day. I know, at least at my university, the physics, chemistry, and math departments did it. I was one of the TAs for the physics help for a few weeks, since we did it on a rotating basis, combined with our other TAships.

 

Another piece of advice: meet people in your program. It's always nice to have a study group to work with.

[MIKON8ERISBACK]

I'm not trying to go off topic, but to make you feel better, I hear it's technically a little nicer than high school in many aspects. You have more responsibilities and pressures invested in you, but it's part of the maturing process that I believe every abled human being should undergo for their on well being and potentially their own enjoyment. I'm going to be enrolling in an Electrician Apprenticeship program within the next couple of years. I haven't experienced anything first hand yet, but as I said above, I've heard from many people that it's typically nicer than high school in a lot of aspects. Many colleges and universities nowadays actually have somewhat lavish aspects (luxuries) that make them a lot like upscale apartments. Hopefully the cost of tuition and on-campus housing taking into account everything isn't too stiff.

[Finn 7 five 11]

Study hard, and party hard, get really drunk while you're young, because you won't be able to later, bang some chicks, get a girlfriend and have fun, the study stuff should be self-explanatory.

[Algonquin Assassin]

I'm not trying to go off topic, but to make you feel better, I hear it's technically a little nicer than high school in many aspects. You have more responsibilities and pressures invested in you, but it's part of the maturing process that I believe every abled human being should undergo for their on well being and potentially their own enjoyment. I'm going to be enrolling in an Electrician Apprenticeship program within the next couple of years. I haven't experienced anything first hand yet, but as I said above, I've heard from many people that it's typically nicer than high school in a lot of aspects. Many colleges and universities nowadays actually have somewhat lavish aspects (luxuries) that make them a lot like upscale apartments. Hopefully the cost of tuition and on-campus housing taking into account everything isn't too stiff.

With this in mind if you're not self directed you'll struggle. Basically while there a tutorials and such they expect you to seek help. There's no hand holding so to speak like in high school.

[cidamelo is still my dog]

Ryan yes, that's what my son says!! He had always been a good student, but in high school he didn't study a lot, just before the tests, and still he only had good grades. But he thinks college is waaaay harder than school, so he studies every day to get good grades! Sometimes he wakes up 6:00 AM in weekends and studies until midnight, only stopping to eat

cool story bro. it's incredible how you make these all up.