5 Things I Wish I was told as a Freshman in College

By Katy Stites on August 27, 2013

5 things I Wish I was Told as a Freshman in College

1. Join a club

There are clubs for so many things at the University of Iowa; from jogging to sailing to American Sign Language, and anyone can join. You can be learning, socializing, or even exercising in a fun way outside of the classroom.

As a member of a club you’ll meet new people AND constantly get to see them, which creates a solid foundation for great friendships. It can be hard to make real friends, especially at a big school, during the first few weeks of class. Of course you have the ‘friends’ in your classes and on your floor, but chances are you’ll end up with a smaller tight-knit crew and the odds of them being from your club of choice are very high.

2. Don’t use that ID lanyard the school gives you

While it may have been more convenient to put my ID around my neck instead of taking a purse or stuffing it in my pocket, it was a total freshman giveaway.

I ended up putting my social security card in it and my room key on it for some crazy reason and stuffed the thing in my back pocket for it to fall out in someone’s yard and not turn up for months. That cost me over 100 bucks to get my lock changed, and someone could’ve easily used my social security card in a dishonest way when they found it.

3. You don’t actually need to attend every lecture for every class

Plenty of freshman end up skipping a lot of classes and end up with regrettable grades. But on the other end of the spectrum are those few people who never skip. It’s probably not the best habit to get into, but you do have a few free skips for most classes. With a full schedule, using a freebie can definitely be worth it in a crunch to finish cramming or editing an important paper. Make sure you know how many freebies you have, and get the notes from a friend (or check Clusterflunk to see if they’ve been posted by a classmate).

4. If your friends are leaving a bar/party, you should too.

Especially if you’ve had a little too much fun. And even if you’re not, you never know if someone could try to take advantage of you. (Ever hear of the date-rape drug?)

No matter how much fun you’re having, listen to your friends if they are trying to convince you to leave (unless they are going somewhere even sketchier).

Also, if you must leave somewhere without your friends, you should let them know exactly what route you are taking and call/text when you get back safely.

5. Don’t buy all your textbooks before class!

Textbooks can be really expensive. While they may say required on your teachers website, don’t get the book without checking with your teacher on whether you actually need it!

But if you do need it, always check out your options. You can:

-Rent from bookstores

-Rent online: Try Neebo or Chegg

-Buy used from other students (usually posted on school groups on Facebook OR try PostYourBook.com, which also sorts them by school)

-Check Amazon or Ebay: Amazon student makes Prime half off, which offers free shipping on many items

Be careful though, if you wait too long and have to wait for shipping, could get behind in some classes!

 

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