Leaving for College!
 

Well, in two days I'm leaving home for good (besides breaks and stuff obvs) and, like all college students I'm assuming, I'm pretty nervous and it's a crazy mixture of emotions right now. On one hand, my best friend is going to a college a few hours away and we can't be homies anymore. On the other hand, I'm a damn adult now and get to do whatever I want. My parents have always been great, but it's an invigorating feeling. Finally, freedom.

I'm attending Indiana University. Got a tasty scholarship, majoring in Psychology, have a pretty sweet schedule for my first semester (only class on Tuesdays and Thursday? Sociology from 10-11:30. That's the sweetest thing ever). It will all be especially easier to cope because my girlfriend of almost two years is heading down with me. I know all you folks are old here, so just so you know: two year relationships in high school are practically legendary and we deserve a medal.

So there's my little personal spiel that some of you may or may not read. I was just wondering, how many have you been to college? I'd really like to hear what your first experiences were like. Make me feel a little bit better (or worse) about this significant change in my life!

Update approximately a year later:

Dump her now, high school relationships are meaningless.

You're going to Indiana, start being really interested in cycling and basketball.

Your first year there will be fun, but the people you meet tend to matter little. They assign you roomates and gen. reqs. Make friends in classes that are directly related to your major, and start making efforts in the 200 level classes.

Go forth with the knowledge that music students regard your kind with both disdain and envy. Not that it matters, haha.
Although I'll admit, I'm kind of looking forward to Counterpoint this year, even if it is a three-day-per-week 8 a.m. class.

In general, even being a college student, I'm probably a terrible source of information on what to expect. Most people who currently are or already have done the college experience would probably tell me I'm doing it wrong.

Don't join a frat.

Be responsible yet spontaneous with your drinking.

I hope your relationship lasts but be aware that you're missing a great part about college which is being a free man. But to each his own.

Don't talk back to police when you eventually have a run in with them. They'll most likely let you go if you're honest and cool headed. They were 18 once too.

Don't make a habit of skipping classes but if there is an awesome football game on or an equally satisfying event then you deserve a day off.

Don't expect to be having extra cash around. In fact, getting a part time job is a great idea that nobody ever does.

Have fun and remember that 80% of the knowledge you'll gain from college is not learned in a classroom.

I went to a small art school in a big city, and I graduated over a decade ago, so I think you're probably going to have a fairly different experience from what I had. But I think the best advice I can offer you about college is get involved. Meet people, be active, put some serious effort into getting some good internships, join organizations that you're passionate about, study abroad if you can. When you're done with school this is the stuff that's really going to impact your life.

I'm currently in college but I am not a "free man" by any means, work constantly, and live at home. So I'm not really free to give any advice here. Plus, I only started last semester and was already almost twenty when I started, because I took a break after school. But I can honestly say right now that if you're going to Indiana you are going to be meeting a lot of basketball fanatics. If you don't care many will think you are insane/unholy. Good luck.

That's what we've been told for multiple years now but we haven't faltered yet! If anything, I'm looking forward to being in college with her. It'll be easier for us to be alone ;)

And this is why I decided not to major in music!

Here's where I have an advantage over about 98% of college kids...rich parents. I know this probably contradicts a little with my short spiel over finally being free...but...I need money to buy reefer ;_;

This is exactly what I plan to do! Studying abroad is something that's always been a little frightening to me though and I don't think I ever really want to do it D:

You're telling me! All you'll ever hear on that campus is people talking about the up-coming basketballl season! The people here are crazy! Luckily, I like basketball quite a bit :P

Thanks for all the words, guys! Some good advice being given in this thread!

A rich kid who likes basketball and attends Indiana University on a scholarship has absolutely nothing to worry about. Just do whatever the fuck you feel like. If you mess up at all then you can always just quit school, ditch the girlfriend, and start it all over again at some other university.

edit: when people say Indiana University, I automatically assume Bloomington. If it's not that one then you should ignore my advice and go to class at least.

