Questions about College... [Archive]

CuckingFunt

08-03-2006, 08:58 PM

-How's college compared to High School?For me they were both pointless attempts to maintain focus in classes that were boring and lacking challenge. Not too much difference.

-Are the classes much harder than the ones in high school?Depends on the class, of course. Mine weren't.

-Is it true that you have to join a frat to get a lot of friends?My school didn't have a Greek system, so it wasn't an issue. Most of my friends were off campus anyway.

-Is it hard to get help about school work?Shouldn't be. Most prof's have pretty decent office hours.

-What activities did you do on your free time?Fuck. A lot. Got wasted and passed out. Also spent a lot of time laughing at the idea of going to class and, therefore, creating more free time.

-Any suggestions to what I need to bring to my dorms?Patience.

katyon6th

08-03-2006, 08:59 PM

I like DisgruntledLionFan#54,927, he gives sound advice.

That's hottt.

slayermin

08-03-2006, 09:02 PM

That is actually a good piece of advice...I may have to do that. Crystal meth could come in handy.

Well he's going to the right school for that. :lol

midgetonadonkey

08-03-2006, 09:02 PM

First of all, if you want to have fun in college you need to quit being such a queer. Secondly, quit being a little queer. Thirdly, drink a lot and fuck anything. Lastly, quit being a queer.

CuckingFunt

08-03-2006, 09:03 PM

First of all, if you want to have fun in college you need to quit being such a queer. Secondly, quit being a little queer. Thirdly, drink a lot and fuck anything. Lastly, quit being a queer. Conflicting advice.

To avoid being a queer, you'd want to specify fucking only anything of the opposite sex.

midgetonadonkey

08-03-2006, 09:06 PM

Conflicting advice.

To avoid being a queer, you'd want to specify fucking only anything of the opposite sex.

My apologies. I overlooked that.

leemajors

08-03-2006, 09:09 PM

Well, i'm going off to college at the University of Tennessee in a couple of week and don't know what to expect. So I have a few questions:

-How's college compared to High School?
-Are the classes much harder than the ones in high school?
-Is it true that you have to join a frat to get a lot of friends?
-Is it hard to get help about school work?
-What activities did you do on your free time?
-Any suggestions to what I need to bring to my dorms?

- a lot different. make sure you show up to class, it's easy to get in the habit of missing a class a week or so.
- depends on the class, a lot of the math/science classes are graded on a different curving system since the intro classes are so large. if you take decent notes and read the material you'll be fine.
- no fucking way. depends on what kind of friends you are looking for though i guess.
- lots of available help at large universities, and most professors are willing to help if you take the time to show up in office hours and are serious about learning.
- drinking was my specialty, but i always did my homework in the afternoon so i could hang out at night.
- 2 sets of sheets, shower shoes if its a dorm community shower - athlete's foot can run rampant. at least 4 towels and a laundry hamper or basket too.

baseline bum

08-03-2006, 09:15 PM

-How's college compared to High School?

Way more fun. In college, your professor will many times teach so that the best student in the class gets something out of it, whereas is high school your classes pace was usually limited by the worst student in the class. Plus, in college you're spending a lot of your time doing subjects that are enjoyable. The teachers are waay more interesting, and there's much more debate. Also, you most likely won't be given long, mindless, repetitive assignments like you were in high school. For instance, you might be given 5 math problems due every Friday, instead of the usually 50 or so nightly you would get in high school. There's no busy work to force you to try to learn things; you have to be responsible for working through the material until you understand it.

-Are the classes much harder than the ones in high school?

Most certainly yes. At almost any college you're competing with the equivalent to the top 2-30% of your high school class. For instance, almost all of my classmates at UCLA had 4.0 GPAs in high school.

-Is it true that you have to join a frat to get a lot of friends?

I think it's stupid to pay for friends. Just go out and have fun, and don't spend all your time studying and playing XBox, and you should be fine.

-Is it hard to get help about school work?

