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For anyone else who might find this useful, I did a Google search a few days ago and read the first five results. They seemed pretty good.

Macskeeball wrote:

This semester, I'm leaving home for the first time and going into a dorm at a university I am transferring as a sophomore to. Something that would be useful for both myself and probably others here would be advice for adjusting to on-campus life. Do you have any?

I imagine that tips on getting along with roommates would probably be a particularly good example.

For living with roommates, I was lucky to have a couple that shared my "live and let live" attitude. It's a good one to have. Everyone has behaviors that will irritate someone else, so if you tolerate theirs and they tolerate yours, life will be happier.

As far as living on campus, my advice is to always keep your head on a swivel. There's always something interesting going on, keep a look out for things you would like to do and other people who share those interests.

I found that getting an on-campus job was one of the best things I did as an undergraduate. It wasn't even in my career field. I worked for the newspaper and rose up to Managing Editor - now I'm in veterinary school. It just sounded like something fun to do and it was on campus so I could ride my bike home at 2 a.m. after deadline was up. I met some of the coolest people and went on some of the best (all expense paid) trips that way.

Edit: If you are worried a job might take up too much of your time - I worked for the paper 45 hours a week and still took 14 hours (3 graduate class hours included) and it was the only semester I made a 4.0.

Last edited by keprydak (2008-01-15 5:41 pm)

icebook1 wrote:

Walk places. You'll get in shape.

Do your laundry.

Wash your sheets every few weeks. My roommate doesn't and our room consequently smells funky.

Realize that you don't always have to go out and get crunk to have a good time on the weekends.

If you're gonna get crunk on the weekends (or high for that matter), don't do it in the damn dorm room. Guys down the hall got busted for playing beer pong in their room.

Don't listen to your over-the-ear headphones so loud that your roommate can hear them when they're on. Your hearing will go so fast. Talk to my roommate

Lock your door whenever you leave.

Be considerate of the quiet hours and realize that the walls are paper-thin, so if you're in the hallway and talking at a normal volume, everyone else on the hall may be able to hear you.

Don't sleep all night (as you should) and then proceed to sleep all smurfing day. Your roommate will come back and feel like they can't sit down with the lights on and do any work.

That's what I can think of for now. These are based on my experiences, with my deadbeat roommate. He's not *horrible* but I think his mom did everything for him at home, because he has NO clue how to live on his own.

sounds like you could have some fun with him.

Don't drink the beer from the blue cups. They're laced.

Work out. You'll want to do it for several reasons:

1. It keeps you in shape and healthy.
2. It's a good stress reducer.
3. It's a good way to meet people.
4. You can easily avoid the so-called "freshman fifteen". I did.
5. It's rewarding in the long run.
6. It actually can help study skills. Motivation to achieve something in the gym may easily carry over into history/writing/psych/calculus/bio/whatever you are taking.

Working out doesn't have to be limited to running or lifting weights (both of which I highly recommend). Try a stationary bike, swimming, intramural sports, or karate. (There are probably at least one or two people who would be willing to teach you the basics of gym machines, karate, etc if you need help).

I recommend getting into workouts before going away to school. This way you can develop your patterns and daily activities while you have nothing else to focus on save for graduation parties and summer jobs. Check your local community centers or YMCAs, they may have discounted memberships for college students and will usually have trainers on site.

Most college gyms are either free or very low cost. I recommend finding a workout buddy or two so you have folks to keep you on your toes. Of course, if you prefer to be on your own and prefer to discipline yourself, college gyms are very good for that if you go during non-peak hours. I've found mornings to be very low-traffic in the gym.

Don't forget good workout music. I like mid-80s Depeche Mode and The Police for the gym, personally. Treat yourself to a $25 iTunes shopping spree to pick out some winners for your workouts and take the iPod with you.

I've got another tip...this one might sound odd...

