NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, its finally time. Time to shake off the shackles of High School and embrase the drunken freedom of Michigan State University

Well, I'm a freshman. I know little of college life. I need advise. Well, the only folks that will give good, if strange, advice, are my homies in NS General.

What advice will you give a lowly freshie political science major?

have fun. although i have done and still do this i don't recommend waiting till the night before to work on papers or projects. don't be afraid to talk to people because some of them will be awesome. and no one will really care that you're a freshman so don't worry about that in case you were.

Well, its finally time. Time to shake off the shackles of High School and embrase the drunken freedom of Michigan State University

Well, I'm a freshman. I know little of college life. I need advise. Well, the only folks that will give good, if strange, advice, are my homies in NS General.

What advice will you give a lowly freshie political science major?

1. Know your limits. Nothing is worse then a drunk freshman yelling shit while drunk or puking all over the place.
2. Join clubs, do activities, or play sports. Don't just stay in your dorm room all day.
3. Dont take early classes. I don't know how I got up before 10am for highschool anymore.
3. Talk to the people in charge of scheduling classes. Make sure you know what you need to take to finish off the major.
4. Have a good time and enjoy the parties.

Let me think, here's my advice

1. Talk to other students,you can never have enough information about classes and professors. Most universities anymore have checklist forms which you can pick up from the department office, so you don't need to worry about knowing what to take or when.
2. General requirements should be done first or they will bite you later.
3. The Proff is GOD as far as you're concerned, kiss their ass whenever possible, I reccomend introducing yourself to them.
4. Be wary of internet classes, it's easy to forget about them
5. memorize the campus map and important buildings
6. The network will crash, and be very slow
7. Get a DAMN GOOD firewall, many university students think they're elite hackers, and the university will not help matters
8. Paperwork will be lost, make copies, do not delete anything
9. When meeting with an advisor, have set questions for them, if possible have answers too, your advisor invariably has more important things to do than help you, for that matter they do not have the answer you want and will tell you to find it yourself.
10. Classes before 10 am are insane.
11. All you can eat meals at the union today WILL become all you can puke up tomorrow.
12. have fun and don't get burned out

be aware of what you're getting in to, Political science in high school and political science in university are different animals, high school stresses individualism and analysis, university stresses parroting

Join at last one non-competitive non-academic club which relies heavily upon teamwork and group activities, and commit some time to it. Whatever fits your interests.

In my case it was a hiking and mountaineering club.

Friends for life, and not much risk of rivalry, fights, bad feelings.

I started college almost a year ago (August 23, to be exact), except I go to a community college, rather than a university. It's a lot better than high school. Whereas high school was full of loud, immature, mindless morons, the people in college are actually decent people, and leave you the hell alone if you leave them alone.

Well, its finally time. Time to shake off the shackles of High School and embrase the drunken freedom of Michigan State University

Well, I'm a freshman. I know little of college life. I need advise. Well, the only folks that will give good, if strange, advice, are my homies in NS General.

What advice will you give a lowly freshie political science major?

Challenge your professors. Make them think. Question what they say. I find that this works. :p

Buy a loud-ass alarm clock. Then go back to the store and buy another one. Then make sure your watch has an alarm.

Many people sleep through something important their first year, especially if you are going to spend your nights going out and staying up late. Those alarm clocks will be your personal savior. And I am serious. For important occassions, have two clocks, maybe one that's battery powered in case the power goes out. Professors aren't always too accepting of excuses when it comes to being late and you will have a hell of a time explaining to the folks why you missed a paper/exam.

Roomates can mean the difference between heaven and hell; watch out. A good roomie is a drinking buddy, a study partner, and a ghost when you don't want 'em around.

A bad one...lets just say you should move into a new dorm rather than face a bad roomate. Its not worth dealing with; college is enough to worry about without having to come home every day to find some drunken brawl/orgy took place on your bed while you were away.

Take new classes; don't settle into a routine too early. If you just take poli sci all the time you'll get out of college feeling like you know less than when you came in. Don't neglect other subjects, even ones you don't really find all that fun.

On the other hand you need to find a specialty; don't be a general studies major because you kept taking new courses and never found what really motivated you. Find a specific area within your field to know everything about. When taking 400 level courses, try to stay within a field that excites and motivates you.

You don't HAVE to socialize at parties. I really didn't go to that many drinking parties in college. I spend most of my time with nerds, doing nerd stuff, having nerdy saturday nights (ie, a couple of people sitting around a video game) You don't have to be "popular" to get along in college, just find yourself and be whomever you are...

