Surviving College With Gear And Sanity Intact?

Mshift2x writes "Like many others, I'm shipping off to college for the first time in a few days. I'm excited, nervous, and a whole array of emotions at the same time. I'm sure many slashdotters have gone through this already, and I'd appreciate any wisdom, suggestions, or thoughts the community could provide." More specifically, phrogeeb writes "Per our earlier Slashdot article on laptop lock insecurity, I've been looking around recently for other options as far as keeping track of my laptop and other semi-expensive and certainly valuable (for a college student) stuff in a dorm room setting. Any ideas? I'm looking for both laptop-specific and comprehensive solutions. Locks? Alarms? Video cameras? Trip wire? (A few serious suggestions would be appreciated.)"

Comments

insurance?

[afeinberg]

Get Renter's Insurance. That way you no matter if your security fails or not, you can still replace your stuff.

Re:insurance?

[shadowcabbit]

Related to this. If your uni offers storage space on their servers, USE IT! You have a free, secure, off-site storage area that's reasonably secure against unauthorized online access and very secure against unauthorized physical access. The most secure areas I've ever seen were campus server rooms.

Forget bringing your own printer-- save yourself the money on ink cartridges and print from the labs. Better than the savings of money, you'll get some exercise walking back and forth.

That's another thing. Unless your campus is miles and miles across, you really don't need a car. Walking is cheap and efficient exercise-- though don't hesitate to take advantage of any of the uni's health facilities, either. Plus, it gives you time to think as you move between areas; and talking with a few friends makes any walk seem far shorter.

Just a few random thoughts. Use them at your discretion.

Re:I must be old

[typhoonius]

But seriously, don't bring too many expensive devices, and if you have to, don't show off them in the public.

This is good advice. Bring as little crap with you as possible. One, because there isn't much room in your dorm for it, and two, because you'd be surprised how little stuff you actually need.

As for security, as others have mentioned, a locked door is a good, low-tech solution. A roommate with cooler and more expensive gadgetry than you doesn't hurt either.

Don't geek out immediately!

[prozac79]

Ok, you're a slashdotter... we get that and we're happy. However, when you first move into your dorm in college, you don't have to immediately hook up your computer, be the first one to hook into the T1 line on your floor, and send an invite for a Doom3 tourney. In fact, for your first day or two, I wouldn't deal with computer-related issues at all. Go and hang out with the people you will be living with for the rest of the year.

Later, once classes start to kick in you can start to distinguish yourself as the alpha-male of the technology realm. But if the first impression people have of you is a computer geek, then they won't bother to get to know you and you won't have an opportunity to know them.

Re:ruff!

[Anonymous Coward]

Most thieves are opportunists. Even a crappy Kensington lock will stop most thefts. Get one that you'll actually use and do so. It may not stop boltcutters or lockpicks, but it will cut your risk by 90%.

Record...

[Izago909]

Everything. Especially the MAC addresses of all your devices. Most people who would steal a laptop wouldn't be smart enough to change it. When I was in college I would occasionally run into a student who had the foresight to do that. When they came in to report something stolen we could help them out. It's relatively easy to search a network for a specific MAC address and determine which ethernet port or WAP it's connected to. The only people who got their gear back did that, or got really lucky.

Re:ruff!

[St. Arbirix]

but I have heard plenty of stories about people walking into unlocked rooms. ...and not just when they're not there.

I was up coding at around 5am one Wednesday morning my freshmen year when I some guy popped out of the bathroom and, seeing me, walked down the hall in the other direction. I didn't think much of it.

About 15min later I heard some doorknobs jiggling down the hallway where I couldn't see and I figured people on my hall were getting up. I was a bit shy back then so I shut my door so no one would know the lamer had been up all night (again).

Shortly thereafter the guy next door to me knocked on my door. He asked, "Hey man, were you just in my room?" I said, "No, why?" He told me he thought someone had just been in his room but I didn't know anything so he went back.

He came back to my room again saying, "Holy shit man, someone took my wallet." We called the police but by 7 AM it was clear nothing could be done beyond having me give a description of the guy I saw coming out of the bathroom.

Re:everyone is dumb in college!

[slamb]

Also, for the love of god, lock up your bike.

