1. no greeks, it really isnt worth it unless you need cheep drugs and cheet sheets for your exam. Frat guys are actually not as cool as high school kids think, they are often ether fat slobs or narcissists. My dad owns a large company and he says that himself and his associates actually generally turn down applications with frats listed because the actual community service aspect is so minimal. Frats have a better reputation than they should because they manage to keep their grades up with coke and speed cramming sessions and brothers old exams/ papers.

If you havnt been to college yet than get this– Its nothing like high school. remember those stupid social rules and feeling like you had to look good every day, social upkeep,
gossip and all that…. No one gives a s#%t in college.. you can be whatever you want and be friends with anyone- some of my best friends are stunning ladies, pimply geeks, jocks, fat nerds, quite art kids, social party animals, and everything in between… be friends with everyone and never judge on who they are, the only thing you will be known for is how nice you are

get good grades, and seriously if you really do study every day, even only for 2 hrs you will have absolutely no problem making all A s

Unless youre against it ( never do something you dont want) do some light drugs, get drunk and let loose and then stop. the biggest problem ive seen on my campus is some kids dont know that you shouldnt let loose, party or get f%&d up every day or even every weekend. I go out once every 2 weeks, i am much healthier and honestly i have more fun at the gym than huddled around a keg in the cold sucking on a poorly rolled blunt.

No snooze button ever
no 8 am classes ever
off campus living is always more expensive than what the landlord says you will have to pay
NO HIGH SCHOOL GF/BF I have seen it fail about 25-30 times and work once but they went to the same college.

2: Everything you believe about yourself will change. I was a agnostic heterosexual, meat eating international management major. I am now a lesbian vegan atheist geography major.

3: Answer questions often, but as quickly and concisely as possible. The professor will stand there and stare at the class until someone does, it may as well be you. Beware though, if your answer is too elaborate everyone else in the class will hate your guts.

4: Spell check is functionally useless when it comes to grammar. Double check your papers. Professors will let stupid answers and a complete lack of a point slide before they let a grammar mistake through.

5: First year sucks for everyone. Don’t let it get you down. And for your own sake, don’t fail any classes.

6: The food in the cafeteria is not, in all honesty, food. It’s actually an unsanitary mix of every cheap fattening agent on the planet. There will be no healthy options. Also, 250 ml of milk will cost two dollars. There is nothing you can do about it.

7: Don’t talk in class. Also don’t ask questions. The question is definitely stupid as all hell. Don’t make yourself a laughing stock. Ask questions after class.

2. Find like-minded people. Even if you were the oddball in high school, chances are you’ll find someone even weirder than you when you go to university. And unlike high school, you can choose your friends from a set of thousands, instead of being limited to a few hundred.

3. Find your own niche to fit in. You don’t have to join everything if you don’t want. You don’t have to join anything, if you please. But make sure you’re comfortable with what you’re doing. You don’t want to reach your 30’s and then wish you had done more with your life when in university.

4. Study and keep up with your classes. You know all that money you shelled out? Yeah, you don’t want to pay more because you have to take Physics I again after discovering your professor doesn’t give part marks. Believe me, your first failed midterm will hit you hard. Don’t go there.

5. Your high school friends are important, but realize that if you lose contact with them, it’s not the end of the world. Chances are, you’ll still be able to hang out with them whenever you visit. But your life is here now. Embrace it.

6. If you don’t want to drink/smoke/do drugs/have sex, you don’t have to. Most people won’t judge you for it, as long as you don’t wear it on your sleeve, and those that do aren’t worth your time. But if you make such a commitment, don’t slack. You will face much greater peer pressure to get drunk as an occasional drinker as opposed to a non-drinker.

7. Get to know upper-years, especially within your own program. They will be invaluable when you find yourself in need of answers about both your classes and your life, and you might be able to score some sweet deals out of it (they may sell you their old textbooks at 25% the going rate).

