I know it’s been a bit since you were in school, but as someone who is about to go to university, do you have any tips?
It is such a huge privilege when someone your age asks an Old like me for advice. When I was young, I thought dudes in their 50s were lame and had nothing to offer. Now that I'm one of those dudes, I understand what a gift it is when you ask me to share my experience. I hope this helps you a little bit.
Make time to meet your professors during their office hours.
You don't have to go have a deep conversation, just introduce yourself, tell them which class you are in, and thank them for their time.
You're doing this because there will be a time in your future when you need an extra day for something, or a little extra help or attention, or something like that. When you go to talk to your professor about that, it won't be the first time you've met them, and that will make a difference.
That's on an academic level. On a personal level, you're going to spend a LOT of the next few years figuring out who you are, what your values are, and how you want to live your life. Most of us try to be someone profoundly different from who we are, in our first year or two, because we're on our own and trying out what it feels like to be an adult. The thing I want you to just remember while you do that is: you know who your are in your heart, and if you try to not be that person, you will draw people to you who don't like *you* as much as they like who you are pretending to be.
It's a long way of saying "be true to yourself. Know what your values are and live them consistently, so you find other people who share them."
Finally, the advice I give everyone who asks me questions like yours:
Choose to be kind.
Choose to be honest.
Choose to be honorable.
Choose to do your best and understand that your best will vary from day to day. Don't judge yourself when your best on Monday is not the same as it was last Thursday. Just do your best, consistently.
You're at the beginning of a really great time in your life. I hope you get everything you want out of it, enjoy learning, and make life long friends.
Get everything a uni employee tells you in writing.
Your counselor may just hate you off the bat for no discernable reason. Request a different one ASAP if that is the case. At many unis trying to ignore them can f up you graduating.
Go to the club meeting that catches your eye. Even if it is just once, even if you don't know if you are interested, at least stop by and see what people passionate about whatever the club do/like/swear by.
The ora ida french fry machine is amazing at 3AM, but often sold out because it is amazing.
If there is an architecture building on campus avoid it when final projects are due unless you don't mind depressing cries for help scribbled on lined paper taped on the windows or randomly being water ballooned. Oftentimes both are happening.
Don't do the keg stands. There are better, easier ways to get boozed up.
Always expect sharpies. Always. ALWAYS. I don't care if you trust the people you fall asleep around, expect sharpies.
If I may add on:
Your cousellor/advisor may not be kind of useless, even if they don't hate you. You need to go through your requirements for your program and map out a rough template for all four years of what you'll take which year/semester. This will give you a starting point when its time to meet with them and pick next semester's classes.
Also, do not wait until your last two years to take the classes for your major, spread them out. My preference (for when I went as an adult, and when helping both my kids) is to divide classes up into "easy for me" and "hard for me." Take two easy and two hard classes a semester, do not load up on either, because you will regret it later.
Work ahead whenever possible. At some point you will have a massive project due, or a major exam for a class that's not one of your strong subjects and you will be so much happier knowing that you're ahead in the other classes and can focus on this one for a bit.
Don't fall for the trap of "I know this already, I don't need to pay attention" feeling that may happen the first week or two. Remember, everyone is coming from a different educational background and just because your school was good and/or taught this shit, doesn't mean other schools did. Once the prof has an understanding of where you all are really, the real teaching begins and if you're feeling cocky about what you know, you'll fall behind real quick.
Try things you'd never thought you'd like, you never know who you'll meet or if you'll like it.
Go to at least one sportsball game and let yourself get caught up in the crowd's enthusiasm.
Take advantage of on-campus programs. For example, my daughter's college has an auto program, and they'll work on student cars for free labor, you just pay the cost of parts.
Do your best, but recognize your best can and will vary by day. If you have to take a test with a migraine, you do the best you can on that test while having a migraine. Will it best the absolute best you could do if everything were perfect? No, of course not, but it was the best you could do with a migraine. Don't obsess over it.
Above all, don't forget to live and experience things.
Find your university library! Explore what they have to offer! Reference librarians will help you do research, and/or teach you how to do research if you've never done it before. They will help you use whatever databases the library has subscribed to. PLEASE DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF TO GOOGLE WHEN DOING RESEARCH. My library's database offerings are extensive and overwhelming. You would not believe what we can find for you if you just ask.
We also have pro-level audio and video equipment that students can borrow. You can borrow a TI-98 for your calculus test. You can rent a laptop from IT if yours dies just before finals. We rent out charging cables and board games. Please come to the library!
