Tips For Incoming 2002 Freshmen

An Anonymous Freshman asks: "I, along with many other individuals in my age bracket, will soon be heading off to college. It seems that it would be quite easy to become bombarded by the many changes and potential pressures that are on the horizon. So, as the fall semester/quarter rapidly approaches, I would like to take this opportunity to ask what seems to be an experienced (and, overall, educated) community for any suggestions that would aid myself and the numerous other 'freshman-to-be' in adjusting to college social life (or lack thereof), academics, and the like. I would especially appreciate comments related to the potential necessity of time management in response to increased study requirements (and the desire to have an existence, otherwise)."

Comments

Regrets

[m_evanchik]

My biggest regret about college was that I didn't plan ahead for the real world.

I don't mean that I regret meeting girls, hanging out with friends, occasionally forgoing my studies. That was all fine and if anything I regret not doing more of all three. I regret not being more physically active and losing touch with friends and family back home. I regret not being involved in more extracurriculars.

College is different than High School in that nobody is forcing you to do all these things. Parents and Teachers are not breathing down your neck and telling you what to do all the time. But this added freedom requires self-discipline to take advantage of it.

And remember the world outside of College. Plan ahead, think about whaty you'll want to be doing 2, 5, 10, 40 years down the road. Will you want to pursue a profession, start a family, get involved in changing the world, amass money and power, do some great thing?

Start thinking about it now. Don't wake up thirty like yours truly and realize you've wasted a lot of your life.

And don't watch so much tv or play so many video games.

And form study groups. They're a good way to make friends, and you learn a lot more.

Dorms

[austad]

Live in the dorms, or find someone who does and hang out there a lot. My first year in college sucked because I lived by myself and I didn't know anyone. So I ditched that place and answered an ad for a roommate with 3 other people. Yeah, it detracted from my study time, and it definitely hurt my grades. But I'm probably a better person because of it.

Oh yeah, Frats suck, don't waste your time. After a year or so, you'll start to notice how much people despise frat boys, you don't want to be one of them.

Preconceptions

[gehrehmee]

Don't be overconfident. Don't be underconfident. Just try to go through things and evaluate as you go what exactly is required of you.

Your previous successes don't mean a thing, and your failures really don't either. Going into University, you've got a clean slate. Do not waste it by assuming that you'll succeed without working, nor by assuming that you'll fail no matter what you do.

Study your college first

[Mexican]

By that I mean:

1. Live on campus if at all possible. You get to network with so many more people that way. That is important for the next points.
2. Get to know your (potential) instructors before you register for their class. Meet as many people in your major as you can, preferably who are a year or more advanced than you are. That way you can look at your proposed schedule and ask them what to expect from particular professors - the sad reality is that some instructors just do not care about teaching. Also, put your browser to good use - download the syllabus and read it before you register, compare one professor to another if possible.
3. A 3 hour class means 3 hours a week in class, and probably more than that in preparation. You will be given a warning by someone at some point that for every x hours in a lecture you need to spend y hours preparing. Take this seriously!
4. And when spending the time as noted above - don't just do the manditory problems in a math class, try to do at least some of the optional problems, and for lit/english, Cliff's notes are your friend, but read them AFTER you have read the whole story at least once, NOT as a shortcut.
4. Party when not doing the above, but don't get behind the wheel while you are blasted, and don't knock anyone up/get knocked up/catch an incurable disease. Use latex.
5. Finish the degree and enjoy these years. Once you join us out here in the real world, you will regret it if you did not take the time to enjoy yourself. Youth is wasted on the young - don't let that old cliche apply to you.

Be open to new things

[ChadN]

Try all kinds of new things; take the harder classes if they are topics you don't yet know about but are interested in. Find the people who will be good, reliable, long term friends, and stay in touch after college.

Go to parties, get laid, but be responsible! Know if you are the kind of person who is prone to abuse, and if so, address the issue. Otherwise, do some drinking, or whatever (stay AWAY from E), and have some fun. But find out about emergency contraception, and don't do anything to excess.

Manage your own bills, try to find roomates or housemates who will elevate you, not bring you down. DON'T watch lots of TV (unless it is in a social way), but go to movies with friends.

Go to the library, walk around, check out the journals, books, etc. All the ones you haven't seen before. Don't blow off the required classes that aren't in your major; try to find rewarding or interesting ones, and pay attention. Don't expect to end up where you think you will, expect to find NEW things. Talk with the professors in their office hours, and get to know a few (but don't be too pushy, just drop by, even if you don't have to)

If you like doing things on your own, try to find partners to do projects with. Expect LOTS of people to be working together, on homework, projects, even tests. Students cheat, don't let it surprise you. Learn to collaborate (and give credit when it is required), while turning in work that reflects what you have done.