Wow good luck York Daddy. I am too going to college in about 14 days before I go to Normandale. It will be a interesting ride in what happens.

Like others have said, either commit to being with this girl for the long haul or break up with her immediately. A 2 year high school relationship isn't going to stop you from hurting her in a moment of drunken lust or if, and when, you meet someone who makes you question what you want in a relationship/partner. Not trying to denigrate your relationship but that's just how college is, unless of course you are some sort of ultra-faithful lover boy.

In any event, my advice is to do everything and anything that comes your way. Not academically like some have said, more like dropping acid and driving out to the country on a moment's notice. Now's the time to do everything you can, to make as many memories as possible, and to meet as many people with different backgrounds that you have the opportunity to. And always remember that when you think life gets hard, it's not. College is nothing compared to the real world, so don't forget that you're basically spending your last few years as an irresponsible, thoughtless youth who has the world at their feet. Once you're out, things change pretty drastically.

don't do too much shit or they will kick you out. You will have to pay back all your loans immediately.

If this does happen(im pretty sure your not that dumb)but if so make sure to get your official transcript printed and stamped before you leave or else it will say that you got kicked out of said school which doesn't look good.

I still find it so funny that in the US, university is called college. But I digress.

You'll certainly learn more about yourself more than anything, I think. It's a time for self-discovery.

I definitely agree with anticipation. It's hard to imagine how drastic a change it really is once you are done with college, but if I had known things would get this complicated I would have tried to enjoy myself more during my university years.

I won't give you advice one way or the other about your girlfriend, but I came to college under similar circumstances. If you are going to stay together, give each other space. Go out and meet your own friends. This is ESSENTIAL. I was in school for a year before she started, so I had a ****ing BLAST my freshman year. Then she came, it was cool for a while, but she ALWAYS wanted to be around me. She didn't want to make her own friends and I ended up feeling a bit resentful. I didn't break up with her for a while because I also felt like she came to my school for me and I felt obligated to be with her. It wasn't much fun.

As for everything else...you will feel out your own college experience. Just be open and have fun. I smoked bud every day and still got a degree in genetics, so a school/life balance is definitely possible. I went to Purdue and I partied at IU a few times, so I feel like you will probably have a similar experience to me.

I'm still at Purdue for graduate school and it's orientation week for all the freshman. It's always entertaining to see all of them running around lost and intimidated, huddling together in their little orientation groups. Oh, if they only knew what was in store...

Duga, you are now my MB role model. I never knew you done genetics, when I left school it was always what I wanted to do but I don't think it'll ever happen. I don't have the brains for **** like that anymore.

Haha, well I love setting a good example. Genetics is a tough subject, but I love it.

I went to College three times, but in Canada that's the equivalent of going through University once.

First time was terrifying and I dropped out after Christmas, I was way too young and just following expectations rather than figuring myself out first.

2nd time was lame. Government make work program to re-educate laypeople.

3rd time was freaking awesome. Here's my one tip. If you're living in a dorm leave your door open as much as possible, at least for the first week. You'll meet FAR more people by just saying hello and pointing them to the nearest vending machine / bathroom than you will sitting at your computer or whatever.

Also, if you have rich parents, do you own a car? Even if it's just a beat up old Civic, if you show up to school with your own car you will become THE MAN.

One last tip, your first few months will be absolute jokes, DO NOT let all the work pile up for December though. Best tip I can give in that regard is do the opposite of cramming, rather than try to squeeze out a paper the night before its due, act like the first night its assigned is that deadline, squeeze it out and let it rest until you need to hand it in. If you've got time to revise it, GREAT, if not, at least you've got something.

You people are crazy. The biggest life change for me after college was suddenly I had way more money and way more free time. Now that I'm in my mid-thirties with a mortgage and a marriage and a shitload of obligations, life is complicated, but when I was in my early to mid twenties with nothing to do but hang out and spend money, it was serious party time. College is fun, Yorke Daddy, but what comes right after college is even better.