Well, its finally time. Time to shake off the shackles of High School and embrase the drunken freedom of Michigan State University

Well, I'm a freshman. I know little of college life. I need advise. Well, the only folks that will give good, if strange, advice, are my homies in NS General.

What advice will you give a lowly freshie political science major?
Don't let your grades fall. It's a lot harder to bring up a lousy GPA that you earn in year 1 than it is to hurt a good GPA in year 4. Since you're majoring in a low-demand, high supply field, your GPA is all you have.

Don't take more than 4 years to get that B.W. (W is for whatever poli-sci majors get)

Switch to Physics and transfer to Georgia Tech.

BTW The South Islands:

Im also studying Political Science so if you need help, feel free to IM me with questions and what not. I'll be more than glad to assist if I can :)

1. Have fun
2. Do work

It's surprisingly easy to do very little of either...

Switch to Physics and transfer to Georgia Tech.

Ignore this! To much Math involved in physics.

*former meteorology major*

You don't HAVE to socialize at parties. I really didn't go to that many drinking parties in college. I spend most of my time with nerds, doing nerd stuff, having nerdy saturday nights (ie, a couple of people sitting around a video game) You don't have to be "popular" to get along in college, just find yourself and be whomever you are...

This is also good advice. I don't go to any parties personally but alot of people on campus know who I am because I am out there at special events (mostly karaoki but that's a different story :D) not to mention, I"m not afraid to help people or talk to people.

Also, depending on the college you go to, check into their intramurals sports. At the university I attend, I work for Campus rec as an intramural supervisor though I started out as a lowly official.

Ignore this! To much Math involved in physics.

*former meteorology major*
So you didn't have the figure to stand out in front of the camera and point to the map ...

No, I mean you couldn't figure out where the front was going to end up next on the map.

Glad you didn't edit out the Georgia Tech part. Go Jackets! Beat the Dawgs!

So you didn't have the figure to stand out in front of the camera and point to the map ...

I wasn't in broadcast meteorology.

No, I mean you couldn't figure out where the front was going to end up next on the map.

funny har har. I wasn't talking about this. I can do this but I'm talking about the MATH! I'm surprised you didn't figure that out when I said "ignore this. To much MATH!"

Glad you didn't edit out the Georgia Tech part. Go Jackets! Beat the Dawgs!

Since my rivalry is with West Chester University, I didn't feel the need to edit out GT!

Go 'Ville GO!

for advice from ppl crazy over college:
collegeconfidential.com

go to the forums. they have HUGE databases of information. amazing really very active, too

I wasn't in broadcast meteorology.



funny har har. I wasn't talking about this. I can do this but I'm talking about the MATH! I'm surprised you didn't figure that out when I said "ignore this. To much MATH!"



Since my rivalry is with West Chester University, I didn't feel the need to edit out GT!

Go 'Ville GO!
I understood, I was just making a bad joke. What I've seen of meteorology is that it can be a pretty intense study of fluid flows and thermodynamics. You can probably add chemistry to that, as well. All pretty fair subjects on their own.

I understood, I was just making a bad joke. What I've seen of meteorology is that it can be a pretty intense study of fluid flows and thermodynamics. You can probably add chemistry to that, as well. All pretty fair subjects on their own.

If I remember right:

Calculus 1,2,3 and other higher math courses
Physics 1 and 2 (can't do those till you completed Cal 1 and cal 2)
Chemistry 111

Yea it is a very intense study. Luckily my campus has an on site weather station (4th floor of Caputo AKA Sci-Tech)! I still do a shift there during a semester even though I'm no longer a met major.

Grades matter, but you have to know how to have some fun too...balance between the two is key.
Use your head-we all have logic and common sense, but some people just choose not to use it:P so just keep that good ol' concious runnin' and stick with your instinct (unless, of course, you happen to be one of those people who's instinct is mostly wrong;))
my Dad's advise to me was work hard, play hard, don't lie, don't cheat, and don't steal.

If I remember right:

Calculus 1,2,3 and other higher math courses
Physics 1 and 2 (can't do those till you completed Cal 1 and cal 2)
Chemistry 111

Yea it is a very intense study. Luckily my campus has an on site weather station (4th floor of Caputo AKA Sci-Tech)! I still do a shift there during a semester even though I'm no longer a met major.
But if you had stuck it out, you could have come to Atlanta and worked at the Weather Channel. Not on camera, but you would have been able to meet all the cute girls that do.

What advice will you give a lowly freshie political science major?

Change majors. With a PS major the only thing you can do is teach or work for the government. Get a degree you can use to earn a living.