Get outside, go to events. Hang out in the field; go to the gym. Try not to eat crappy cafeteria food all the time. Take some extracurriculars (aikido, fencing, swimming, whatever).

Don't shy away from theory stuff, even if it isn't your thing. If you are all about theory, get some practical stuff as well (and get to know people who are good in what you aren't, and talk with them). Geek out and enjoy, if you wish. But not always. Look into exchange student programs, and consider some studying abroad, in exotic locales.

Enjoy. I went in as a skeptic, and am very glad I went.

Advice

[nelsonal]

I lost the essay I had started so here's the four things I wish I'd listened to before college:
Take advantage of opportunities that you won't get later in life or didn't do before. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't take fencing my final semester.
Try to expose yourself to as many different types of classes as you can. I realize that it's very difficult to graduate in 4 years in a hard science without concentrating fully on your major, but at least spread out your electives.
Don't be afraid to change majors, even if other important people in your life expect you to do one thing. All through high school, everyone expected me to become an engineer, and I went to an excellent engineering school, Rose-Hulman, however, two years into the electrical engineering curriculum, I realized that I hated it, and wouldn't enjoy a job in the field nearly as much as I thought I would. So I transfered and finished my degreee in economics and finance. I loved that program, and my current job. My family was very supportive of the change, but if your's isn't don't let that stop you.
Finally the key to life is balance, if you learn that now your college experience will be much more fulfilling. If you study all the time or party all the time, you will miss out on quite a bit of the college experience. Good luck at college.

Here's how I did it.

[heldlikesound]

I'm only 21 and am not out of college yet, (I will graduate in May), but this is how I did it and here's how I'd reccomend new freshmen do it. YRMV.

Semester One: Take a light load of classes, spend most of your time meeting people and profs, developing good solid relationships that will last the rest of your college career.

Semester Two: Take a slightly heavier load of classes and perhaps join a group or organization that won't suck all your time up, but that helps you develop more good relationships. Here's the biggie for Semester Two: FIND A PROF THAT YOU LIKE A LOT AND LATCH ONTO HIM/HER!!!! This is the best advice I can give, offer to help them with projects and stuff, you'll learn a ton and make invaluable contacts.

Semester Three: Keep takes classes and somehow aquire the balls to ask that girl out that keeps staring at you in your mandatory Ethnics Studies class.

Semester Four: Keep takes classes and start looking a CO-OP or intership positions for the next semester.

Semesters Five and Six: Do a full year of interships at a cool company that will give you some autonomy to do cool projects, real world experience is so helpful. Not only for the work experience, but in learning about how insurance works, taxes, retirement, and all that "real world" stuff.

Semester Seven: Now your are done with your co-ops, start your own company! Yes, just a little one, I started cloudcitydigital.com when I was in school and it's been awesome. Keep taking classes and incorporate your classwork into your business where possible.

Semesters Eight - Graduation: Keep building your little company and using indpendant studies to satisfy both client and work projects! Kill two birds with one stone! Then graduate, throw a party, marry that chick from ETHN 101 and join the real world!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

Also, drinking is overrated. As is studying. Have fun and use the resources available to you at school to LEARN. You are there to LEARN, not to get good grades!!!!

Learn how to cheat

[Anonymous Coward]

Learn how to cheat, and cheat well. Learn the things to do so you don't get caught. When I went through university I worked my ass into the ground to get good grades, while those around me cheated and copied and stole exam papers from professors' offices. They had great fun in university, and have high paying management jobs now. I worked my ass off and now I'm unemployed. If I had to do it all over again I'd cheat like a motherfucker.

Three things

[Otter]

Three suggestions -- two I learned in time and one I picked up in hindsight:

1) Don't just take a high school schedule in college. A lot of freshmen, in particular, go in and sign up for math, English lit, history, chemistry because that's what they know. You're paying a ton of money -- take a few specialized seminars, a class in linguistics, Asian studies, art history, a course with the world's leading expert on something.

2) Learn a language or two. (If you're not American or Anglo-Canadian, you probably don't need to be told this.) It will stay with you far longer than you'll remember what the hell the Aeneid was about.

3) You'll have a once in a lifetime opportunity to take flying lessons, pick up a sport and play it on a serious level, do internships -- all sorts of things that you couldn't do before and will not have the time for later in life. Make the most of it!