Well, I did decide on grad school so maybe I'm not the best source for that experience. Basically, it went from study here and there, stress for finals, get some cash from the parents, and party hard to study all the time, stress all the time, make indentured servant wages, and get drunk on the occasional Saturday when I'm not in lab.

Coincidentally, my best friend (the one that's going to another college away from me), is going to Purdue. He's one of those crazy applied dudes that's going into Engineering and he's part of the Honors Engineering program. You probably won't be meeting him at any parties >_> He doesn't even know I smoke pot. He'd probably disown me.

Anyway, my only primary worry at this point is if I'll be able to balance school and fun. I mean, I have a nice scholarship that I'd really like to keep and I'd even more like to get a scholarship when I move up to grad school (my dad did this...he's got a Ph.D and graduated Suma *** Laude...expectations for me are high). At the same time though, I love to have fun. Drinking is pretty meh for me overall, I mean it's fun and I'll do it but I never plan on being a heavy drinker. But I just love to get stoned...and that plus school work usually doesn't work. I just hope I can balance these things.

My girlfriend is an interesting subject. I've had my fair amount of relationships before her, but she's the only girl I've ever had sex with. I fully believe (and I promise I'm not just some naive kid) that I can be with her for good and I would really like to. There's just no one quite like her (and I went to a huge ass high school...ever heard of Carroll High School in Fort Wayne, duga?) I feel like we can make it work here though, so I'm going to try and see how it goes. I don't think, at least, that I'll have the problem you experienced, duga. There's never been problems between us when I want to go out with my friends or something. We'll see though, I guess!

I guess it depends on your career field. I went from renting a huge house with a nice backyard to a small apartment. I went from a 40 hour work week with 3 days off from school to a 60-70 hour work week and one day off. In my experience, college was a time when I could meet loads of new people every day who were all as interested in partying and sex as I was just by walking around campus. Now I live in the "real world" and I don't have that kind of connection with my age group anymore, unless I frequent the same bars that drunken idiots occupy on a nightly basis. Everyone I know is living the same way, but I suppose it's just a hazard of having your job be your life.

That's half of it. The other half of it depends what your circumstances were in college. I never could have afforded a huge house back then. I lived in a noisy street-level apartment with 4-5 other people, one bathroom and a serious mouse problem. When I wasn't in class or working on projects for my classes, I was generally at work at a shitty, low-paying job. Not that I didn't have fun, I did, but it usually was just a party at someone's apartment. I rarely had money to go out anywhere or do anything. Once I got out in the "real world" I mostly lived by myself in a small apartment that I loved, worked 40 hours a week, the rest was free time to do whatever I wanted, had plenty of money for "entertainment enhancers", could afford to go out to clubs and concerts, could afford to take trips, and I met many more interesting people from more walks of life than the narrow little slice of humanity that was my school.

hahah start off a fresh life in college bro!

I'm officially moved in!

My roommate is a really cool dude and it's been fun exploring campus with my girlfriend. I'm pretty excited to really get settled in, I think I'm going to love this life!

You will! Don't get too caught up in the social life though.

This will be the hardest part. I don't want to fall in that trap where I'm skipping classes and whatnot.

Plan them late, and keep the schedule you have. 5 days off, its hard not to attend 2.

Question for someone who knows about textbooks:

Textbooks are going to cost me more than my tuition this semester unless I can shop around online. The problem is that the booklist doesn't provide ISBNs for all of the texts, nor complete author names, and the titles are all in shorthand.

Would I be ****ing myself over if I purchased books regardless of edition? If the 2nd edition is required and the cheapest/easiest to find is the 7th, will I find myself completely lost? Is there a place to find ISBNs of my required texts, where I can search by edition?

It depends on the class. If it's a math book you're pretty much screwed, you need to buy the exact book the school is demanding you buy. Science and history books you can get away with older editions. If you know who your professors are already, track down their email address and send them a note asking if you can buy an older edition, that's what I did for my history classes and a few of my criminal justice classes and they were fine with it.

Do you get visual examples of the book you're suppose to buy? If so try and go off that from places like Amazon and half.com, hell sometimes you can even rent textbooks from online stores and just send it back at the end of the semester, that's what I did for my Substance Abuse class last year and I saved 70 bucks.