Get yourself a vintage Macintosh. One that is capable of running System 6. Find an old LaserWriter and ClarisWorks. Now you have a machine you can do your term papers and study guides on that doesn't have any distractions. No AIM, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, e-mail, iTunes store, eBay, forums, or fantasy sports. With a LaserWriter you have a fast printer that you can easily find supplies for around the web and it will produce good output as well.

They also make great conversation pieces...and I just remembered hearing that Penn State has a Mac user group where they sometimes give out old Macs. Someone told me about it at a David Pogue presentation I saw a while back.

Last edited by Scott Baret (2008-07-27 2:53 am)

Scott Baret wrote:

I've got another tip...this one might sound odd...

Get yourself a vintage Macintosh. One that is capable of running System 6. Find an old LaserWriter and ClarisWorks. Now you have a machine you can do your term papers and study guides on that doesn't have any distractions. No AIM, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, e-mail, iTunes store, eBay, forums, or fantasy sports. With a LaserWriter you have a fast printer that you can easily find supplies for around the web and it will produce good output as well.

They also make great conversation pieces. When I lived on campus for a semester, I got a lot of comments about a Macintosh Classic I had up there.

How long ago was that? There are a lot of classes these days that require you to use the internet, or at least the campus network.

I lived on campus all 4 years of my undergrad, 2 and half of it was as a Resident Adviser/Community Assistant. I'm in grad school now and still live on campus (though in an apartment, not a dorm). Here are some things I'll say about campus life:

1. Go to the programs they set up on campus. It doesn't matter if they sound stupid. Get your friends and go. Usually, there's free food.
2. Leave your door open, unless you absolutely need/want the privacy. People will stop in if they hear you listening to interesting music, see you playing a game they like, etc. It's a great way to meet people.
3. Study. I am not a studier, but I hear it helps. As crazy as it sounds, college is primarily for education. It's easy to forget that.
4. Know your rights. If you go to a public university (at least in PA), and you violate some policy, they have to give you due process. You do not have to let the police search your room just because they ask. You do not have to take a PBT/breathalyzer just because they ask you to (though they will still cite you if you are clearly underage and drunk). I currently work in the discipline office as a grad assistant and meet with young students on a regular basis. Most of them do not know these simple rights.

That's all I got for now. Good luck!

-thejordan

If you don't know them already, learn a few basics about cooking. This won't really affect you your first year since you'll be in a dorm, but it will be god send down the road.

Learning how to cook a few simple, flavourful, low cost dishes will make your food bill much lower and will keep you healthy and energized. Frozen and pre-cooked meals are generally smurf for you and should be reserved for the pre-exam study period. 

On a similar note, try to commit to bringing lunches, especially if your school is located in the core of a major city. This will save you a ton of money and with all that money saved you can afford other social activities or treating yourself or your significant other to a nice dinner date.

Definitely stay away from that Starbucks crap. It's vile, eats away at your stomach and overpriced. If you absolutely must have coffee on a regular basis support your student union run store.

Those are all great tips.  I just graduated this past Spring and I have to say that I miss the environment and the experience.  Hmm, experience.  I kind of stayed in more than I should have and thus didn't experience as much as I wanted to, in hindsight.  That's not to say that you should go out and put your health in danger every night just for the heck of it, but involvement and activity is key.

Introduce yourself to strangers.  It might feel weird at first, but remember that everyone's in the same boat as you, and they'd probably enjoy meeting someone new who might share the same interests as you.  Get to know the people on your dorm floor and do stuff with them.

Since you're a transfer, you may already have developed some good study habits, but here's a simple tip that I actually didn't learn until my third year: go to class.  In high school they kind of held my hand so I was forced to go to class, and I tried hard and got great grades.  But at the university level, to be frank, they don't care if you go to class, so the responsibility is on you alone to have the motivation to get your stuff done.  Admittedly, this is more the case at a larger university with larger classes, so your mileage may vary.

Finally, be sure to enjoy yourself.  The best way is to have a good balance between academic and social activity.  Don't lean too far in either direction, because that could make you unhappy.  I envy you.

Last edited by OmniGeno (2008-08-16 5:57 pm)