(Note: 1 and 3 assume a major university or college, for the most part. To people who attend something else, no disrespect meant. Just writing what I know.)

Oh, and a fourth!

[Otter]

A second thing I wish I had done -- take a semester or year abroad! You'll take the advice about learning a language, right? Then go spend a term or two in Brazil, Japan, Denmark.

It's another '"this'll be a lot harder once you're out of school" thing, it's a break from the stress of classes and at a lot of universities, it's cheaper to go abroad than to stay.

I was totally burnt out by senior year. Some travel would have done a world of good, and left me in better shape when I got back.

Also, your chances of hooking up are significantly improved -- in a foreign culture, your geekiness is less apparent.

My experience

[HailTiki]

I'm about to enter my second year of college at a local branch campus (Penn State, New Ken)... I chose the school because it was small, thus, giving teachers the ability to direct their lessons towards 30 or so kids, rather than going to the Penn State main campus, where one might expect some rather large (900+ students) classes. The idea of being a number at a larger college did not appeal to me, although I will be headed there for my last two years.

In any event, my limited experience has lead me to believe that college is only slightly different from high school. The differences are obvious too... First, like someone else pointed out, teachers don't really care. They are there to teach, and you should be there to learn. If you don't care, neither do they. On the other hand, most of the teachers seem very willing to help any way they can and will spend time to answer questions you have privately. Things might be different at a larger campus, however...

Second, definitely don't be over confident (or under confident!). I had an economics class during the night for half a semester that, up to the first test, I already knew from high school. I assumed that, since I got a 100% on the first test without studying, I wouldn't have to pay attention in class, let alone study. My next two tests didn't go well (50% and 52% respectively). I put a good deal of effort into studying for the last test and managed a high 90%, bringing my final grade to a C+. I made similar mistakes in physics and calculus, although not quite as bad because my tests were spaced much further apart in those classes, which gave me time to realize I didn't know the material.

Thirdly, you will meet people from everywhere and they will all have a story to tell. My friend and I decided that we were going to meet a new person every day at college... We held pretty true to that and I'm a much happier person because of it. It doesn't matter what you were like in high school... who liked you, who didn't. College is completely different with different people... There was never a day that went by in college that I was lonely. My time between classes was spent studying with friends, or just chilling and wasting our time away. I formed study groups for classes that I needed a little extra help in and those helped tremendously. There was a very noticable difference in my grades when I studied with a group of friends as opposed to when I tried to wing it myself. My friends and I chose a place to meet, usually a place open all night, like Kings (a local restaurant) or Dunkin' Donuts, or someone's house/apartment (Penn State New Ken is a commuter college... I'd say at least 95% of the students drive from home to school)... We spent just about as much time studying as we did chatting and pissing the night away. Studying is an IMMENSLY boring activity and if it weren't for BS'ing with my friends half the time we were "studying", I would have fallen asleep on the books long before accomplishing anything.

So to sum things up a bit: Don't be afraid of college... Just be sure to pay attention in your classes, do your homework (even if the teacher doesn't collect/grade it... believe me, it helps! I would NOT have made it through calculus 2 without doing my homework), and get things done in a timely manor... Don't procrastinate too long. Any chance you get to work on bigger assignments should be used as such so later, when you decide you are ahead of schedule, you can blow it off a little for some much needed friend-time. Rather than cramming all the work into the last couple days before it's due at which point you won't be able to relax at all and you will get stressed out. And lastly, make friends... LOTS of friends. Don't think you can strike up a conversation? HA! "Hi. I'm so-and-so... Where are you from?" You'd be surprised how easy it is.

Welp, I think that's all I can say. Good luck!

Re:Rule #1

[dpilot]

For some, college may be the first time you're out making your own rules. Most of the people in my hall I started Freshman year with flunked out. They couldn't figure out how to stop partying.

Partying is ok, but at some point, it's time to stop, and start studying.

I was a commuter.

[travail_jgd]

I wasn't able to live on-campus, so I commuted every day. I can't give you info on dorm life, but I do have a few tips:

1. Schoolwork comes first. You're going there for an education, and someone (whether you, your parents, the government, etc) is paying a lot of money for you to get an advanced education. Make sure you get it! I knew a _lot_ of people who played around freshman year, and didn't come back for a second year because of poor grades.

2. There are no easy majors. You will hear lots of "urban legends" that the social sciences - Psychology, Sociology, etc - are easy. That's pretty much wrong. Some majors are easier than others, but once you get into 300 and 400 level courses, they will all be difficult.