8. Be frugal. Don’t run into a situation where you have too much month left at the end of the money. Food/rent/tuition come first, then treat yourself. And remember: money you don’t spend is money you won’t have to pay the bank back later.

9. Learn to cook. Seriously, take-out gets really disgusting after a while, and those living with you probably won’t appreciate the mountains of garbage it produces. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort (or money) to eat delicious, filling, nutritious meals that you’ve prepared yourself, and you’ll probably feel better about yourself because of it.

10. You may have come from high school with a 99% average, but you WILL meet someone smarter than you. Don’t ever think you know everything. This especially applies when dealing with professors/TAs, even if speaking in coherent English isn’t their strong suit.

12. Have fun. It’s your life now, so live it the way you want.

2) Don’t waste your time. Yes, it’s the most amazing 4 years of your life, but don’t throw it away on partying every day and not getting out and doing something actually worth talking about 20 years from now.

3) Remember you’re an adult now and Mom and Dad, while still important, do not make your decisions for you now.

4) Go Greek. It’s the easiest, funnest and most memorable way to meet people. And do it for the right reasons, i.e. meeting interesting people, making life long connections and broadening your social network. These are things you will greatly appreciate in the future. And if you do go Greek, don’t be the idiot who ruins it for everyone by routinely casting your house in a bad light by making a fool of yourself. Leave that for live-out parties without wearing your letters. And if you don’t go Greek, at least have some friends in the system. We have your best interest in mind when we tell which houses NOT to party at.

5) Don’t be afraid to change your major! Yes, it will add time to your stay there, but it will most likely be worth it in the long run. Especially if you’d like to be happy.

6) Live in the dorms for at least one term, you will make some good friends as long as you’re sociable.

7) Take advantage of office hours! Even if they are at ridiculous hours.

Have fun for fuck sake! Don’t let a perfect 4.0 GPA ruin a perfect 4 years of life that can’t be replaced!

9) Some of your most important lessons will NOT be learnt in class.

1) Most people who say “no one works in the field of their majors anyway” are the type who think college is about finding yourself and making new friends. You CAN work in the field of your major–you just have to actually prepare for it. Intro to Chatting Up the Girl Across the Hall is not proper preparation. Neither is Advanced Beer-Bong Lab. Doing research with professors, getting internships and co-ops, taking on relevant academic and extra-curricular projects–THAT will land you a job in your field of interest. Your peers will be too busy cleaning the soap out of their ears from their last Naked Bubble Party to even realize what opportunities just passed them by.
2) If you have time to goof off between Monday and Friday afternoon, you aren’t working hard enough.
3) Make sure every professor, every semester, knows your name and your areas of interest by the end of the first week.
4) Apply for relevant work experience. Avoid bullshit campus jobs–no one cares if you were the campus art museum curator. Employers want to see that you can be MORE than a student.
5) Find yourself a career mentor–preferably a professor or adviser in your field of interest. Someone who knows you well enough to invite you to professional conferences. Someone who feels strongly enough about your abilities to introduce you to colleagues and recommend you for employment. If you don’t develop a relationship like this within two-three years of college, you aren’t working hard enough.
6) Don’t become a Resident Adviser/Floor Monitor. You won’t be able to get out of the responsibility for an entire semester if you manage to land a real job.
7) Don’t let the laziness and incompetence of your peers influence you. Calculus I isn’t ssoooo hhaaarrrdd, your friends just suck.
Develop a meaningful and reliable relationship with one member of the opposite sex at a time, or none at all. Bank on the fact that chasing ass will be a hell of a lot easier and less time consuming once you’re a success. If you have time to chase ass now, you aren’t working hard enough.
9) Women looking for their Mrs. degrees on daddy’s hard earned dollar–get it fast and get the hell out of everyone else’s’ way. The rest of us have success to achieve and money to earn.
10) Try to avoid student loan debt if you can. Graduation is generally considered the cut off point for all financial pity from family, and you want to be sure you have enough to live on while you job hunt.

Reality–it’s harsh.