| Your mileage may vary: - College is one of the best opportunities to meet people and make friends, especially since the freshman are all in the same boat and (in lots of cases) won't know anyone else going in. - During the first few weeks of classes, I recommend setting up 15-minute 1-on-1's with your professors so that they can put a name to your face and you can get to know more about them. - Although doing very little to no studying and getting good grades in high school was possible, it's a lot harder to make it work in college. The coursework is more challenging and the topics go into a lot more depth, so winging it will be a challenge and frankly, isn't worth it. - I highly recommend signing up for classes in the morning (but depending on who you are, not too early). I signed up for a lot of morning classes, which meant that I was done with the day before lunch and could devote the afternoons to studying and getting work done. - Looking back, I thought that high school woefully under-prepared me for essay writing in college. The five paragraph structure that's commonly taught in HS is a good starting point, but there's a lot more involved at the university level that isn't covered, unfortunately. - If you're going to have a roommate (which you probably will), and you're not used to living in the same space as another person, please be mindful of boundaries, i.e. cleaning up after yourself, noise levels, not letting your messes ease onto their side of the room, etc. With that being said, this is a two-way street and they need to do the same. - As a senior I took a class with a bunch of freshman, and a lot of them asked if they could use the restroom withing the first week. You do not need permission to go. You're an adult. I told one girl she didn't have to ask, and she said "Are you sure? But...". I'm sure! - On a related note, the professors will treat you like an adult. This also means that unless there are specific circumstances they will not chase you if you're missing an assignment. They'll just mark it as a 0. - Back when I used it, https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ was a fantastic resource, but be sure to look at a bunch of reviews and not let a few bad ones let you dismiss someone. |
Even if you find yourself in a course where good grades are easy, you'll still get more out of the course by putting forth effort. Professors have lots of their own reasons for not making grading very stringent, but you needn't let it stop you from caring about a subject.