3. Don't be afraid to explore campus. You may feel dumb just walking around aimlessly, but you'll feel worse being a 2nd or 3rd year student and not knowing where Building X is. (I'm guilty of this one!)

4. Plan for graduation. Sooner or later you're going to get a job and think about a career. Find out what you like now -- both in terms of employment and hobbies. Don't go for a major you dislike because of a lucrative career path. You'll be able to tell when someone is taking a class "just for the money"... it's not a pretty sight.

5. Be safe. If you're going to party, drink, or do drugs, don't do it to excess. It seems like every year there are a few college students in the state (Maryland, FWIW) who end up dying from alcohol (either intoxication or drunk driving). Likewise, find out how safe the campus and surrounding areas are. Getting mugged at an ATM is a real possibility in some places (like my school).

6. Enjoy yourself. Freshman year is difficult for everyone, but by the second semester you'll be more comfortable. Take some time for yourself: hang out with friends, go to parties, etc. College is the last chance you'll get to enjoy your youth and freedom before you enter the real world. You can make mistakes in college that won't follow you around in your "adult" life.

#6 is my one regret -- that I really didn't get into college life until my last year.

Grow / Be Teachable / Get Laid

[Llama Keeper]

Three pieces of advice for incoming Freshmen:

1) Grow. Allow yourself to expand your mind and experiences. If there is something you always wanted to do, do it. Keep your eyes and ears open to what other people have to say. Don't stay cloistered in your narrow view of life, find out what other people have to say, think. I'm not saying that you need to violate your morals, if you have a strongly held belief stand by it, but don't be afraid of what other people have to say or think. The only way a person can change their beliefs is if THEY WANT TO CHANGE.

2) Be Teachable. There is a lot to be said for being willing to be taught, the entire amount of time you spend at college is a time of learning, if you aren't teachable you will miss half of the college experience.

3) Get Laid. Seriously, get laid, there will never be so many single, attractive people in your age bracket that close to you at any other time in your life. Capitalize upon the opportunity, but please think intelligently, wrap your equipment before you use it.

I would also so be careful, think intelligently and don't do what's cool, do what's right. You'll be happy you did!

A technique for getting college girls (for men)

[JMandingo]

1) Get a fake ID so you can get into bars.
2) Dont dress like you are trying to 'get some'.
3) Go to crowded collegetown bars on Thursdays and Fridays. I'm talking about the kind of bars where it is packed, wall-to-wall beer swilling.
4) Find a decent looking girl at the bar who is obviously consuming.
5) Go stand next to her to buy your next drink.
6) Strike up a conversation while waiting forever for service. Don't be pushy about the drink - you WANT to wait.
7) Ask her about her name, major, etc... your arent trying to pick her up, you are just waiting for your drink. Dont talk much about yourself, ask her about her. Use NO cheesy lines or moves.
8) If the conversation goes well for awhile, tell her you will be leaving soon as it is getting late. If she is leaving soon too, does she want you to walk her back to her place, just to make sure she gets home safe?
9) Walk her back to her room.
10) If you made it this far, she's going to invite you in for a coke or for coffee.
11) There wont be any coke or coffee - the making out starts once you get in the door.
12) You get to walk back to your place the next morning with a big ass smile on your face.

You see, with the above you never presented yourself as someone trying to get into her pants. You were just a nice guy at the bar. You never "conquered" her, things just happened! That's what a girl likes, to feel like it was all natural and there was no point where she bent to your will.

This is for you, Squidboy!

Advice on heeding advice.

[Matt Bridges]

In the next few months, you'll be deluged with advice, not just here on slashdot, but from all kinds of people on campus, from upper classpeople to profs to counselors to people who never even went to college but still like to give advice. The best advice I can give you (this comming from a senior at Michigan State) is to decide for yourself what the best decisions are. If you follow all of random pieces of advice ("you *must* get this prof!!), all of the rules of thumb (x hours of studying per y credit hours), and even all of the rules (no drinking, he he) you'll really shortchange yourself out of the true college experience, which is finding out what works for *you*. It'll take some time, and probably at least one semester that you'll have to write off as far as grades are concerned, but not only will you be a better college student, you'll be a better person as a result.

Don't believe you know you.

[Snafoo]

Or, more simply, 'Be open to change.'