I'm glad to see someone bring this up. I've never had a piece of electronic equipment stolen, and neither have any of my friends...but bikes are another story. I've had some problems (wheels and frame vandalized, a stolen wheel, a stolen seat, once a whole bike stolen which I miraculously got back), and I know several people who have had multiple bikes stolen. I've got some hard-earned advice on the subject:

• Use a U-lock. Nothing else will do at any time of the day or night.
• Make sure the lock goes through the bike rack, the frame of the bike, and the front wheel. Every time.
• Never leave any bike within a mile of a bar at night (or along the major treks home). If it's not stolen, it will be vandalized. Drunken assholes do stupid things.
• If your bike is expensive (or looks expensive), take it into your dorm room / apartment at night. (Some leases forbid this. Get permission or do it anyway. I think landlords are concerned about people riding bikes around inside the building or something. They don't seem to understand that you have to take the bike in with you if you care about it.) This sounds like a pain, but it's not too bad. I got pretty used to carrying my bike up four flights of stairs every night last year. (And this year I'm on the first floor.)
• If you don't take it in with you at night, at least lock the back wheel with a second U-lock. (Just leave the second one locked to the rack when you're not there.)
• Look around the rack you lock it on, especially at night. Are there seatless / wheel-less bikes attached? Solitary wheels? Then you might think about going elsewhere. Also check for places where the rack itself has been cut. Try to lock it to a thicker portion (like the top bar in some cases).
• Take out the quick-release seat and put in a bolt instead. Or one of those seat guard things. It obviously won't stop someone determined, but it will stop people from casually grabbing your seat while staggering home from the bars.

Of course, adjust your level of paranoia by your dependence on your bike and its price. I bike everywhere and my bike tends to be one of the better ones on whatever bike rack I lock it to. When I ride my road bike, it's usually the most expensive bike on the surrounding few racks. (Low-end road bike...but a lot of college students have super-cheap mountains.)

Exercise, Vitamins, Water

[gotscheme]

Do all the stuff you are supposed to do:

Exercise 30 minutes a day 5-6 days per week. Find people who want to exercise with you, and mix up your routine with fun things. This is, I think, the most overlooked thing at school. Exercise will give you more energy and a higher IQ.

Take vitamins every day, especially on the days you are hung over. Vitamins are pretty cheap, especially if they give you a little bit of an edge in avoiding sickness.

Drink lots of water. Drink 3 glasses of water right before you go to bed if you have been drinking, and drink another 3 when you wake up after drinking.

I presume you are going into a scientific or computational field. Make sure you have a firm grasp in math and physics before you jump into your other courses--these subjects provide the mental framework you need to succeed.

If you aren't already thinking about it, consider getting a minor in business, or try double-majoring in business along with your primary degree. Figure out the registration system, and locate areas of overlap in requirements for your liberal ed and major classes.

Do your homework right after class, and enjoy your evenings.

When you visit friends and family back home, do not try to show them how much smarter you are than them. Instead, try to understand what they are saying.

Get on a regular sleep schedule.

As a senior undergrad. in CS...

[Money for Nothin']

Gear -- Laptop security hardware

Unless you bring your laptop to every class with you every day, or leave it in your car from time to time, your laptop will be out of your sight for several hours/day. As in, sitting on your desk where your roommate(s) and other dorm buddies might -- if they are the unseemly type -- consider stealing it and selling it while you're gone. In this case, no laptop security hardware will save you -- time is on their side, and your hardware, at best, is a lock strapped to a probably-wooden desk.

That said, a laptop lock is still better than nothing, and for that reason, is worth the investment.

Mostly though, I wouldn't worry *too* much about physical security unless your roommate is untrustworthy. Of course, you won't know that until you've lived with him/her for a few weeks, will you? :)

Now my other subject:

Sanity -- Self-discipline, time-management, and happiness

Here are my 3 main tips:

1) DO NOT SLACK OFF LIKE IT'S YOUR SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, EVEN FRESHMAN YEAR. Your GPA is King if you want to go on to grad school, med school, law school, etc.. That said, you really only need a minimum of a 3.1-3.2 or so to get into grad school or law school. Med school is harder though.

2) DO NOT SPEND ALL YOUR FREE TIME LEARNING LINUX/*BSD IF YOU HAVE NEVER HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THESE OS'S. They will eat up all your free time (compiling god knows how many libraries you also have to download first, manhandling config files, reading poorly-written documentation, etc.). Learn them over time, but do not live them as I did. OSS is a very small subset of life.

3) DO NOT GET (too) BIG INTO THE CAMPUS LAN-GAMING AND WAREZ SCENES. Warez is too legally-risky these days, and besides, it requires lots and lots of manual searching; Google doesn't cut it here, and thus it takes lots of time to get the philez you want. It usually isn't worth it.

