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Originally Posted by Dionysus
5. Don't sleep with married men.
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...OR PROFESSORS! No matter what the perks are, that's just a bad idea. Sure, it's okay to flirt, especially if they're towards your age or especially charming. But for the love of bob, don't pursue a relationship if he's in your major or minor! Good grief, you don't want your dirty laundry running around your major profs' minds when they're handing out grades, do you?!
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Originally Posted by Dionysus
16. Explore the underground tunnels, but tell someone you're going.
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Better yet, bring someone who knows the tunnels (or spires, if you're at a college who loooooves to put towers on every building). Our tunnels have an alarm system in them, so it's best to bring someone who knows where those alarms are, how to spot them, and how to avoid them. Do explore things like tunnels and towers, though, if for nothing else than the graffiti is a fun read.
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Originally Posted by Dionysus
17. KNow the history of the dorms you're moving into. We have one that used to be a mental institution
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Good grief, where is that?
Other assorted advice:
*It's okay not to drink. Most college students (aside from a few "whooo! no parents!" freshmen) will respect that if you don't because of religious reasons, because you know how you get when you're smashed, or if you'd just rather not risk it. It's better not to be trashed at parties because there are so so many things that can go wrong there! If you're the type of drunk who's prone to dancing on tables and hooking up, wait to explore the wide world of alcohol with a small group of trusted friends and not at parties. Your sorority's standards board will appreciate that.
*Pay attention to your health! Eat right, take breaks away from the books from time to time, and get some sleep. Developing problems like anemia or migraine headaches due to that academic perfectionism isn't worth it, and will ruin your grades. Taking the time to eat, sleep, or work out won't ruin your GPA if you manage your time well.
*Save your doctor's notes! They come in useful for challenging grade decisions or missed work.
*Be friendly! Don't be afraid to say hi to people in your classes or your other activities. Keeping to yourself all the time is no fun.
*Find student or school-related websites. Talk to existing students. Get to "know" other students or alums before coming to school and you'll be less nervous about the transition. My honors program had a message board set up for us that let us find out a little bit about each other before we even showed up. We kept meeting each other in person and going, "oh! you're so-and-so from the BIC boards who likes blahblahblah."
Ask older students and alumni questions, too! We don't bite, and we've been in your shoes before and know a thing or two about many of the questions you ask.
*Go to your school's Orientation and Welcome Week programs. You get to know a lot of useful information through those.
*Go to athletic events! Tailgates are wonderful and games are usually a welcome break from stressing the heck out of yourself. Go with friends, and be loud!
*HUGE AMEN to not going home every weekend. Eventually your mom has to undo the umbilical cord, and at college, you need to start learning how to be independent. Unless there's a good reason for going home at every opportunity like a family member with a terminal illness, going home that often is just lame. You miss out on important things to do with friends if you're not there for the weekends.
*Don't over-pack--the move-in crews will thank you, and so will your roommate!
*If you have roommate issues, apply to switch. Sometimes there are singles reserved for people with certain health issues that aren't used every year, and you can go into one of those if you're lucky. Just remember that it's better to get out of a bad roommate situation than stay there.
*Community appliances SUCK. Out of the two microwaves in my dorm, both got broken on a regular basis and were unusable for about a week afterwards. If you can bring your own (or if your roomie can bring one to share), bring it. Same goes with things like TVs, computers, coffee pots--it's just better to know that you can have access to them when you need them. Another option would be getting a computer with a built-in cable TV hookup--it saves a lot of space and you won't have to worry about your required watching of political debates/____ documentary/whatever strange assignment your get that might involve TV conflicting with the masses' Desperate Housewives hour.