Definitely not. Schools invest a lot of money in you, and therefore will bend over backwards to try to help you succeed. Your prof will have office hours, the teaching assistants will, and there will usually be lots of tutoring available.

-What activities did you do on your free time?

Go to the beach, go to bars, go out with chicks, play my friends at NBA Live, jerk off in the room, study more interesting books than the ones from my classes, etc.

-Any suggestions to what I need to bring to my dorms?

Refrigerator, stereo, computer

LaMarcus Bryant

08-03-2006, 09:39 PM

CubanMustGo

08-03-2006, 09:46 PM

Well, i'm going off to college at the University of Tennessee in a couple of week and don't know what to expect. So I have a few questions:

-How's college compared to High School?
-Are the classes much harder than the ones in high school?
-Is it true that you have to join a frat to get a lot of friends?
-Is it hard to get help about school work?
-What activities did you do on your free time?
-Any suggestions to what I need to bring to my dorms?

- "UT" is a whole lot bigger than your high school. Expect larger classes, especially your first couple of years. Don't be surprised to walk into English 301 and find a couple hundred people there in an auditorium. The whole social and athletic scene is a much larger part of what goes on.

- Depends on the class and the instructor. Many of your lower division classes will be taught not by true profs but by graduate teaching assistants. Once you get into your major and especially your upper division classes you will start to enjoy things more as class sizes will be smaller and you will be able to get more face time with our prof. But to answer your question, yes courses will be harder.

- Hell no.

- There are usually various alternatives, study groups, tutoring services, classmates, etc.

- music, work, sports, study, and crap I don't need to talk about here.

- money. clothes. computer. iPod.

LuvBones

08-03-2006, 10:40 PM

Just remember in college you'll have FREEDOM! so don't let it get you into too much trouble. ;) Other than that enjoy it because my first year, I remember thinking I'll never be done with college, and now I don't want to leave!

ashbeeigh

08-03-2006, 10:51 PM

Well, i'm going off to college at the University of Tennessee in a couple of week and don't know what to expect. So I have a few questions:

-How's college compared to High School?
-Are the classes much harder than the ones in high school?
-Is it true that you have to join a frat to get a lot of friends?
-Is it hard to get help about school work?
-What activities did you do on your free time?
-Any suggestions to what I need to bring to my dorms?

I don't have much else to say, and I probably won't have much of the same experience you will have since Tennessee is so much bigger. But do get involved in some activities pretty quickly, or else things will get lame pretty quick. I know some people end up locking themselves up and don't meet new people. Whether it be a relgious organization, a Greek organization (social or service..which you don't have to join to meet people, find parties, etc), do something to get out there and meet people.

As for things to bring, most places like Bed Bath and Beyond should have a pretty little list on their website of things to bring (or the Tennessee Residence life site specifically) should have some things to bring. As for things some things I remember I forgot to bring, over packed, I ended up bringing way too many clothes (maybe pack for a season, fall then winter when you go home for Thanksgiving?) and I also brought too many things to remind me of home (which I ended up not needing, like yearbooks and things). They just took up too much space. Find out if your bed can be raised or not, if not maybe you should buy some bed risers (then you can slide things under your bed, like boxes and such).

I think that's all I can think of for now. Everyone else hit the classes and activities on the head, I think.

DisgruntledLionFan#54,927

08-03-2006, 11:15 PM

I like DisgruntledLionFan#54,927, he gives sound advice.

That's hottt.

Hottt enough for a bruise?

And, usckk, enjoy your time in college. College is just as much about meeting new people and learning new things outside of the classroom as it is inside it.

It will be over before you know it and damn if it wasn't the best 9 years of my life...

katyon6th

08-03-2006, 11:22 PM

Hottt enough for a bruise?

Think plural.

DisgruntledLionFan#54,927

08-03-2006, 11:27 PM

Think plural.

Think tenderized.

David Bowie

08-03-2006, 11:27 PM

Well, i'm going off to college at the University of Tennessee in a couple of week and don't know what to expect. So I have a few questions:

Well, I'm going to be a college senior enxt year, so..