Welcome to the reasons I voluntarily dropped out of a major, well-funded, well-respected 2nd-tier science/engineering university, and will now be finishing up my degree at a shitty, underfunded 4th-tier liberal-arts state school.

Oh, and one more:

4) Don't fall into the "I wanna be a God admin/coder" trap and ignore women (or men, if you prefer) and dating for your 4 years of college. This has been the biggest reason I am a bitter, unhappy man in my early-mid 20s. I am only just now learning how to date women, and am still a virgin. [1] Most guys (about 73%) get laid by the time they're 18. Me? I might as well be a hardcore loony-bin Christian straight-edger waiting until marriage for sex, so far as I count, statistically.

I have a monetarily-successful life (almost certainly) coming to me in spite of all of the above, because I have managed to determine and pull myself up from my failings, but in doing so, like I said, I'm as bitter and unhappy a man as anybody I know.

I have discovered after years of soul-searching that money isn't everything (and if you read my previous posts, you will find that I am a diehard believer in the free-market, and resultingly, money transactions). Friends, love, laughter, and the free time and freedom to choose your own path in life are. Of those, my life is sorely lacking the first 3 (of any quality, at least). Money makes all of those things easier to obtain, and it makes those things go more-smoothly and easily. But money is the means, *not* the end...

Don't waste the most-vital years of your life geeking-out like I did. Go out, party, get drunk, get laid every weekend. Do your homework too, and if you're in CS or Engineering, you may well have to sacrifice a party or two to do the assignments, but what I have just described is a far-better balance than I have achieved the last 4 years in school.

Work hard during the week, and party hard on the weekends. That is how co

Less funny, hopefully helpful adaptation

[nine-times]

1. Sex. Women do all their freaky stuff in college, so have an open mind and hit as much of it as you possibly can.

Try to apply this to more than sex. If you're going to a good school, people are doing a lot of freaky cool stuff. Get involved, and keep an open mind. Don't give into conformity when it comes to any group, jock or geek- try a lot of things out, figure out what you like, and persue it.

If your college doesn't have lots of crazy/cool/fun stuff going on, and you aren't finding anything you really enjoy, transfer, take a year off, or at least find some new friends. It's a big world and there are lots of options, so don't squander your time doing the same old BS. Find a way to grow, learn, find talents you didn't know you had, whatever.

2. Class. A good education is important, but don't let it interfere with #1.

Actually, yes- class is very important, but never let your schooling get in the way of your education. Focusing too much on grades and toeing the line can make you miss out on truly educational experiences. Learn everything you can from wherever you can. Work hard on your classwork, work hard on your social life, work hard on your soul. And remember: Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

3. Network. Not TCP/IP, but people. Every job you get in the future is going to be because of who you know, so get to know a LOT of people. Get to know them well so they don't forget you.

True. Knowing people can be a great resource. Also, learning how to deal with people can be a great resource, and college is a good time to practice on a wide variety of people. Ignoring all that, knowing lots of people and staying pretty much on people's good side will make college a lot more fun, whether it's useful or not.

4. The Law. Graduating from college doesn't erase your law record, so don't get arrested.

In other words, a little mischeif makes for good memories, but keep it light and harmless. One really bad mistake can screw your life up for several years, so just try not to get into too much trouble.

5. The Dollar. You are going to get a lot of offers for credit cards. Credit cards are not 'free money'. If you can't pay cash for it, and if you haven't managed to save enough money to buy it in the last 6 months, what makes you think you are going to earn enough money in the next 6 months to pay for whatever you are considering putting on plastic? Graduating from college doesn't erase your credit history either, so don't screw it up.

Not really going to add anything here. I just quoted it for repitition. This is one you can't hear enough.

7. Take a few classes for personal enrichment.

I have to shout this, being slashdot and all: DON'T JUST TAKE COMPUTER/ENGINEERING COURSES! Take some philosophy, psychology, literature, etc. You know, useless stuff. Read some Plato. If you don't like it, find me in the forums, I'll talk to you about it.

This hooks in nicely with my adaptations of #1, #2, and #3. College should be opening you up to new things. Try things you don't know about. Make friends with good people you don't understand. Take classes about interesting topics that are over your head. Learn a musical instrument. You'll be glad you did.

Most of all, have fun. If you don't like what you're studying, then what you're studying is preparing you for a career that you won't like. Find something you love, and study that, and you'll figure the rest out later.