I went to university relatively determined to be
an ubergeek. In high school I taught myself LISP, C, Perl, and pretty much all the usual ins/outs of UNIX (eg. intimate familiarity with vi, sed, bash, emacs, what the fuck /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward does on a Linux box, how to handle isakmpd on an OpenBSD box, , the usual shit.) Open-and-closed case, right? A born comp sci or comp engineering major.

Four years and two universities later, it turns out that I'd rather be doing something else! Although for the past year I've had a comfortable 'junior software engineer+net admin' job and a relatively high degree of success here in this anteroom to the 'real world', I now desperately want to go back for two extra years (!!$$) so I can get accreditation and raise my GPA for what I really want to do -- graduate studies in philosophy. You will *not* want to see my student debtload two years hence.

Pay attention not so much to what you're doing (although do that too!) but to what you *feel* about what you're doing. Take as diverse a course-spread as you can manage --- abstract algebra, physics, bio, chem, and certainly those lovable, wacky humanities. Read things not published by O'Reilly. Read Heidegger. Read Faulkner. Read your mood, but don't try to read the future --- unspoken feelings of 'destiny' and 'fate' are often simply disguised habit and fear of uncertainty. Do not cleave to your adopted 'tribe', geekiness, simply because it is yours; if you ultimately follow this path, do so because it is the best possible option! If the *only* thing about university that you enjoy is the bit with the beer and the friends, take it as a big, flashing warning over the course, and courses, you are taking.(Although you are allowed to enjoy said beer a little bit.)

Less melodramatically: Think of the following four+ years of your life as a 'random walk' optimisation algorithm in n dimensions: To find the best solution, you'll need to step off of the coordinates upon which you currently stand.

But watch out for those downward asymptotes. :)

College - Ins and Outs

[jefu]

I've been a college professor type for a bit and in contemplating Yet Another Commencement Address, and its trite cliches and nonsense about the future I decided to write my own - not that anyone would ever ask me to actually present such a thing. (The observation that many of the faculty present were doing things other than listening (reading, correcting papers, listening to CDs) probably contributed to my determination to do it.)

But after I wrote it, I realized that could serve equally well as a "Welcome to College Pep Talk".

Or maybe taken to induce vomiting. (Do not do that if you've recently ingested caustic materials.)

Most quotes unattributed. Think of it as an exercise for the interested reader.

Jefu does A Commencement (Leaving College and Starting a Life, or Starting College) Speech.

Never go to the supermarket and pay in nickels. Now, pennies - that's a different story.

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."

If someone insults or offends you, its your job to figure out what it is in you that is reacting. Only then should you hit them on the top of their pointly little head.

Ask yourself why someone is buying a shopping cart full of sugar.

Is there a guy in the ceiling tile factory who checks the tiles to make sure the holes are in the right places?

Randomness. Good. Fun.. Do things sometimes on the flip of a coin - or the roll of dice. But dont bet on roulette.

Think for yourself. Be ready to _listen_ to everyone else. Or at least to appear to. Sometimes its easier to listen by email.

Try something from time to time that bores you. Try it seriously, dont just kid yourself.

"A corporation has no soul to be damned, and no body to be kicked."

Try something from time to time that annoys you. Try it seriously, don't just kid yourself.

"Guns don't kill people. Physics kills people."

Imagination is often the best place for revenge - practice thinking of good (however impractical or hazardous) revenge schemes. Funny is best. Up to you to decide who to tell about them.

Think for yourself. Find your own ways to react to things. Stick your tongue out.

Imagine the possibilities in Liquid Oxygen and Spam.

"First thing we do, lets kill all the lawyers."

Everyone needs to be kicked from time to time. Remember this when someone kicks you. Kicking back is optional.

Its more fun and effective to attack using humour. Self defense is difficult when everyone is laughing.

Write checks and fill in offical forms with bright green ink. Use the French revolutionary calender if possible.

Keep on learning. Take night classes. Teach yourself. Don't stop.

Write funny poems. Be careful who you show them to.

Go to a nude beach. Get nekkid. Look around. Are you really that beautiful? Or that ugly?

Think for yourself. Learn something new, let simmer. Repeat until dead.

Cultivate a bunch of people that share your general interests and whom you trust (the internet is great for this). Its all the better if some are smarter than you. When one of them suggests something - follow it up. Make your own suggestions.

Be bizarre.

Bi Bezarre.

Bee bazaar. (Careful not to get stung.)

Practice writing about what you like and why. Write reviews for IMDB.com, for Amazon.com ... Write about what you hate. Avoid lists of "the 100 best...."