-How's college compared to High School? Much more fun. Socializing will probably become more important. More freedom. Although, at the beginning, it may all seem a bit overwhelming.

-Are the classes much harder than the ones in high school? Depends on your major. If you do a major in a social science ,then, probably easier. If you do a major in science or math, then probably harder.

-Is it true that you have to join a frat to get a lot of friends? My school doesn't have a Greek system. Although, there a few so called frats and sororities, but theyre mostly run by lame kids who want to apper cool.

-Is it hard to get help about school work? I think that it's harder to get help then in high school. I think that the teachers don't give as much individual attention. However, there should be special goups/places set up that will help you with work,

-What activities did you do on your free time? Did a bit of field hockey. Socialized. Smoked lots of pot.

-Any suggestions to what I need to bring to my dorms? A good music collection, laptop,

scott

08-03-2006, 11:27 PM

usckk, best wishes as a Volunteer - sounds like a lot of fun! My only regret about college is that I didn't go to one with a D-1 football program... you've got that covered! Have a great time and enjoy every moment.

katyon6th

08-03-2006, 11:30 PM

Think tenderized.

Think 'oh my god'.

DisgruntledLionFan#54,927

08-03-2006, 11:31 PM

Think again.

katyon6th

08-03-2006, 11:33 PM

Repeatedly.

DisgruntledLionFan#54,927

08-03-2006, 11:38 PM

Think inhabitually.

katyon6th

08-03-2006, 11:42 PM

Think asshole.

DisgruntledLionFan#54,927

08-03-2006, 11:43 PM

Repeatedly.

FromWayDowntown

08-03-2006, 11:50 PM

And, usckk, enjoy your time in college. College is just as much about meeting new people and learning new things outside of the classroom as it is inside it.

It will be over before you know it and damn if it wasn't the best 9 years of my life...

There's no doubt about that. The things you learn in the classroom aren't terribly important to anything. The things you learn from the experiences that you have in college can't be duplicated. It's a blessing to have the opportunity to go to college, particularly to go to a university and to have the opportunity to devote yourself to being a student. Enjoy that. All of the other crap will take care of itself.

Whether you join a fraternity or not, you'll make friends if you so choose. Greek life can be great, but it's not the end all be all of the college experience. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there -- your in a place where you'll likely know very few people and have the chance to do all kinds of things you've never done before. The best way to meet people, I think, is to get involved on campus -- sometimes, you can meet more people by joining clubs and playing intramurals than you can by going Greek. In doing all of that, it doesn't mean you should forget where you came from or blow off the friends you already have; but remember that the people you'll meet in college are likely to be at least as cool and as interesting as those friends. It's about more than just friends, though. Take classes in subjects that you think might be interesting, even if they don't relate to your major -- I was a political science major in college, but the most interesting and personally important course I took was an upper-division religion course. And remember that a collegiate major doesn't have to dictate what you do for the rest of your life; study what you like and things will fall into place when you graduate. Study hard, but realize that you'll miss some of the best things that college offers if you live with your nose in a book. Stay up with your reading and coursework, but don't sit home on a Wednesday night if your friends are going out to have fun.

College is a great time and its a great experience. Just enjoy it.

travis2

08-04-2006, 06:38 AM

As far as classes go...your schedule will be much easier than in high school. You're not in 7 class periods every single day...your classes are much more spread out. Your lower-division required courses may or may not be much different than in high school, depending on how tough your program was. It also depends on your major...if you're a math/engineering/science major, your "major" courses start earlier...freshman and sophomore years, in fact.

Help is always available, as has been mentioned. On-campus tutoring centers are something that were pretty new when I went to college...but they're commonplace now. And normally already funded by your student fees, so you don't need to pay for it.

Professors are also ready and willing to help out. I'll wager 95 out of 100 professors will almost do the work for you if you just make a good-faith effort to try the material, and take the time to go to his/her office and ask questions.

