STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE ’12: Advice for freshmen

Go to your professors’ office hours. They may seem
scary at first, but most of your professors actually do want to talk to you.
Make relationships with them now so you can go to them later for letters of
recommendation, a fellowship, or an independent study.

Rent your textbooks. No matter what you’re studying,
textbook costs can really add up. Go online to websites that let you rent
textbooks for a lower price. You can also usually find somebody online who has
taken the same class and kept their books.

Join a club. Even being treasurer for a video-game
club looks good on a resume, and clubs are a good way to make friends. Start as
a freshman and you’ll have plenty of time to work your way up the ranks by
senior year.

You are not the only one who would rather stay in and
play video games or board games on a Saturday night. There are lots of students
like that around, they just may be harder to find than the party animals.

The person you are assigned to live with freshman year
does not have to be your best friend for the next four years. Sometimes you are
placed with someone you just don’t relate to. It’s not their fault, it’s not
your fault, and don’t think it’s wrong to try and meet different people.

Get your money’s worth. You know all of those random
administration offices around campus? You’re paying for them. So go to your
school’s academic counselor, go to health services, and go to your RA.

Do not procrastinate. So your only assignment for a
class is a 20-page paper due the day before Christmas break? Start it now. No,
seriously.

Make to-do lists. Studies show crossing an item off of
a list releases endorphins and lowers stress.

Don’t be afraid to take different kinds of classes. You never know what you’ll find interesting, and it’s a good way to find a
minor.

Bring an umbrella everywhere. This is Rochester,
people. The weather changes every 10 minutes.

Please, please back up your computer files. People
have lost entire honors theses pulling out a flash drive without ejecting it first.
You should have an important document saved in three different places. Online
storage systems like Dropbox and Google Docs are
free.

Always wear flip-flops in the bathroom and shower room. Because
people are gross, and you don’t want to end up like them.

This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2012.