So, you just started college. You have to adjust to living on your own, navigating a huge campus, upping your alcohol tolerance, and doing well in school. Life is about to get busy to say the least and on top of everything else you’ll need to start putting yourself out there socially to meet a ton of new people.
But the truth is, no matter how great you may be, no upperclassmen wants to be friends with the typical clueless freshman. So here are some tips to help you out during your college transition;
1. During the first week or two of class do NOT carry around a campus map, most universities have their own apps which provide an interactive map that you can use to casually get around.
2. On the first day of class don’t be that kid that takes notes on the syllabus. There is a reason you print out the syllabus to know all of the information about the class.
3. Don’t be that one student in the class that asks a million simple questions which can all be found on the syllabus.
4. The freshman lanyard… just don’t wear it. The easiest way to see who is a freshman is to see what students are walking around campus with their student id card on a lanyard around their neck.
5. When going out don’t get overly drunk (unless you’re already a seasoned drinker of course). If you are getting to the point of blacking out just slow down and pretend to drink if you have to. Starting off your social life by being known as the party foul isn’t a good way to go.
6. Some universities provide shirts to freshmen on move-in day saying what community or dorm you live in. These shirts are fine to wear for that first day in order to meet your fellow freshman but don’t ever that shirt out in public again.
7. Don’t wear crop tops to class or anything that is see through to class. Things like that are okay to go out in but that’s it.
Overall, college isn’t as scary as it may seem and you’ll get into the groove of things pretty quickly. I’m a junior so I’ve been there, done that, and made plenty of freshman mistakes myself. Just remember to have fun, don’t fail out, and play it cool.
Good luck freshmen!
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