Along that line...you might hear people tell you to lose yourself in class...stay anonymous. That is the worst thing you can do. Make damn sure your prof knows your name and your face. I'm not talking about being "teacher's pet" or anything like that...but don't be afraid to ask questions in class. Get your butt over to his/her office and ask more questions. Show an interest in learning the subject. This is true for all your subjects...but especially in your major. College grading is a whole new world compared to high school...the prof has a lot more leeway for "subjective" grading. Don't be afraid to make use of that.

Friends...you definitely don't need to join a frat. If that's your thing, then fine...have a ball. I had a lot of friends who were in fraternities...but I wasn't.

But get involved in something. For me it was on-campus tutoring, campus music ministry, and intramurals. For you it could be something completely different. But do something. As big as U of Tenn is, there should be all kinds of opportunities that will interest you.

In the end...you should learn a lot in college. That's what you're paying for, right? But it should also be fun and rewarding. You do more "growing up" during these 4 years than in any other time of your life, generally speaking. Learn from it, enjoy it. It can be some of the best times of your life.

CosmicCowboy

08-04-2006, 08:15 AM

I'd like to help you but it's all kind of a blur. I vaguelly remember a shitload of sex, drugs, music and sex.

travis2

08-04-2006, 08:19 AM

Why am I not surprised? :lol

lilmads

08-04-2006, 12:30 PM

I'm transferring to University of South Florida and it's great to read what everyone wrote... I attended the University of St. Martin (local uni) which has like 300 students so I know I'm in for a shock... :)

MissAllThat

08-04-2006, 06:21 PM

One thing that I can think of off the top of my head that is different is that you won't make many friends when you're actually in class like you did in high school. In HS most of your friends tend to be people whom you're in classes with and talk to during class, but in college the classes are so big that this is unlikely to happen.

tlongII

08-04-2006, 06:27 PM

-How's college compared to High School?

Very different. You will have much more freedom.

-Are the classes much harder than the ones in high school?

Depends on the subject matter. You will be expected to read much more in my opinion. Some classes are cake though.

-Is it true that you have to join a frat to get a lot of friends?

No. I was a GDI and lived in dorms the first couple of years.

-Is it hard to get help about school work?

No. You should have plenty of tutors available.

-What activities did you do on your free time?

I played hoops and hunted pussy.

-Any suggestions to what I need to bring to my dorms?

Bring a stereo system...............................and condoms.

midgetonadonkey

08-04-2006, 06:29 PM

Bring a stereo system...............................and condoms.

I doubt he'll need the condoms. This is the same dude that couldn't even ask a chick out.

midgetonadonkey

08-04-2006, 06:29 PM

usckk=trainwreck

tlongII

08-04-2006, 06:33 PM

Do people buy stereo systems any more. I wonder now with iPods and such being so popular. Stereos were big back in the day...

lilmads

08-04-2006, 08:59 PM

^ I'm not even looking into a stereo.. I have my laptop and an iPod

MissAllThat

08-04-2006, 09:27 PM

Ipod speakers are cool.

turambar85

08-05-2006, 01:30 AM

U.T will be a bitch! lol.

I have already had problems with financial aid, and can't keep up with the damned paperwork.

If the classes are as hard as the admission work....Im screwed.

Jekka

08-05-2006, 02:02 AM

U.T will be a bitch! lol.

I have already had problems with financial aid, and can't keep up with the damned paperwork.

If the classes are as hard as the admission work....Im screwed.

That's most big schools. Or most schools in general really.

By the time you get your degree, should have learned that the bureaucracy only responds to people speaking its own language - that of "Pain in the Ass". In other words, if you sense they are giving you the run-around, you head them off by being a pain in the ass first, then they are usually much more eager to get done what you need to be done in a much more timely fashion. You have to hound them, or nothing will ever get done ... I learned this the hard way.

AFE7FATMAN

08-05-2006, 02:41 AM

While in College READ, READ, READ
Take History Courses

I just finished the book: Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn.. I would recommend it. .

