myself, and some other ATRLers will be heading off to college in a week or two. Would any college and older ATRLers give us some advice, some dos and don't

a get job at a dining hall. probably the best decision i ever made freshmen year. free food, a tight-knit group of friends and money.

Join an organization

TAKE IT SERIOUSLY

Don't drop out like me

Don't make being social a priority, don't fall in love, just get that **** done!

omg, lemme bookmark this thread! I start this October

Have sex with everything. Be a god damn *****. I wish I would have did that. Always wear protection of course tho

DO have a fling with a professor

DON'T get an STD

Put your roommate in place quickly if he or she starts getting out of line. If you give them too much leeway they'll start to take advantage of you.

The organization thing is prob the best advice you can meet so many people that way.

-Don't go home for at least the first month.
-Get involved on campus. It's a great way to meet new people and looks great on a resume.
-Get to know your professors a little bit. Networking is huge for finding a future job and you never know what connections they may have.
-Live on-campus the first year if you can. No easier place to meet new people and make friends than the residence halls.
-Don't overdue it at parties. I remember in the first month of my freshman year a few girls had to get their stomachs pumped; how embarrassing.

+ spend the summer beforehand gently upping your alcohol tolerance (if that's ur thing or you think it might be) so once you get there it's not 0 to 100 real quick

This tbh. Time your sex so that he will walk in on you. It shows him you are the dominant male.

DON'T hookup with classmates, COLLEGE FIRST, parties second, and get a job at a mall near the campus so you know tons of people and buy a nice cologne/fragrance.

also get a fake id. you'll be a legend in the dorms

1) Join a lot of clubs. By the end of the year most won't be meeting anyway, but at least you'll be comimtted to something and have a social group
2) Study partners/groups are life-changing
3) If you feel like you're acting or feeling different, talk to a counselor asap. Don't let your issues spiral out of control
4) Don't stress over everything. It'll all work out in the end

Don't take breaks, unless you absolutely NEED to for family/medical/mental health/serious financial reasons. I and almost everyone I know regret taking semesters off, when we see these 18 year old kids doing better in life because they worked harder in college than us I honestly also recommend going full time and sticking to it, better to pin down your degree quickly before you have time to doubt (and/or hit that 20-21 year old slump I and a few friends went through as well).

Just some advice from a soon-to-be 22 year old (next week) finishing up after taking a year off, and definitely feeling like an underachiever at my age.

Don't do drugs. Do as many people as possible. Show them you're a true House Bunny thru and thru.

Do put your grades first. Do networking aka clubs and organization. Do learn how to keep your alcohol.

don't wear a lanyard from your school or an orientation shirt that says your a freshman. it makes you stick out as a freshman and those disgusting as people will target you as a freshman.

walk around campus with confidence, even if your alone.

take tons of pictures with you for your room, i mean tons

also it is normal to have a mental breakdown the first week or two feeling like you chose the wrong major

Hi! First of all, congrats on getting this far. You already made a huge decision by going to college, so be proud that you made a decision like this with your life (yes, it's that serious).

Here are a few things I'd recommend:

1. Enjoy the experience. After college you'll never have an opportunity to not have any pressure but to LEARN, whether that's academically or extracurricular. Take both seriously...but with that being said

2. Get involved. A huge part of college is making connections and networking. If you go to college just to go to class and nothing else, you're wasting your time (especially if you're paying a lot of money). Join organizations. Volunteer. Make new friends (it's a lot easier than you think). Take a risk, which leads me to my final point!

3. Don't be afraid to fail! It's college. You're going to make mistakes, embrace that now. If you're too afraid to fail you'll never be able to succeed (that sounds cheesy but it's true). Want to take a class that's out of your comfort zone? Go for it! See what happens. Want to say hi to a cute guy at the dining hall? Why not? Worse thing that can happen is you have an awkward convo and then you walk away. This is the biggest one in my opinion.

Overall, have fun and good luck!

Honestly, just have FUN, but don't slack on work. You're there to get a degree obviously, and that should definitely be your main priority, but make time for your social life too. I'm going into my final year and I regret not getting more involved in things.