What else... what else...? Ok, I can only think of one more thing. Don't believe everything "smart people" tell you. Smart people can be wrong too, professor or not. Stupid people can be right. Like I said before, keep an open mind and learn whatever you can where you can. If someone says something you don't understand, don't just assume he's right and you don't understand, and don't just assume he's wrong, and therefore not worth paying attenti

Re:You've *Got* To Get Out More

[darnok]

Amen - if you think late-teen / early-twenties women are hot, wait till you catch up to the 40yo single women. In a nutshell,
- many remember their wilder younger days, and want to relive them after a marriage/relationship ends
- many/most know what they actually enjoy, and will happily tell you if you ask (unlike many 20yo women)
- give them what they want, and they'll give you what you want, almost without exception. Again, big difference from many 20yo women
- financial independence is a wonderful thing!

Best of all, the tables are almost completely turned from when I was ~18. Then, my sex drive was sky high and I would do just about anything to get laid. Now, my sex drive is (relatively) under control while theirs is sky high; hello, home-cooked dinners and fully catered TV football games with your mates around!

Now I'd better make a call to ensure *someone special* doesn't read /. today...

Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule.

[Pfhor]

For 1.

be careful also.

Just because someone can afford to go to college does not mean they are clean. I'm not talking about AIDS, most people are tested for that. I'm talking about genital warts, herpes, and other fun STDs.

A freshman girl came to school last year without being tested, and spread HPV (genital warts) to 9 other people, which then fanned out to probably about 30 at this point. Numbers are one in two or one in four of the people you meet at college will be exposed to HPV. Then if you are a responsible partner, you will have to inform other partners before hooking up with them. If you aren't, well then you don't deserve to have sex knowingly spreading a possible cancer causing illness.

And avoid sleeping with anyone on you hall. It probably wont last, and it makes things weird.

Advice to the Three Female College Slashdotters

[bigdreamer]

1) Don't get drunk. I'm not saying don't drink, but don't get drunk. I believe the statistic goes that 1 in 5 girls are raped in college, and that alcohol is involved in most of the cases. Besides, don't you want to remember your fun and sexual experiences? I'm glad I remember mine.

2) Don't accept drinks from others or leave your drinks behind and pick them up later. I don't care if s/he's your best friend, turn it down and get your own drink. Doesn't matter what time of day it is. Be careful. If this doesn't make sense to you, reread #1.

3) Read "The Debt-Free Graduate", "You Are Smarter Than You Think!", all college advice books, and anything by Patrick Combs. Good advice there. Check them out at your college library or at the college bookstore. I ran into these my fifth year of college, and I wish I had read them sooner.

4) Major in your passion, not what your parents or teachers suggested you major in. I majored in Computer Science and I don't regret it. Unfortunately, I majored in it too late in my college career, and it didn't work out, so...

5) Always have a backup plan when things don't work out. If you end up not majoring in your passion for some reason, at least come out with a degree, even if it's a Bachelor in General Studies.

Re:casual sex?

[euclid manatee]

. . . I'm scared to death of getting my girlfriend pregnant

1. Condoms are at least 98% effective. Combine that with another form of contraception, and you stand a very good chance of avoiding pregnancy.

2. The morning-after pill is available throughout the US for emergency situations.

3. Abortions are not "easy" -- I've had relationships with women who've had them, and it's almost always been a harrowing experience. But, it was always the right choice for them, and they would do it all over again.

4. Only have sex with people you trust.

5. Either lighten-up about sex, or practice abstinence. There's no reason to be scared to death about sex if you're properly educated about it (and I don't mean the Right-wing Christian Fundamentalist "sex-ed" so popular in high schools these days).

Save Your Soul, Stay Away From Psych Majors!!!

[hajihill]

Also, the hot chicks are all taking Psych or Sociology.

Speaking from experience, both recent and remote, the parent is both oh so right and oh so wrong.

NEVER date a psych major. I would seriously recommend staying away from the discipline entirely as the temptation is usually irresistible. I'm convinced they learn stuff in those classes you couldn't learn from navy seals interrogation training.

I have no idea about the Sociology majors, but I do highly recommend entomology if you can take some of those classes. I've met many a very cute, super-cool bug-loving girl in my day, and have found their worth and demeanor to be much more reliable.

Of course, most generalizations are crap, but the thing about crazy Psych majors stands up to the test of time. Do yourself a favor and run like hell when that cute psych student starts making eyes, you may end up a research subject.