History is almost always told from the point of view of the victor. American history (that is, the history taught in K-12) is very guilty of this.

Read this book if you would like to explore American history from an angle that is frequently passed over in standard history books and courses.

Any student of history will realize that all of these angles--be they liberal, conservative, etc.--are just that--merely angles or perspectives.

1. The real Chrsitopher Columbus

2. The era of slavery is covered by telling of white panic in the face of slave resistance and revolts

3. The building of railroads becomes the tale of Chinese immigrants who were expendable to their white overseers

4. The Transportation of Indians and what the US Govt cruelly did to the Indians in order to reduce the costs of transporting them.

5. And a whole bunch more....

While you don't have to agree with everything this book gives you, it is good to hear both viewpoints of the losers in the past history instead of the winners that spin it the way they want or College Professors with an agenda.

Another book is "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by Lowen,

However Lowen is a little overzealous in some parts, but it a good opposite of the traditional happy American history text book.

All the truths that a person beyond a high school education should have?
It is not what you learn in College to get your degree- It is what you learn afterward.
Gotta love standardized testing. All that truthful, real, gritty questions about the way the world really works is on those tests. :lol
BTW Don't disagree with the DUMB Professor :blah :blah :blah

A Real enlightment would be to learn a 2nd Language, i.e. French and read what they say about American History, Vietnam, WWII-The Jewish Issue, etc.

Don't forget One of the greatest military minds of the Far East attended the Sorbonne-The University of Paris.

Ho Chi Minh

Ho also attended the University of Moscow-MAKES YOU WONDER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF history or the influence of Professors.

I'm sure Italian, Spanish or Russian would be just as enlighting.

On a personal note:

In the 50's very llittle was included about what happend to the Jews during the War in My So called World History Class.

It took outside reading, to discover the truth, about that and a lot of other things.

Thank God for a Public Library and the lady that had a lot of patience for a 12 year old boy over the summer.

When I was 12 My Preacher told me that all jews were bad people and that they were the ones that killed Jesus.

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo glad that my grandkids have the internet and will not be spooned feed BS except from Politicians and those that put the grades on the top of the Paper.

P.S. Learn to speak Chinese-They are America's biggest outside threat.
P.S Don't waste money on a stero for your room, you'll be hearing all the others blairing full blast :lol

BIG IRISH

08-05-2006, 04:14 AM

^^^^^^^ Windy OLD MAN isn't he

J.T.

08-05-2006, 02:43 PM

You don't need to go greek to make friends but it's not really a bad way to go about it. Most of my best friends I met through my frat.

DisgruntledLionFan#54,927

08-05-2006, 03:00 PM

No need to go Greek at a school the size of UT. There is nothing wrong with pledging, but do it because you want to, not because you feel you have to.

My tips: At MSU, there was a book called "Grading the Profs." It was filled with thoughts from students who had said professor. I used it as my Bible when scheduling classes.

Also, there was a company that paid students with GPAs of 3.75 or higher to copy their notes and sell them. What a great concept.

I'm sure there is something like this at UT. Look for it, along with old exams and quizzes.

I never went to class, partied my ass off and graduated with Honors. Once you figure out how to get by, everything else is gravy...

usckk

08-05-2006, 04:32 PM

DisgruntledLionFan#54,927

08-05-2006, 04:44 PM

Rarely did I get homework. Most of my classes in my freshmen and sophomore years were filled with 500+ students.

As for exams and quizzes, it depends on the class and the prof. Some have weekly quizzes and exams, others just exams.

Roommates suck. I lived with a drug dealer who got expelled, a pregnant girl, a bulemic, a guy who bathed every blue moon and a kid who used to keep a dildo in the couch. All types.

It's all luck when finding good roommates. Having friends as roommates can be an eye-opening experience.

ORION

08-05-2006, 06:36 PM

College is exactly like Revenge of the Nerds

J.T.

