You know the deal.
Buckle up and get ready to rock and roll.
People....Academics....Tough Situations....Dorm Life and Crazies. We've pretty much covered it all.
So I suppose its about time to shift away from the specifics, and get down to some good 'ol hard fashioned Q&A, brought to The Grog by the illustrious members of our mainly High School reading audience.
So once again incoming froshies, please take note:
How much of my college experience will end up looking like American Pie: Beta House?
DUDE.
American Pie does a horrible job of describing college life. I'd say only about 2% of your college experience will come anywhere close to looking like American Pie. There will be sick pranks, crazy shinanagans, and fun, no worries. HOWEVER, 98% of your life will be filled with classes and responsibilities. If you don't work, get a nerd to do your homework, and party 24/7, not only will you be screwed over by academic integrity, but you'll also flunk out of school. American Pie embodies the craziest and wildest college experiences without all the negative after effects. So, all in all, you certainly can make college look like Beta House. That being said, you probably shouldn't. Notice no American Pie character ever worries about STDs, alcohol poisoning, statutory rape or pregnancy; all real-world risks to be taken into account with an "American Pie" lifestyle. So friendos, no, your college experience will not be the perfect world of Beta House. So do everyone a favor (especially your parents who are paying for you to be there) and play the 2% safe while maintaining your academics.
"I put the STD in STUD....and all I need is U." (Source)
This really depends on where you went to High School. Again, College is a petri-dish. You'll meet people from all sorts of backgrounds. The crazies, the silver-spoon brats, the socially awkward kids, the humble working class kids, the D-bags, the rich radical activists, the party-kids, etc. etc. etc. Transitioning from people you've grown up with and have known for several years to a whole new clean tablet of folks can be a bit difficult. You'll learn, often the hard way, who your real friends are or who to stay away from.
Academically, you will not use half of the things your High School taught you "in preparation" for college. Unless you're a math or comp-sci major, chances are you wont ever use algebra or trigonometry again. Math is bullshit if your major is anything within the liberal-arts spectrum. The hardest transition from High-School Academics to College is time-management. You will be in a constant battle against procrastination throughout your time at college.
Some Tips:
- If you say to yourself, "I'll remember that point..I don't need to write it down".....WRITE IT DOWN. You will always jinx yourself by saying that.
- Business before pleasure. Saying "I have plenty of time to get that thing done" sets you up for automatic failure. There is nothing fun about scrambling to get an essay done the night before it is due.
Unless you have a good attitude about it. (Source)
DO ALL OF THE READINGS. Seriously. Regardless of whether or not you actually use the information you read, if you're a serious student you'll feel like shit once the readings begin to snowball on you. Once you become lost in that sea of reading that you haven't done, be prepared to be screwed for the surprise test or essay that revolves around all of the readings.
Is it hard to balance homework and a social life as a freshman?
No. I'm going to give you some tips on how to accomplish this.
- Get a desk calendar.
- Take all of your class syllabi and write EVERYTHING out on the calendar.
- You now have projected dates for homework, tests and essays for ALL of your classes for the rest of the semester.
- Do not use the high school method and do your homework day by day. THIS DOES NOT WORK. You'll fall behind and be caught by surprise that "I have a mid-term tomorrow? WTF."
How do you end up making your closest friends?
This depends. You may meet people from Facebook that live in nearby towns and meet up with them one day over the summer, or you may meet folks from your orientation group you instantly click with. You'll bump into people in your hall, and meet friends of friends. You'll meet people in sports, clubs, you name it. Don't be a wall flower. There's no 3 or more step process on how to make friends at school. You'll make friends just like you did in high school....find the people that are like you.
Is it possible to maintain a normal sleep schedule?
No. Not unless you're some sort of freak of nature. Personally I get anywhere from 2-5 hours of sleep per day. It is impossible to have a normal sleep schedule in college while having a social life.
Start learning how to use power naps.
Is this even a question? What do you do for fun on the weekdays? Play Risk or Chess, read a book, watch a movie, prank people, heckle the drunks from upstairs in the security of your locked room. Be creative!
Heck, go buy a Ghille Suit and scare the crap out of people (Source)
Should I (hypothetically) party at a Frat?
Hypothetically, that's a tricky question. I'm going to ultimately say no. No one likes to admit that the college world isn't a perfect place. We're going to get real however. Rape happens, and it's much more likely to happen in a frat house. Not every fraternity out there is filled with complete D-Bags who lie about having the Herpes Simplex Virus Number 2 (the best one of course!), but there's a large number of them out there that are like that. Everywhere at college carries the risk..we won't lie to you. Take it from the folks who are at college, it does happen, and it can happen to you. Hypothetically, stick with your friends and out of the frats.
Lest you be into the whole Herpes thing.
Does it suck to not have your own bathroom?
Yes. Yes it does.
Community bathroom sharing blows. It absolutely, positively, sucks.
How hard is it to flush the toilet?
Apparently extremely hard.
How hard is it to not leave objects that rhyme with "rondom" in the shower?
Even harder.
Get used to being screwed over with community bathrooms ladies and gents. That's right...you too ladies. Bathrooms are by far the most disgusting part of college...especially after the weekends. We're pretty sure someone has a stock of frag grenades and throws at least 3 of them into the toilets, paper dispensers and sinks on Saturday night.
New from U.S. Ordanance: The S***-Frag (Source)
Well this is an interesting addition to the questions.
Hands down: Sandals and Socks.
Is everything I do in High School really that paramount to learning how to adapt to the workload in College?
As stated above. No.
If you go to a good High School, chances are you will know a lot more than your peers already, and have a pretty good leg-up on the competition. However, as I've said before, math is BS. Grade-School math is the only thing you honestly need to know if your job doesn't require complex math. That being said..you should still strive to do well in your high school classes.
This is the most important information you'll learn in your entire life!!!
Whats the one thing you wish you knew as a freshman?
I'm going to go with an unorthodox answer here. I certainly wish I was more mature before entering college, but I also realize I wouldn't have become the person I am now without learning my lessons the hard way. College is a love/hate relationship, that's the only advice I can give you on that topic.
Oh..to be an innocent little frosh.
So, until next time:
--FIN--
