Tips and things to do in college

[Cubsfan]

Good thread. A lot of it has been covered but here's my 2 cents:

-Enjoy every minute. It ends before you know it and you are stuck reading posts like this thinking about how great it was.
-Don't worry about what other people think. The HS advise other people have said is so true. And who gives a crap if you look like a freshman?
-Get involved. I did marching band my first day on campus and started at the Daily my freshman year, and have lifelong friends from both, plus learned a lot, plus had a heck of a lot of fun. Don't be afraid to lose sleep and be busy morning till night.
-Still, don't get so overwhelmed that you miss out on things (definitely made this mistake a few times).
-Get to know a few professors. This one has been covered enough.
-Enjoy ISU sports and cheer your *** off.
-Don't let bad girl relationships ruin time at college.
-Drink a lot, but make sure you are not the drunkest person there, don't drive, don't ride with anyone who has been drinking, make sure to have someone watch out for you, make sure to watch out for others when the tables are turned. And let loose.
-Have a bunch of fun, learn who you are as a person and make sure you are doing the thing you want to do as a career because it will make you happy out of college as well.

 

[cyclonedave25]

Lots of good advice in this thread. I'll add a couple of things, hopefully they haven't been covered yet, I just briefly read this thread.

Before classes even start, walk around campus to your classes and find the buildings and rooms. This will save you headaches on your very first day of class, you won't be panicking 10 mins prior to your class because you are lost. After you get to know the campus, like the back of your hand, you won't need to do this anymore. The very first day of freshman class is the most nerve wracking. After that, you just get excited to see if there are any hot ladies in your classes.

Don't buy all of your textbooks before class and don't by brand new books, unless you have to because of a discontinued edition. This will save you some big $$$. Some professors don't even use the textbook and will have no test material from the text, so you won't even need the book (even though it will say required). Usually, on the first day or two of class, I'll go ask the professor if a textbook is absolutely required, or if its just for supplemental instruction. If all of the test material is from class notes, you won't even crack open the book.

Stay caught up in your classes, if you fall behind, it will make studying for tests 10x harder. And get off to a good start (GPA wise), if you start off college with a poor GPA and are always fighting to save your *** or get your GPA up to where you want it, its an uphill battle you don't want to fight.

Take advantage of the dining centers when you live in the dorms. You are paying a crapload of money for their food, so eat as much as you want and take some food for the road. I always loved eating a crispy chicken sandwich at midnight, and you can never have enough apples and bananas.

If you are tailgating and underage, be extra careful during the first couple of games of the year. The cops ID anybody who looks under 30 inside the student lots to set an example early on in the season.

I know this has been said numerous times, but don't go home every weekend. Weekends in college are the most fun you will have. Make new friends, meet people, go out to parties, walk around welch ave.

Leave your dorm room door open. It will make you seem more social, you meet more people, and your floor mates won't think you're whacking it 24/7.

This is probably subjective, but I found out later in college that I studied a lot better in the library, than anywhere else. There are too many distractions in dorms or apartments/houses than at the library. I would head to the 4th floor or the cubicles on 3rd floor and hit the books hard.

Remember: DPS (parking police) are always watching. If you illegally park on campus for the shortest of time, chances are when you come back out, you will have a ticket.

Finally, cheer your *** off at ISU athletic events. Be loud and represent ISU wherever you go. Don't just stand mute at football and basketball games, get loud and yell. Help bring Hilton Magic back by being loud and getting the people around you to be loud. Lucky for you, you are becoming a student at what seems like the perfect time and our Men's BBall and Football teams are on the rise.

 

[geburgess]

Get bombed but graduate. That's what matters.

 

[alarson]

-Get involved in clubs or activities. You'll meet people and may find something you want to be involved in long term.
-Hit up house parties, even if you dont drink\dont want to drink that night. Theyre a great way to meet people.
-One i didnt do that i wish i did was take more advantage of the classes i had. A few years into the 'real world' and i realize if i went back today i couldve gotten so much more out of some of my classes, especially with the better professors.
-Another piece of advice i didnt live up to freshman year- dont go home all the time. Stay there, meet people.
-Football\Mens Basketball goes without saying, but hit up some of the other sports too. We've got very solid programs in womens bball, volleyball, and wrestling. Also, 2 words: volleyball shorts. You'll know what i mean after you hit up a match.
-Dont live in helser. (this may have contributed to my going home freshman year.. i hated that dorm)
-Wait until the first day of class to buy books. Find out which ones are actually going to be used, then go buy them online on amazon or elsewhere. Only buy the book local if you absolutely have to. Amazon offers free prime memberships for students now so you can get any of their books shipped 2 day for free (or overnight for a couple bucks.. more than worth the savings youll get from skipping the ISU Bookstore)
-Drink with people who will have your back if something bad happens or you need a ride.
-Find a spot on campus to study\work on stuff between classes. Everyone has their own spots they like. For some its the library, others have places in Gerdin, I was always partial to the music hall lobby area. Bonus points if this place is also a good place to take a much-needed nap.
-Dont worry about taking an extra semester or two. You only get to do the college thing once (yes, you can go back when youre older, but its not the same thing), enjoy it while it lasts.
-Especially if you have an early morning class you know you might miss, find the alternate sections and if the professor minds you switching it up from time to time. Can give you a little more schedule flexibility if youd like to use that time to study for a test or just sleep a little longer.
-Library is the easiest class, yet also one of the easiest classes to fail at Iowa State. Remember when that test is. Ive seen people miss it and fail.