08-05-2006, 06:50 PM

In most lecture classes, you aren't going to have homework other than reading your textbooks. In smaller classes, like your English and foreign languages, they'll probably assign homework or have daily quizzes...it depends on your professor. I took Japanese and French and in both of those we were given homework daily but it wasn't due until the test day (I dropped the Jap. before the deadline because it sucked though).

Most classes are going to have either 4 exams or just 2. I've never really taken a class that had a different amount of tests than 4 or 2, except this one writing course I took as a freshman where we had to do 8 papers and each one was a test grade...Quizzes depend on the class or the professor, I said English/writing and foreign language, stuff like that will have a lot of quizzes. Big lecture classes probably won't have any unless the professor wants to reward the few people that do read their shit.

Room mates are luck of the draw. Best thing to do is lease an apartment with some of your friends. Dorms suck huge ass and most of the time they are small. But your school may be different, I stayed at a dorm one semester and the entire living space was about as big as the living room in your basic apartment.

ORION

08-05-2006, 06:52 PM

Don't forget to pleadge Lambda Lambda Lambda

exstatic

08-05-2006, 09:02 PM

Things you can learn in college:

how to budget your time.
how to think critically.
how to deal with people.

The biggest difference between HS and college to me is that college removes the safety net. You're much more left to your own devices. One of the freedoms that you have is to fail and flunk out. They won't bug you about missed assignments or bad test grades, and notes don't get sent home to mom and dad. They just give you an F.

I would recommend an employable major (sounds like you have one), but take the time to slot in some philsophy and psychology classes to find out how things and people work. That can be an invaluable skill when you get into the workforce.

baseline bum

08-05-2006, 09:39 PM

THANKS guys!!! After reading some of the answers, I thought up some more questions. For your information to help answer my questions, i'm going to be a biology major, but this semester I have Physics 212, Honors Spanish 217, Honors English 118, Bowling, and some freshman introductory class (haha, i'm taking it very easy, especially having 35 hours of credit from AP classes).

-How do much professors assign homework and give tests and quizzes? In high school, homework is assigned to be done the next day, and tests and quizzes are givin every week. How are college different? And what are the tests and quizzes like?

-Is cheating or "extra help" occur very often in college? I remember in my high school, students who have the morning class tell the test questions to the students in the afternoon class of the same course, so those who don't ask, have a huge their peers about the test have a disadvantage.

-Is having a roommate very trouble some? because i'm sure we all have differnt sleep schedules and spend different amounts of time on HW. If so, how did you handle the problems?

Be prepared to bust your ass in the Physics class. Intro physics classes usually move very fast, and are often sort of weed-outs. Absolutely spend time to learn how to derive things, because it's impossible to remember a semester's worth of formulas.

Expect to do a lot of reading in the English class. You won't get homework - just a few papers.

Cheating is always rampant at a university. I used to have tons of people pay me to write their term projects in their C++, Java, Programming Lanuages, Networking, etc. classes. In my mathematical analysis class people would leave their proofs in the bathroom and take turns going to the bathroom to check them during the Final (I should have gone and posted confusing solutions :lol). I had an honors abstract algebra class where the prof would give horrible take-home finals. The first quarter I did it all myself, turned in 25 pages of original solutions, got an A, and then found out everyone else got As too because they just shared their solutions. Needless to say I was pissed, because I deserved an A+ and because I was one of two people in the class who actually did it on his own (and I had the top grades on all midterms and quizzes). Shit happens when you just show up to take the exams and turn in work, and therefore don't talk to classmates much. Fuck it: in the second quarter of the class I just collaborated with a bunch of my classmates, with each of us doing one problem on the final, and got an A again for doing nothing this time.

ashbeeigh

08-05-2006, 09:40 PM

THANKS guys!!! After reading some of the answers, I thought up some more questions. For your information to help answer my questions, i'm going to be a biology major, but this semester I have Physics 212, Honors Spanish 217, Honors English 118, Bowling, and some freshman introductory class (haha, i'm taking it very easy, especially having 35 hours of credit from AP classes).

-How do much professors assign homework and give tests and quizzes?

