starting college in missouri and advice?
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Remember that academics is why you are there, but allow yourself some flexibility to have a good time as well. It will take a while to find this balance, but trust your instincts.
Good luck
Unless you are going to a good, selective school, you can kiss those things good bye. You may do well to concentrate on finding yourself through study and socialization, but not too much with the alcohol and drugs.
Some general tips that I don’t think will hurt you.
Get on the teachers good side and pick and choose very carefully if and when you challenge an instructor or their opinion, it’s almost always a bad idea (no matter what they tell you).
Participate in discussion, try to say something in every class (if its not a pure lecture class).
Make sure all of your instructors know you and feel your presance; if you don’t want to set in the front row (which is best academically), set a few rows back in the middle and make eye contact.
Cultivate relationships with the faculty, you may need a recco letter later–find the least crazy instructor that most respects your academic goals, and make them your advisor.
Fight for more aid–always appeal what you are initially given, and don’t go into a penny more of debt than you need to (it’s not free money–the college will try to load you up with as much Stafford debt as possible because it’s garaunteed).
Do your FAFSA as soon as possible every year, and when you get your aid notice, be the first with your hand out for more (some stuff goes first come-first serve).
Get to know the people in the aid office, and get on their side (some random scholarships may come in, and they may select you merely becuase they know your name).
Don’t buy the required reading from the college bookstore, work to get all the required reading lists early from the instructors and then by them at Half.com or Amazon for huge savings (much of the time). There are also book search engines that will automatically find the cheapest book for you (I recommend one called Best Book Buys, type it into a Google and then have the ISBN for the book ready–the ISBN is a ten digit number unique to every book).
Also search on eBay for books–they are hard to find there, but I have scored once or twice for rock bottom prices.
Join a club or get involved somehow (people seem to enjoy college a lot more when they do).
Don’t over-extend yourself, and try to make due without a job if you can (you are ususally cutting into your aid with a job anyhow, unless it’s federal work study).
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
don’t get caught up in the culture of apathy, anti-intellectualism, alchohal-poisoning, and “hooking up” that permeate campuses these days.
Care about things. Think about things. When it’s study time, study. Drink to get buzzed, not zonked. Make sure anyone you have sex with respects you, and a good way of assuring that is respecting yourself and taking time with phsical relationships (but do have a resonable amount of sex, and be safe about it).
Respect the classroom, but don’t be affraid to challange it on the inside (and on occasion, on the outside). Sometimes you will have to write a paper just to please an instructor becuase you know they are a small-minded jerk, but always stay critical and skeptical on the inside.
Don’t get disallusioned (all but a handful of professors are either incompetent, lazy, or downright crazy). Take them with a grain of salt, learn what you can from them, and stick aroud the good ones.
OH! and don’t pick a major just because it’s “practical” unless you are interested in the sciences, the science are the only major that tangibly pay (but always realize it’s just another form of religion from a belief standpoint, the scientific method is just dogma for the godless).
Pick the major with that requires the least amount of courses you have no interest in/or pick the one in the best department
Not all departments are created equal.
I hope that helps some.
dont procrastinate..trust me, i had to learn the hard way a few times…spend ur money wisely….take every class seriously, there no longer free…remember to have fun, make memories..u have the rest of ur life to work and make hard decisions ..enjoy these extra four years while u can..hope this help..good luck in school..dnt wrry ull be fine!