John Wayne was a draft dodger - or was he?. J. Edger Hoover was a crossdresser - or was he?

"Where would we be without the agitators of the world attaching the electrodes of knowledge to the nipples of ignorance?"

When you write or speak (in your native language) remember that its your language so use it as you will. Remember Yoda, talks oddly he does, yet wise he is.

Watch movies with subtitles from time to time. Its much easier in the theatre than on TV.

Remember that everyone rises to their own level of incompetence so what they say may be a reflection of that incompetence. Remember - you're doing the same thing.

Find a quiet place of your own that you can retreat to. Keep it private.

Dont tell ANYONE your PIN number, or your computer passwords. You may be in love today - but tomorrow? Keep a checking account separate from your partner. Establish credit in your own name. That goes double for women.

Cross your sevens. Cross your Z's.

Watch old movies, read books written more than 50 years ago, listen to Chinese/African/experimental music. Avoid Tom Jones and the later Elvis.

Fourteen year old's can and will circumvent most any security on your TV, your computer and whatever else you want to keep secret when motivated. Lock up that gun, and those (um) interesting photos, oh - dont forget that dildo.

Your education is YOURS. Don't let anyone steal it from you this includes parents, faculty, advisors and meddling idiots of all flavors (most all of whom are well meaning). .

Make a complete fool of yourself at least once a month. Find new ways to do it.

Nothing you learn seriously is wasted. A class where you just cram crap into your head so you can vomit up onto the exams is a waste of time and perfectly good vomit.

If God starts speaking to you directly, you might try Thorazine.

Challenge your professors - thats what they're there for. Otherwise you could just read the textbook. Be sure to use reason, information and reasonable amounts of politeness. If they say "lets take this out of the class", shut up and do so. If they get all defensive and cranky, shut up and drop the class - they probably know less than you and will take it out on you with low grades.

Your manager is there to help you to get the job done - so he really works for you. He won't think so.

Collect because you like stuff - not to make money. Cultivate good taste and you may still make money.

Try something new every so often. Try something you tried before and didn't like. Do it seriously - your tastes may have changed.

"It is easier to get forgiveness than permission."

Avoid foods with "surprise" in their names.

Practice that willing suspension of disbelief thing. Believe everything someone says as long as you're listening/talking to them (or taking their course). After that think for yourself. (Hey, its a Theme!)

If you label something as nonsense without reason, your label is probably nonsense.

"You never really learn anything, you just get used to it."

Think for yourself. Just cuz its written in a book, put on TV or told to you by your favorite trust-in-me-i-know-the-truth authority, doesn't mean its true. Though if Yoda says it true is, true must it be.

Get started NOW on an exercise program that you like and that works for you. Don't stop. Each time you do it gets harder to start again.

"Alice in Wonderland is the best book for novices on anything."

If the supermarket line gets long, just leave your cart (basket) and walk out. Put ice cream in the cart first.

If you go to the supermarket and pay in nickels, someone may be thinking about throwing melted ice cream from that abandoned shopping cart over there at you. First practice getting ice cream out of your clothes.

Insincere compliments are obviously fake. Find a sincere compliment even if it takes some work. "You have such a cool smile." is pretty general purpose.

Accept compliments with "Thank you." You are not required to compliment back. Honest. But when you can compliment someone else, do so.

Make intricate, tall and balancy piles of rocks. Avoid Jenga.

Crosswords are a great thing to take into meetings so you can look like you're taking notes. If someone peeks over your shoulder ask them what the word is for 13 across.

Meetings that last more than an hour become pointless. Nothing more will get done.

"For every complex problem, there is a simple solution - which is invariably wrong."

The internet MAY become a world changing technology or it may become just an electronic equivalent of a strip mall. If you only use it for the corporate web sites, we'll be lucky if it gets as good as a strip mall.

"Its not done when you've put everything in, its done when you have taken everything out."

Leave an occasional surprise for people. F'rinstance, put a dollar bill where it will be found eventually - but not soon. Build a replica of Stonehenge in the woods a ways away from a trail. Bury that jar of pennies somewhere.

Try cryptic crosswords. But don't try the ones in the Atlantic till you're sure you're ready - they're scary.

"Think of it as evolution in action."

Feel free to dislike someone. And you will. Remember that everyone else is free to dislike you. And someone will. Pity them for failing to appreciate you properly.

If you dont understand it, look it up. If you still don't understand it - study it. If you still don't understand it, teach it. If you still don't understand it, perhaps you have attained the Buddha nature.