-Is cheating or "extra help" occur very often in college?

-Is having a roommate very trouble some?

Like JT said, it depends on your class. I remember my freshman english classes had lots of papers. Then there were other classes that I had the same year, like my upper division Spanish classes, where we only have two tests (the mid term and the final). Testing and homework all depends on the professor. I ran into one professor that enjoyed having 5 tests a semester (so things would balance out, and there would be less material to cover, but in more detail). Most of the time, if you do have homework, it is optional and for you benefit. There's probably not going to be someone to turn it in to and get a grade back on it the next day (some professors are nutorious about never getting papers and tests back). And, like some have mentioned before you'll be lucky at such a big school to actualy have a professor teaching a lower division class. I don't want to scare you with a biology major, but you will live and breathe lab. You'll get the lab manual and have lab for four hours a week along with lecture for about 3 hours a week and be running in and out trying to clone rats and mate fruit flies and find a cure for cancer all at once. Not just for ginology, but in general, you'll get a list of things due at a certain time and be expected to have them then. That's when procrationation can kill you. Be on top of things. Good luck with Physics!

The "getting answers" in between class times probably isn't too uncommon. It's not very well tolerated though. It's whether or not you get caught. Going to such a big school, i wouldn't doubt people do it constantly. At my school, if you get caught, you get kicked out.

Roommates can be amazing friends and assets and also amazing enemies. As a freshman the UT Residence Life staff should have asked you some basic questions about your routines (when you go bed, how messy you are, whether you like the Spurs or the Mavs, etc) to match you with someone you'll click with. Spend some time at the first part of the semester exploring with your roommate if you can so you get a feel for their personality. And if things don't work out well talk to your RA. They always say they're there to help, whether it be to talk things out or to get one of the two of you out of the situation. And next year, if you find some friends and you think yuo would be good roommates, don't do it. It'll ruin your friendship. Or so they say. That happened to me my sophomore year and this past fall. First time I lived with someone who decided to whore it up and then this past fall I lived with someone who freaked out because of a health condition. Be up front and honest too. If you go to bed early, say so. If you snore, say so. If you listen to Enya, say so. If you're 1Billups1, say so. That's the best thing to do.

J.T.

08-05-2006, 10:53 PM

I will also say reading and going to class is extremely important. It sounds like a no brainer but you'll find out that your brain will come up with all kinds of rationalizations about skipping class. It's not so bad if you have friends in the class you can bum notes from, but I remember my very first semester as a freshman, I didn't know anyone in any of my classes and I skipped US Government like three times during one testing period because the prof filmed his lectures and put them on the student server. I figured I'd watch them before the test and I just blew it off. Ended up getting an F on the test, even though I read the book. So going to class counts.

As for reading, you're going to find out by the first test in each of your classes how important reading is. In some classes you live or die by the textbook. Others, it's about 50/50, and in others you can probably not even buy the book and make an A. In that Government class I talked about earlier, his lectures were never about book related material, but the info was still covered on the exams. In US History part 1 it was all lecture material, and the book was like $80 and I never used it once, got an A in the class. US History part 2, I never read the book and got a B...and that was with some extra credit too.

Most professors don't offer extra credit so if you get one that does, take advantage of it. Some professors, especially for freshman level courses, may drop your lowest test or something like that...but it doesn't happen a lot and usually in the lower courses. Don't expect to see it much as a sophomore.

Just some other advice, don't sleep in class because I honestly had a professor who walked up to someone who did fall asleep and tell them to leave and drop the class and not come back. Just because they were asleep. Try not to be late to class either, because you will look like an idiot, and everyone will look at you. Dunno about others but I feel really embarrassed when I oversleep and come in late. Don't leave early because the professors that do like to give pop quizzes usually give them at the end so the people who take off early get zeroes.

@ashbeeigh

funny you should bring up that Spurs or Mavs thing with room mates...I've seen like three or four different girls walking around on my floor wearing Mavs shirts. I'll have to invite them to my room for a game sometime...and convert them.