Unfortunately, the books I have the most trouble hunting down are the ones with no covers uploaded to the site. I also have no problem finding new editions of the books; but they seem to be requiring older ones. I've asked my professors for the ISBNs (those I could email). I'll ask if I can use a more recent edition if they can't come back to me with those.

I can rent some of them, but not for less than it would be to get them used on Amazon (for the most part).

Wait so you need an old edition of the book as well as the new one? What the hell kind of crazy logic is that?

Nah, the required texts are older editions. I want to know if I can get a newer edition and follow along without getting lost.

What about ebay? That seems like a place where you might be able to find some of the older editions.

Oh, well shit if they're requiring older editions go for those, they're always cheaper. Amazon, ebay, or half.com will be good places to get those. I've read that the publishing companies only need to change 10% of the book to justify calling it a new edition and the changes can be something as simple as new photographs.

Ah, but it's easier to find the newer editions than it is the older ones.

**** it, I'd better ask.

PM me a book you're trying to find, I guarantee I can find it for you.

Hit up my first college party last night! It was a crazy ass frat party.

I didn't get very drunk. Had two shots and about half a beer and hung for a while until my group wanted to leave. The most eventful part is when we were trying to leave. Apparently frat houses HAVE to give you a ride when you're leaving their place. It doesn't matter if you're completely sober or if you live right across the street, you HAVE to wait for a car to take you because of legal obligations or something. Their drivers suck ass, so we were waiting for a while and people were getting very restless as they waited. I had four girls with me, and one of them had never drank or been to a party before or done anything of this nature in her life, and she appeared to be fairly uncomfortable, so I had to make sure I kept everything under control and made sure my girls were all relaxed and whatnot and it was just some crazy ****.

After we finally got out of there we wandered until we found a house party, but it was way too rambunctious and **** so we bailed from the group and went to a Waffle House instead. lol.

Best of luck bud!

Haha! I remember my very first party too. Well, most of it anyways, lol! It was a party that happened over spring break (which we actually call reading week here and it happens in February, lol), and parties put on and attended by musical theatre and film students alike are ridiculously CRAZY. Theatre parties are basically the absolute epitome of university and college parties. I can tell you that with me always being the ultimate homebody and somebody who absolutely does not do drugs or smokes anything, I was pretty uncomfortable at this party too. I remember people were trying to slip X pills into our hands and there were people doing tabs of LSD. And I recall someone doing a line of coke too. It was ridiculous.

I have another query for college veterans. How the **** do you manage to get everything done and still have some time for personal life? I have done NOTHING but work from sun up to sun down for a week and a half. I get up at eight, I have class until 2, I read and make notes until 10 PM and then I repeat the process.

It's taking a toll on me. I just want an hour or two in a day to listen to some music or do some artwork, but there's just no time. I can't even fathom getting to go home and see my family or get a shift in at work.

The stress is going to kill me. I don't know how other people get through either A) doing all this work or B) by not doing it.

At that rate, you are going to burn yourself out. Please, please, please don't do that! Burnout is not fun and it's not healthy.

It's important to take a little time for yourself everyday and not work so vigorously on note taking and reading after class! Okay, I'm not going to impart my somewhat abysmal study habits on you (lol), but I have such a busy academic life so far this year that I've scheduled every little thing that happens in my life into my agenda, and that includes free time and time to spend with family, friends, and my boyfriend and everything that I want to do with them. It's just so I know how much time I've allotted for everything during the day, and that includes weekends.

Would it be possible for you to spread your homework and assignments out through the week (including weekends during off hours from work), so that you can end your day at a certain time every day (unless you have to work), and after that time has passed you don't work anymore. For example I've been able to manage my time so that I can just chill or do whatever I need to do for ME by 7 or 8 PM every night.

I also have a rule for myself that when I'm eating a meal, I don't bother with schoolwork. Honestly, the least you can do is take short little breaks like that, they really help.