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Hey, RJers. I hope you all are doing well.

I'm fairly new to this community, but from the short experience I've had with RJ so far, you all seems like an incredibly supportive, insightful, and opinionated (hah) network of guys.

I'm leaving for the Ivy League in about a week, and during the past few days, friends and family members have been giving me great advice about the academic, extracurricular, and social aspects of college life. They've shared their ups, downs, do's, and dont's with me. Since RJ is an awesome resource, I want to take advantage of it and learn from your own experiences. Do you have any advice to share? In hindsight, what do you wish you had known or learned before starting college? Thanks ahead of time. You guys are the best.

Ivy's are incredibly liberal.

Just be yourself, have a great time.... god I'll sound old for saying this, and only being 29.

4 years goes by fast. Live it up.

I wish I'd been out from day one. Would have made my life easier.

Stay away from Campus Crusade for Christ.

Don't take cocaine, exstasy, heroin, or other drugs like that.

Go to the gym, exercise. You'll be drinking. ALOT. And you won't want to get fat.

Do your school work before you have fun. Get a good GPA freshman year so you won't have to try to bring it up later. It's much easier to have a good gpa if you get a great one freshman year.

Study what you like, and get a minor in something that you can use for a great career if your major is in something like philosophy. Get a minor in like microbiology or something that will have an expanding field where you can find good employment.

Don't date closet cases.

Make friends from all different kinds of backgrounds. You'll be glad you did.

Be nice to your professors.

Take an internship before your senior year.

Study broad for a semester or year.

gotta agree with "TheLStrat" on one of his points.

you must do a study abroad for one term or year. It is a cultural learning experience you will cherish and hopefully build any perspective you have on people and other cultures.

i found college should be (whether it is or isn't is debatable) is the time in your life when you're given the chance to fail and make your mistakes before they take hold of your life. try anything that's appeal. study anything that's interesting. pursue what you have never envisioned yourself doing. this is your time to experiment with your life, your first time out on your own. college is an important time where you learn how to transition into being an adult... but it's a transition. just enjoy your time and don't be bound by grades and the sort; you should always do well and try, but not at the cost of sacrificing what you learn outside of the classroom.

If you're going to an Ivy, you were probably an overinvolved overachiever in high school. Avoid the temptation to join everything at once. I joined nothing my first semester, and added 1 activity a semester until I was at a comfortable limit. I didn't burn out; a number of my friends who jumped into everything at once did.

Try to schedule your classes in blocks. You'll be more productive with a 3 hour block of classes than with hour breaks in between. If you do have breaks, bring some work with you.

You'll be spending a lot less time in class than you did in high school. You'll need to spend way more time outside of class to compensate. The typical rule of thumb is at least an hour outside of class for every hour in side class, and you're probably better off averaging 2. You'll also probably end up with some classes that require far more than that.

Try to keep your procrastination in check. Reading 30 pages of the Iliad a night is doable. Reading 200 pages of it in a night because you didn't read it at all in the past week is much, much harder.

Expect ego bruising. Remember: all of your classmates were good enough to get into the same school you did. Many students have a very hard time transitioning from being the best to being average. When you don't understand something, ask a question.

Enjoy the social aspects of college. I know many more people who 5-10 years later wished they obsessed less about their grades than who wish they obsessed more.

"Don't take cocaine, exstasy, heroin, or other drugs like that"?

Do take coke and e but def not heroin!! and try not do too much hash u dont want to become a stoner, and drink loads!

hector2009 saidgotta agree with "TheLStrat" on one of his points.

you must do a study abroad for one term or year. It is a cultural learning experience you will cherish and hopefully build any perspective you have on people and other cultures.

As the director of a study abroad program for college students, I concur.

Beyond that, it's simple:

-- Take care of your body as well as your mind; your mind can't help you if you are not taking care of where it lives.

-- Be careful with your money.

-- Be prepared for the fact hat a lot of the learning you will be doing will be on your own, and that the bulk of your class time will be dedicated to talking about what you learned from your reading as opposed to being taught what you should have gotten out of it.

-- Get active with the campus community somehow, be it a special interest group, a club, a sports team, etc. Remember that they picked you to go to their institution because you probably could offer something to them as well!