Remember the Snark. Tell people things three times. If they haven't heard you by then they're not likely to ever hear you.

"Do Not Meddle In The Affairs Of Dragons For You Are Crunchy And Good With Ketchup"

"Do not meddle in the affairs of Unix, for it is subtle and quick to core dump."

"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer"

"Do not meddle in the affairs of professors, for they are subtle and quick to flunk you"

"Do not meddle in the affairs of artists, for this is satire and you would look good in lingerie."

"Do not meddle in the affairs of cyborgs for you are conductive and can support 110 volts"

Running jokes either don't go on long enough, or go on too long. Sometimes both at once.

Read the New Yorker - or at least look at the cartoons.

Don't get arrested for posession.

"Do not meddle in the affairs of the drug warriers, for they are morally certain and quick to use asset forfeiture."

Condoms are good. Use them. You know how. If you don't know how, go no further. AIDS is a nasty way to die.

Make a New Years resolution to never make another New Years resolution.

"On the internet, no one knows you're a dog."

Be ready to ignore all those around you. Do you really believe they're smarter than you? Similarly don't copy on exams. Are you sure that that person over there knows the right answer? Really?

"I say its spinach and I say to hell with it."

If you have no idea what to write for a paper or an essay question, try limericks or a funny essay on the topic. Or find a good argument to support a bizarre conclusion. Probably best not to do this on a business proposal.

"God must have had an inordinate fondness for beetles, since he made so many of them."

More than three people will have trouble making a decision. Even "Which restaurant?"

Waitrons walk out of the room with your credit card. Hmmm.

Send presents to people you like when you find the Right Thing. Don't shop, just wait for the Right Thing to jump out at you. There's no point in waiting for a holiday - they can use a lift Right Now. If you find the Right Thing for someone who is not all that close and its not overly expensive, do it anyway - just anonymously.

Find holes in the rules.

When you're in a restaurant, its easier to pick up the check than to argue about it. But make sure everyone takes their turn. Going to the bathroom when the check arrives is not a good strategy. On the other hand extended and noisy disputes about who ordered what can provide good comedy for the other patrons.

From time to time, overtip.

"Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

All of the above is true.

All of the above is false.

"You are a fluke of the Universe."

Its all up to you.

My List

[Dr_Claw]

Most of this has been said already, but I'll repeat it to add my vote. However, I'll start with one biggie I've not seen elsewhere:

Toward the end of your course start to think about what you're doing afterwards (so this is probably off-topic as I certainly do not think you should be thinking about this in your first year - quite the opposite! But I do recommend you keep it in mind. Maybe you think you know what you want to do. I would advise you that it's very possible that can change. This may be as a result of changing priorities, changes in your character (college/uni is all about growth in your character, and if you're a typical geek this hopefully means change for the good - tho be proud of the good parts of geekdom!). It may be that your experience of your chosen subject (likely science I guess) doesn't match your expectations. Don't feel bad if you end up changing courses.

The main reason I bring this is up is to recommend that you think about your job and career before you leave and enter the big wide world with nasty amounts of debt (something getting worse here in the UK). Keep in mind that lots of tech companies will target your college so keep an eye out and stay informed during your time there. Something to think about as you progress. Don't leave it til you're panicing about finals.

In all you do, be informed. Sex, drugs, new social groups and events, course decisions, whatever. Ask other people for their experience - this is a very good first step! :) Ask different sources, a lot of things you may have to deal with for the first time are in my opinion a matter of choice based on what is important to you. You can only listen to what others say, weight that up against your ideals and morals, and make a decision for yourself.

As others have said, play fun but play safe. Carry a condom, even if it doesn't look like you're going to need it. If the miracle happens you do not want to be stuck without one. (This goes for girls too - don't rely on guys.) When you're out doing whatever (which is probably a lot - and more extreme than you're used to - in your first year) make sure there're people there to look out for you. Ideally ones you can trust.

Build good friendships! Some of my best mates are from uni. People there will hopefully be well educated - you will have important discussions with them. That's part of the age you are and the atmosphere of uni/college.

When it comes to the crunch - work hard. Especially for your finals. This is something I regret - I could have and should have got a better grade. For me the difference won't make much differnce long term but it is something I would change if I could. However, you do not need to go to every lecture, work every day, etc. Party like the rest of them. But if you get yourself into a bad situation where you know inside you need to work then do it! Then go and get horribly drunk afterwards. :) Again, work is not the most important thing long term from uni/college, but it is a reason for being there. So for the important occasions, bother with it - otherwise it's just an annoying distraction and do what you need to. Of course if you really enjoy your course or find it easy then great! But it's quite possible one of other of those things will not be true at times.