 

[cdekovic]

Don't ever leave your beer glass or can laying around for someone to tamper with.

 

[hawkeyeh8r]

To add onto the stupid freshman mistakes, DO NOT go out to campustown or to house parties on the weekend wearing an Iowa State shirt. You will be called out for it.

also do not run to the bus. this is another common freshman mistake. if youre late to class it probably doesnt matter since most freshman classes arent worried about attendance since they just hope you actually show up

 

[thatguy]

Yup.

Another lesson: don't **** block yourself. Between other dudes trying to swoop in (generally not as big of a problem) and the girl you're hitting it off with's large female friend grabbing her arm and bellowing in a troll voice "SHE'S NOT GOING HOME WITH ANYONE!", you have enough obstacles. Don't get so *** over elbows drunk that you've now become yet another obstacle for yourself.

The Friendasourous. Learn early and often to become very good friend with The Friendasourous because once she trust you it is game over. Plus if you are nice to Friendasouros hot girl gets jealous, as all chicks hate each other, and makes things even easier.

 

[drose1]

don't spend your entire time on cyclone fanatic

 

[IcSyU]

- If you are into sports, work for Rec Services officiating. You get paid to stand there and chat with students your age. Really, really easy way to make a ton of money to do next to nothing and make a bunch of friends. You get to set your own schedule and there are a million different sports to do.

- Shoot for 3 internships while you're in college in 3 different fields related to what you want to do (ex. I have an accounting degree: did production accounting, tax accounting, and financial accounting for internships).

- Go to class. Depending on your major, going to class will leave you with enough knowledge to pass all of your classes without studying outside of class. Everything else outside of class is just a bonus.

 

[thatguy]

Everybody these days goes to college, get your degree but it isn't about your major or degree it is about making connections. Graduate, but don't kill yourself trying to get good grades.

 

[Al_4_State]

The Friendasourous. Learn early and often to become very good friend with The Friendasourous because once she trust you it is game over. Plus if you are nice to Friendasouros hot girl gets jealous, as all chicks hate each other, and makes things even easier.

I like "Friendasourous". We always called it the DUFF (designated ugly fat friend). Which of course was sort of ironic as Duff Ave was/is home to all the fast food joints.

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

Loving this advice thread, since I'm headed there this fall too.

 

[brianhos]

Take your time. The real world blows.

That is my nugget of wisdom.

Try and get out of school as fast as possible, the real world is awesome, college sucked.

 

[Jambalaya]

Hey guys, I'm headed off to ISU this fall. Living in Maple and wanted some opinions on all things I should try and do to make my college experience the best possible. Thanks!

Experience new things every weekend.

Don't drive back to your podunk town to visit some girlfriend every weekend.....or drink with your high school friends (out of guilt)

Meet new friends at ISU.

 

[leroycyclone]

Lastly, if there's a killer concert the night before a midterm go to the concert. Thirty years later I get a lot more interest from people talking about seeing one of the opening concerts on the Eagles Hotel California tour than saying I got an A in Freshman Engineering 151 and not a B.

Are you kidding me? You got The Eagles and we got The Supremes! The Supremes sang for 20 minutes. Not kidding.

We had NCAA championship wrestling teams though. That was great.

 

[leroycyclone]

Loving this advice thread, since I'm headed there this fall too.

Others have touched on the biggies.

Are intramural sports still a big deal? If so, get involved.

Keep a good relationship with your parents. They need to know. Texting is a good tool. You'll need them. Think money. Absolute minimum goal is a 3.0 freshman year. Tough to play catch up. Get on the Dean's list by aiming higher. A 3.5 is the key for advanced degrees.

 

[cysocool]

Become a campus legend so you can have groupies...

Take psychology, philosophy, and sociology courses twice, once when you're a freshman and again in year 4. New crop of young coeds...

Always have a hot chick near by, so other hot chicks want to hit on you.

Always buy the first round, don't hit the bar/party til 9:00 pm and start drinking water at 12:00am - You'll thank me for this technique and works great after college when you have a job too...

Always call your mom/dad and tell them how much you love them at least once a month.

 

[thatguy]

Others have touched on the biggies.

Are intramural sports still a big deal? If so, get involved.

Keep a good relationship with your parents. They need to know. Texting is a good tool. You'll need them. Think money. Absolute minimum goal is a 3.0 freshman year. Tough to play catch up. Get on the Dean's list by aiming higher. A 3.5 is the key for advanced degrees.

HA!! no way, i know plenty of people that have 100+K a year jobs before 30 whose DUI alcohol levels was higher than there GPA. GPA doesn't matter AT ALL. It is about connections.

 

[RING4CY]

GPA doesn't matter AT ALL.

Um, yeah it does. A student doesn't have to obtain a 4.0, but keep the cumulative GPA above 2.0 at all times to keep yourself in school and not have to deal with academic probation or academic dismissal. It then it comes an uphill battle to get yourself back in school, and it is not fun.

 

[cyclonedave25]

HA!! no way, i know plenty of people that have 100+K a year jobs before 30 whose DUI alcohol levels was higher than there GPA. GPA doesn't matter AT ALL. It is about connections.

It matters if you want to get into Grad School or not get kicked out of college.
Yes, getting jobs are a lot about connections, but you must get that degree first.