10 Tips to Get Ready For Your First Year of College

   1.      Get to Know Your Dorm Mate

Don't wait until the beginning of your first year to get to know your room mate. Once you know who they are, make contact through Facebook or email and make an effort to get to know them better. See if you can find common interests, or perhaps more importantly, your future room mate's pet peeves. You might be pleasantly surprised to find out that you and your new roomie have many things in common. If nothing else, you will know where you need to tread cautiously.

2.      Take The Mandatory Campus Tour

The campus tour is almost always a mandatory part of orientation. In spite of this, many students manage to get themselves out of this little obligation. What a shame. The campus tour is a great way to meet other incoming Freshmen. It is also a great way to learn about the neat little places on campus. You will also begin to formulate a bit of an idea about how long it will take you to navigate the campus on foot.

3.      Check and Re-Check Your Schedule

Once you arrive on campus, you will seen hear horror stories of students who had to attend school for an extra semester because they had selected classes that did not meet their graduation requirements. In other cases, they could not take the classes they wanted because they had not met the prerequisite or corequisite requirements. Use your course catalog to make sure that the classes you are taking will count as credit towards your graduation.

4.      Open a Checking Account

Before you begin your first year of college, you may want to open an account or two at a local bank or credit union. If your  college offers it, you may wish to see if your school has its own credit union. If you do this, you will have the convenience of a local account, and a local branch to visit if you have problems. You may also find that your new bank has special offers and incentives for college students like you.

5.      Make School Connections on Social Media

If your college has a Facebook group sign up. Even better, do a bit of detective work and find out where members of your class are getting together online, then try to join them. You may even find Facebook groups or other social media gatherings of other students who are interested in the same things that you are, or who are majoring in similar fields. You will be glad to have made these connections before school starts.

6.      Do a Little Bit of Reading

If it is published online, check out the syllabus for each of the classes you will be taking. If there is mandatory reading involved, why not use a bit of your spare time in the summer to get ahead. This will take an extraordinary amount of pressure off of you during the school year. While others are racing to do the required reading, you will have time to relax.

7.      Check Out The Job Market

You might want to seriously consider getting a job during your first  year. It is a great learning experience, and a great way to establish a little independence by paying a few of your own expenses. Depending on where you are attending school, the job market, for students, might be a bit tight. The earlier you begin looking for a job, or just gathering a bit of information, the better off you will be.

8.      Go to The Doctor

Please do not start your Freshman year of college without getting a full physical and getting caught up on all of your shots. This is especially true if you are going to be doing any traveling abroad during your first year. If you have not had one, please arrange to get a shot that will protect you against memingitis. Meningitis is a devastating illness and it tends to hit college campuses.

9.      Learn Those Life Skills You Never Developed

Can you do laundry? Do you know how to make your bed? Do you know how to clean a dorm room or apartment from top to bottom? What about checking and replenishing the fluids in your car? Do you know how to get roadside assistance if you breakdown? What about stopping a toilet from overflowing, or how to survive a power outage? Don't wait until you have your first crisis to deal with away from home. Try to learn these basic skills before the school year begins.

10.  Scope Out The Places to go Have Fun

You are getting ready for your first year of college! This is an exciting thing. Show up to campus a little early, or do some research online. Find the best places to listen to music, to get a bite to eat with friends, and to go shopping.