You will probably be more free than ever before, and quite possibly than you ever be again (real jobs suck)! Take full advantage of this. I can't stress it enough. If you have an opportunity to go and do some random trip - take it! Party hard (but safe) - there're things we do and experiment with in these years we don't or can't do later in life. I'm not saying you should go try every drug out there, but if you're considering that or other things now is the time. Drugs are a bad example, but an easy one... I mean other stuff too. You'll probably know what this is relevent to in your own life.

Another thing people have already said: live in dorms/uni owned buildings - it is so worth it. Often cheaper (don't know about in the US), but the social contact is like nothing else. Get into different societies. Test yourself with new things you wouldn't normally do. Sign up for loads of stuff in freshers week - you can always ditch stuff later.

I could go on but that'll do. Good luck and enjoy yourself!

Take the Initiative!

[kris_lang]

There is a lot of great advice listed above. Sometimes, the hard part of having so much great advice is not knowing how to carry out the recommendations. The really important thing is to Take the Initiative.

Don't wait for people to introduce themselves to you, go up to them.

Don't wonder where people are planning to go this evening and how you can be a part of it: make the suggestion that people come with you to a restaurant for pizza or beer.

Don't worry about what to do on a weekend or weekday night. Make your own plans and invite people along to see a movie.

Try new things and be adventurous: try new types of restaurants with groups, go see movies that are foreign with other people who might be interested. Some of the best memories I have from college are of walking across the Longfellow Bridge to go to the European for pizza with ten freshman and a random smattering of upperclassmen or road trips to Louis' Lunch for hamburgers or Hilltop Steak House.

Don't be afraid of trying a new language for the first time; you don't need to have studied French for years in high school to take French in college. They have intro courses. Take anthropology, psychology, sociology, art history; don't just take the requisites.

If you have the opportunity to take classes at other schools, do it! If you're at a tech school, there may be a local liberal arts college that you can cross-register at for a class or two with no extra fees. If you're at a liberal arts college, try to take a tech course.

Do sports and physical activities: join an intramural sports team, try ice-hockey, go watch the volleyball team, and even if you don't qualify for a varsity team hang out with people and play basketball or racquetball. Learn to Sail! This is probably offered and often does not entail any extra fees.

There will be all sorts of free or close to free events going on at your campus and nearby colleges. Attend symphony performances; go watch a dance troupe; pay a few bucks and watch the plays that are performed on campus or at local playhouses; go attend lectures or seminars that may be aimed at grad students in things that interest you or that might interest you. Encourage someone to come to these things with you. Even if no one you know wants to go, go on your own. You'll meet people at these events who have interests that overlap yours, but will also differ from yours. Then you can extend yourself.

There will be a lot of people with a lot of ulterior motives trying to grab a piece of your mindshare. The beginning of college can be a vulnerable time for people: a lot of religious proselytization goes on (and atheistic and
humanistic and libertarian and republican and democratic and socialist, etc.), there are many easy avenues for acquiring alcohol and drugs and STDs. Don't be too easily convinced of anything.
But DO NOT blindly disagree with everyone who is not just like you! You may not want to be converted, but college is a great time to debate religious and political philosophies with others. Assert your own ideas, but be willing to realize that your view may not be the only view that has to exist.

The benefit of being in a university or college is that, yes, everyone around you is like you in trying to educate themselves, but everyone around you has a lot of great differences that can be of benefit to you. Hang around with the exchange students; hang out with people whose politics and viewpoints are not the same as yours. There's nothing like realizing that people in your dorm are from different countries, too, not just from different states. Take the initiative to meet people, talk to them, argue with them, learn from them, and stay connected with them.

Volunteer if you can, and not just for APO or other services frats or organizations. You're not doing this so that you can put it on your resume. That may have been the thing to do in high school: padding your bio to get you to the next step. Volunteer so you can be a part of the world and see that there is more to the world than just the ivory towers you'll be ensconsed in. Helping out at a pet shelter or a hospital or a crisis center or suicide hotline will let you in on the many options that there are in life.

You get to make your own way and define your own path. It's good to join groups, but don't let yourself be defined just by what others suggest you should do. Take advice with a grain of salt: listen to what your parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and advisors have to say. But even the faculty advisor that may be assigned to you may not know enough about you to give you the right advice about everything. Trust yourself to make decisions about what classes to take and what major you'll be and what nonacademic things to do.