-- Get ready to have your perspective challenged... A LOT. Keep your mind open in those instances.

-- Have fun!

musclejock18 said"Don't take cocaine, exstasy, heroin, or other drugs like that"?

Do take coke and e but def not heroin!! and try not do too much hash u dont want to become a stoner, and drink loads!

This guy is such a font of knowledge.

*cough*FAKE*cough*


Anyway, I'm eager to learn what the rj'ers have to say on this topic as well, seeing as I'll be heading out to san diego state in a week and a half

fraternities are fun..even if you don't want to join rush is a good way to meet people

Become involed with stuff around campus. Not too much but get to know people.

Take part in going to the gym everyday. If your eating the food there on campus most likely its not that great for you so be careful to watch what you eat.

Make sure your classes are in blocks and make sure you study study study.

Oh and make sure you wear flip flops in the showers.

musclejock18 said"Don't take cocaine, exstasy, heroin, or other drugs like that"?

Do take coke and e but def not heroin!! and try not do too much hash u dont want to become a stoner, and drink loads!

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Hey there, welcome to RJ and I hope you have a fantastic experience at college.

Clearly, you wouldn't be going to the school you are if they didn't have a great deal of
confidence in your potential. My view would be for you to strive for a healthy balance.. that is, to focus on your scholarly responsibility, to enjoy your experience socially and to remain grounded on where you are heading.

Have a great time there.... I always remember the beginnings of my college experience!

GO FU!!!




AND THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS... GO KU!!!

As a college instructor, I would advise you to try your very best to enjoy the experience (even at a hardcore Ivy) and for the love of god STUDY!!!!

[quote][cite]
Anyway, I'm eager to learn what the rj'ers have to say on this topic as well, seeing as I'll be heading out to san diego state in a week and a half [/quote]

LMAO!!! San Diego State? I believe it was Adam Corolla (formerly of "Loveline" and "The Man Show") who said, " San Diego State is a community college with bigger ash trays".

Good luck buddy!!!

gibby320 saidIvy's are incredibly liberal.

Just be yourself, have a great time.... god I'll sound old for saying this, and only being 29.

4 years goes by fast. Live it up.

you know what they say. 29 is the new 39.


lol. just kiddding

my advice...sleep around

forgot to say.
sleep around but use protection

as an Ivy alumnus myself, my advice: HAVE AS MUCH SEX AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pick a major you are passionate about. Anything else will lead you to a life of dead end jobs. So, if you are crazy about art or nutrition or astronomy, etc. - go for it - don't pick a degree that you will get you a safe, boring job - find your passion, explore classes - if you love reading about a good subject and learning everything there is to know about it - that is a good indicator it might be right for you.

Hey
And if things are as bleak in the work force, stay in school get any advance degree while the mode of learning is fresh.
I wish I had and now I'm so tied into my job and insurance I couldn't just pick up and go back.
Good Luck!

*Mom Voice*

Don't come home with some nasty shit you didnt leave with.

Don't EVER do anything you would not want to have to explain to the paramedics, doctors, nurses or ER staff.

awesome advice guys~! would like to add to the list: lots of eyecandy, so beware of getting a sweet tooth ;)..hehe

Make college a serious change from what you were doing in high school.

Immerse yourself in independence.

Get away from campus and learn the city you live in (not just the student bars).

Avoid classes that don't interest you (there's almost always some way to satisfy curriculum requirements with something at least semi-interesting), but don't just stick with what you know.

Try new things. Scare yourself daily a la Eleanor Roosevelt. When a new opportunity for adventure presents itself, don't stay in.

If you're at all doubtful about being out, do it early. Without being that guy who says "hi, I'm TheGoodLife and I'm gay" when he meets you, don't hold back with new people you meet. It'll make things easier on you.

Take care of your body-- eat well, drink water, exercise, relax, and rest. Listen to yourself and your needs.

Solve problems (especially homework) when they come up.

If you haven't done an all-nighter before, try it once, get it out of your system, and don't do it again.

Go deeply into a few things rather than superficially into many.

Take care of your living space; if it gets trashed your mind will follow. Make it into what you would look like if you were a room, a cool place you are proud to bring people home to.

That's enough Polonius from me; have fun.

When you find the major you like,
fight until your in.