10 Tips Every Freshman needs to Know for Back to School Season

As you get ready to begin your first year of college, there are probably dozens of things you have done to prepare yourself. You’ve most likely shopped for dorm room furnishings, purchased a new laptop for studying and entertainment, taken a tour of the classroom, introduced yourself to your new dorm mate, and more. Hopefully, you are as prepared as you can be. However, if you aren’t feeling as confident about the start of the school year as you should be, don’t worry. We have compiled a list of ten tips for new college freshmen that you won’t hear in any orientation.

1. Create an Open and Honest Relationship with Your Roommate

Here is the deal. Unless something extreme happens, you and your roommate will be together for one semester at a minimum before your RA will even entertain the thought of making a move. Try getting together and setting up a few ground rules around issues such as visitors, cleaning, and food. Then, agree to approach each other honestly when there are issues and avoid being passive-aggressive.

2. Grades Aren’t Everything

Here’s a shocking revelation. Many of your future employers will care less about your GPA. They’ll care that you graduated. They’ll care about research projects, whether you’ve been published, internships, work experience, and relevant activities. So, study hard, but take the time to be a well-rounded student.

3. Party Wisely

Let’s be realistic. You will go to parties. Just be safe and use some common sense. Go to parties with friends and leave with friends. Make sure there is one person in the group that will not be drinking. Don’t binge-drink or accept drinks from anybody you do not trust explicitly. Leave enough time in your schedule for sleep and studying.

4. Scope out Places Near Campus that Serve food all Night

Every college student needs a go-to diner, café, or greasy spoon to hit late at night when they have the munchies. These are great places to go for a burger, a cup of coffee, or just a quiet late night study spot.

5. Say Hi to Your Professors

If you have questions, a comment on a lecture, or a concern about an upcoming assignment stop by your instructor’s office. They will be more than happy to hear from you. If you have nothing to say, just pop your head in the door to say hello.

6. It’s okay to Befriend Upper Classmen

This isn’t high school where upper classmen would never lower themselves to hang with a ‘frosh’. Friendships in college tend to be founded around common interests, not grade level or age.

7. There are more ways to get Help than you are told

You have many options for getting help with school work on campus. This is great, but sometimes that help isn’t what you need. If you need real help with writing assignments, look into a service like essaysupply.com where you can buy essay online that are custom written and quality-guaranteed.

8. Print Everything the Night Before

The biggest mistake you can make is to finish your homework and then plan to print it out before class. It is almost guaranteed that you will run into problems. Leave yourself plenty of time to get things printed out. Also, don’t forget to upload your writing assignments to turnitin.com or your instructor’s web portal.

9. Find a Place to Study Outside of your Room

Your dorm room has your roommate, visitors, and a ton of electronics. Then, there’s also the temptation to sleep or clean. Find a nice quite spot on or off campus to do your studying.

10. Keep Healthy Snacks on Hand

You won’t always have time to get a proper meal. Carry healthy snacks to munch on during the day, and you won’t be tempted to pig out at night.