32 Things Every College Student Should Know

Allow yourself to study the things you want to study, not simply the things you think will automatically land you a job when you finish. Otherwise, you’ll be utterly miserable.
Definitely ditch your boyfriend or girlfriend from back home, then one you had in high school. You’re on a brand new adventure, they’re on a brand new adventure. Keep in touch if you want, and maybe you can rekindle the fire at another juncture.
It’s incredibly rude to be on Facebook or using your cellphone during class, especially if you’re in a small seminar type of setting. Your professors may act like they don’t notice but they do.
If you’re going to be doing drugs please be responsible and do them around people you know and trust. The most important thing is to stay safe.
Don’t forget to call home to talk to mom and dad and not just when you need money. They love hearing from you even more than they love the fact that they just turned your old room into a spa!
If you’re lucky your college ID doesn’t have a date on it and doesn’t say when you’re graduating, so keep that bad boy long past graduation and collect all the student discounts you can get.
No one tells you that your major doesn’t land you a job. Your experience does. That’s why you should major in the thing you love and try to get as much extracurricular experience you can in the area you want to work in.
If you’re not happy with the way something is on your campus, change it. It’ll be great for giving you a sense of purpose, and it will look great on your resume too.
Learn to be creative with the dining hall food. It might not be Long John Silvers, but you can always doctor it up!
Become friends with your former professors. Take their classes. Visit their office hours. Show an interest in their work. This is the best way to get a strong letter of recommendation, for a job, for graduate school or both.
Have sex somewhere on campus at least once.
Study abroad, and preferably in a non-English speaking country. Studying abroad is already one way to change your life. Getting intimate with a foreign language and culture is another. You could meet the person of your dreams and never come back.
Don’t get angry if your professor gives you a low grade. Just work better next time.
It’s okay to have no clue what to do or what you want to do in life. Better that than rushing into something you’re bound to hate.
BACK UP YOUR FILES.
Come equipped with plenty of socks, bras, panties and underwear because you are never going to do your laundry.
Never be afraid to fail. Without failure there’s no growth. And how can you reach your full potential if you’ve never experienced failure?
If you’re going to watch television or something, invite all your friends over. What’s the point of being on a campus with 25,000 hot, horny young people if all you’re doing is sitting inside and playing video games/binge-watching Netflix all weekend? We all need time alone, but don’t forget to be part of your college’s social life.
You don’t have to join a fraternity or a sorority if you don’t want to, even if Greek Life is the main source of social life on your campus.
Don’t do anything because it’s “easy.” Skip the “Easy-A” classes, it’s a waste of time. Take classes you’re genuinely interested in, not because
If you go to a public school try to get residency in that state if possible. You might be able to lower your tuition!
Definitely wear shower shoes in the bathroom so you don’t get all kinds of weird bacteria and diseases on your feets.
Don’t be afraid to do crazy stuff and go on crazy runs, even at 3 am and even when you have a test the next day.
Do NOT get rid of your quarters. You will need them come laundry day.
If you’re low on cash but in need of furniture, get creative with cinderblocks.
Always remember that college is the one time you get to start over. Were you a nerd in high school? Change it. Did you hate the reputation you had then? Build a new one. You can even suddenly start going by your middle name to add to the idea of a brand new you.
Don’t forget to sleep. Otherwise you’ll burn out, big time.
Everybody has mental health issues, especially in college. Go to your campus health center and take advantage of the free counseling and therapy. Trust me, everyone is doing it.
When you’re writing a paper, don’t save the bibliography for the last minute. They take the longest!
Wikipedia is technically not a credible source for paper writing. Use it as a jumping off point, not as a big, primary source.
Stash away some extra money in your phone case. You’ll forget about it and never know when it might come in handy in an emergency. Just don’t lose your phone!
Don’t be afraid to change. Change is what college is all about.
Pretty much everyone is closeted.

What other tips do you have for people in college? Leave them in the comments. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

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Author of How To Be A Pop Star.

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