10 Things I Wish I Was Told Before Leaving For College
As the semester comes to a close and many are either preparing for commencement or waiting for their grades, I'm sure that there is a thing or two that every college student wished that they were warned about.
10. You DO NOT need to pack your entire closet when packing for college.
As much as you think that you'll need that ratty old sweatshirt from high school, you really don't. Chances are that you're only going to be restricted to one wardrobe and a couple of drawers (IF YOU'RE LUCKY) so you're going to need to make the best out of a limited situation. Leave the paraphernalia from other colleges at home and chances are that whatever you don't have, the campus will sponsor trips to the mall.
9. Some of your professors actually care about whether you pass or fail their class.
"Your professors aren't going to chase you down if you don't turn in your assignments." Sound familiar? Everyone has heard that in high school at least once or twice. Truth is, they're only half right. Not to say that you won't get a professor that has a Ph.D. in douche-bagness, but you will also luck up and get the professor that takes pride in their job and want to see you succeed. Now no one is saying that they will be your alarm clock making sure that you make it class on time, but they have office hours for a reason so TAKE ADVANTAGE!
8. REQUIRED texts aren't always required.
Never believe the myth that you need to buy every book "required" for a course. Nine times out of ten, you will never use that book a day in your life. So here's some advice: Wait until after syllabus day in each of your classes to buy your books. Some professors actually hate the books suggested for the course so they don't see any need for them. Unless you're interested in gathering paperweights and platforms to put your laptops on for Netflix binge sessions, wait on it.
8b. You DO NOT need to buy your books from the school bookstore.
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! Colleges just want to hijack more money from their students based on the myth that they need the books. There are websites specifically designed to help students find their books for way cheaper than the colleges. One of my personal favorites is bookrenter.com! They quote students amazing prices and their rental periods gives you more than enough time to cram for finals. Other sites such as Chegg or Amazon are pretty good too.
7. Coffee will become your best friend.
It's almost a given that even if you never drank coffee before, you will learn to acquire a taste for it in college. Whether you stayed up all night binge-watching an entire season of Grey's Anatomy or finishing a research paper that was assigned 3 weeks ago, coffee will be a definite pick-me-up that'll have you ready to take on that 8:30.
6. Procrastination is NEVER a good idea!!
Waiting to the last minute to do something will always have its pros and cons, with the cons by far outweighing the pros. No matter how many papers you manage to pull out of thin air, there are just some assignments that cannot wait until the last minute. It'll come back to bite you, trust me.
5. You're going to fail or almost fail a class at least once, and that's okay.
There's always going to be that one class that you just couldn't get no matter how many office hours visits you make or how many hours you sit at your desk looking at your notes with pure confusion written all over your face. No one is going to have the perfect college transcript and if you do, then this point is not for you! So go ahead and skip this one. I failed my first class ever my first semester in college and I was devastated but I told myself that I would get past this and turn my grades around. Fast forward to now, I went from 2.2 to 3.3 and I still have one more year of undergrad left. Don't let a minor setback hinder your success. You got this, come back strong.
4. The Freshman 15 is the biggest sack of BS!
College food is the devil! There I said it. It is almost impossible to eat healthy especially when some colleges even go as far as having restaurants such as Chick-Fil-A on their campuses. The freshman 15 does not exist! It's more like the freshman 30 or 45. Especially during midterms and finals time, food will be your go-to stress reliever... well that and alcohol. (Yeah, I went there.)
3. You're not going to stay in touch with all of your friends from high school and that's okay too!
Chances are you and your friends will not choose to go to the same college/university. Some will go to PWIs (Private White Institutions) or HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and not everyone's college future will lead them down the same path as everyone else and that's okay. There will always be chances to get together when everyone is home on break and you can always go visit each other on their respective campuses.
2. You and your roommate will not always be best friends.
Shocking right? You sign on to spend the better part of the year with this person and everyone expects you to be the best of friends. Truth be told, that's not always the case. Out of my three years in college, I haven't loved any of my roommates, except for sophomore year (Hey Tyrane) and it seemed like every year was worst than the last. No one is forcing you to love your roommate, just to respect their space.
1. No matter how much you talk about how much you hate your school, you can't wait to go back.
They say college is supposedly be the best 4 years of your life. Even if you can't remember them, there will be memories that will forever embedded in your memory and the minute you step foot back on campus, there are still memories waiting to be made. Make the best of your college years, your parents pay enough for it.
Can you think of anything that you wish you were warned about before you left for college? Leave your stories in the comment section below.