Advice for New College Students

Your parents have helped you move all your bags into your dorm, which is the size of your old closet at home. Your mom is waving at you, teary eyed, as they drive away. You look around a realize that you don't know a soul.

Welcome to college.
Some people have probably told you that college is going to be "the greatest time of your life" and it can be. But you might have to take a hand in making the most out of your experience. Here are some tips for the new university student:

1. Branch out- even if you go to the local college that 75% of your high school ends up at. Meeting new people, and expanding your own limited horizons is one of the age old reasons that colleges exist in the first place.

2. Live with other people your first year. You might decide to find that studio next year, but when you are a first year, it's better to play it safe. Dorms, shared housing, and even the Greek system will keep you social and not so lonely. It's easy to slip through the cracks in a new place and not meet anyone- especially if you are far from home, and your school is large. it will also make the transistion easier if there are a few friendly faces around for support.

3. Fill your roommate application out with painstaking care- seriously. Fill in all the questions as accurately as you can, as roommates are typically placed in a computer datasystem based on responses. The schools make them specific on purpose in order to match you up in a good situation. There is no worse living environment than sharing a tiny room with a person that drives you nuts- I repeat, there is no worse situation. If you and your roommate are incompatible, it can ruin your dorm experience. On that note, colleges try to make switching a possibility, so do when it becomes obvious that this won't work. It'll make things easier on you and your roommate.

4. Have some idea of what you want out of classes and a major. Yes, college is a time to experience new things. And yes, different classes give you different outlooks on the world. But those are called

"electives," and there is plenty of room to take them outside of your required major classes. Seriously, with what school costs today, you'll want to know the direction your heading as soon as you can. it'll save you thousands of dollars, and a lot of extra time.

5. DO NOT open a credit card. If there is one piece of advice I can give you to make your post college life as stress-free as possible while you try to find your niche in the job market, then this is it. Don't do it. I don't care if they are signing people up with automatic approval at the student union. I don't care if they are handing out coffee, or cameras, or free trips to Europe for opening an account. Don't do it, even if you think you are disciplined. People say it's a lesson students have to learn the hard way, but it doesn't have to be. The additional debt will drive you out of your mind.

6. If you are going to a state school outside of home home state, find out residency requirements immediately. Getting in-state residency will decrease your tuition costs by thousands, but most schools grant residency based on time. Get a new driver's license, register to vote in your new state if you are 18, and get a new bank account, hopefully within your first month of school. And check with the registrar's office to see what else your school requires.

7. If you go to a private school, make sure to visit te scholarship/career planning office, There are typically scholarships available to all types, either through the school or private institutions. Your scholarship office should have information and application procedures on file.

8. Take care of yourself. Living relatively independantly and away from mom's watchful eye leads many students to let loose. But try to stick with some of the good habits: eat healthy, try and exercise, get sleep, and watch the drugs and alcohol. Remember that while you should be having fun, what you are paying for is school. Don't rob yourself of that experience by losing yourself to bad habits. A lot of eating disorders and drug and alcohol addictions begin or deepen when a person is in college. If you do feel as though you are having a health or addiction problem, check with the student health office, and see what resources are available to you. They can typically provide you with a wide range of health care options for a student friendly price.

Have fun, and try new things! This can be the best time of your life, but you are in charge of making it that way.


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