I know it seems early (read: unbelievably early), but start thinking about what you want to do after college. If you plan on going on for more schooling, start to tailor your next four years to prepare you.

Also, start thinking about what you want for the present. A wise senior once told me (then freshman) that every college student wants three main things: sleep, grades, and a social life. Unfortunately, nobody can have all three, so pick something to give up on early, or suit up for a rough four years.

Last but not least, remember all the people who told you this would be the best time of your life? You won't believe it while you're there, but it's totally true. I'm one year out of college now, and I miss it. Bad. Guess that's why I'm going back in the fall...

1. Dont get too bummed by the little failures. Acknowledge, and move on to the next task.
2. The only college lesson that will carry over into the real world is that there is so much more to do and see and learn.
3. NEVER pass out at a party, go somewhere and hide if you have to. You'll remember this one the first time you wake up painted or with your ass hurting.
4. 1/10th of what you will learn is useful, the rest is obsolete or just plain wrong. So spit out what they want you to say, but learn the truth for yerself.
5. Dont drink the bong water, especially with vodka and orange juice.
6. Wear shower shoes in the shower. Always and without exception.
7. When in doubt, be nice and kiss ass. It will help you long after college.

Sagir, Emperor of Successoria
_________________________
I aint too good at no book learnin.

1. Dont get too bummed by the little failures. Acknowledge, and move on to the next task.
2. The only college lesson that will carry over into the real world is that there is so much more to do and see and learn.
3. NEVER pass out at a party, go somewhere and hide if you have to. You'll remember this one the first time you wake up painted or with your ass hurting.
4. 1/10th of what you will learn is useful, the rest is obsolete or just plain wrong. So spit out what they want you to say, but learn the truth for yerself.
5. Dont drink the bong water, especially with vodka and orange juice.
6. Wear shower shoes in the shower. Always and without exception.
7. When in doubt, be nice and kiss ass. It will help you long after college.

Sagir, Emperor of Successoria
_________________________
I aint too good at no book learnin.

Sage advice.

Well, its finally time. Time to shake off the shackles of High School and embrase the drunken freedom of Michigan State University

Well, I'm a freshman. I know little of college life. I need advise. Well, the only folks that will give good, if strange, advice, are my homies in NS General.

What advice will you give a lowly freshie political science major?

As a returning sixth year (give me a break, I'm getting a poly-sci and a philosophy degree. . .I'd have gotten the philosophy degree and a minor by now if I'd just been doing one), I might be of some assistance.

Rule #1: The most important survival tip for any college student is to find places that serve cheap and/or free food, and frequent them often. If you are on campus, spend your first couple of nights scouting prices in the surrounding college district.

Corrolary A to Rule #1: It's much cheaper to make your own food or buy them mass-produced than it is to live on fast food, and much healthier as well. You can spend roughly five dollars per day on average and still manage a fairly healthy dinner and a light breakfast, whereas the same money will get you one and only one small and usually terrible meal at the local Mickey-D's.

Corrolary B to Rule #2: Learn to live on not a lot of food. You'd be very surprised by how little food a person can live on and still keep going. I once lived an entire summer on $87 by living on a single cup of ice cream (surprisingly rich in nutrients), a two-pack of Kit Kat's, and a glass of milk and a glass of soda per day. While that was extreme, I now live quite well on about 2/3 of what I was eating as a senior in high school.

Rule #2: You don't have to throw your clothes in the hamper if you've only worn them one day. 3 days is a good average for a pair of jeans if you've only gone to class in them and done nothing else. At most, underwear and socks need to be changed every other day, as do shirts.

Corrolary to Rule #2: If you don't know how to wash clothes at the moment, learn. It's really fairly simple: colors are washed in warm water with detergent but no bleach. Whites are washed in hot water with detergent and bleach if you have it. The important point: do not mix colors with either hot water or bleach.

Rule #3: Find out where alcohol is being served and show up there. As you are in Michigan, I expect that you will quickly find people making excursions to Canada, where the legal age is 18. Make friends with the people making the excursions.

Rule #4: Ease into drinking. Nothing comes back to haunt you more than people pointing at you and laughing for something they won't talk about and you don't remember. Start with a two beer max and gradually work your way up from there.

Corrolary to Rule #4: I've found that the best way to avoid hangovers is to drink in moderation (it's best when you drink dark stouts and lagers, since they can't really be chugged) and drink a soda or two to chase your drinks. The sugar in the soda replaces what you piss out, and you don't get enough water to endanger yourself. Keep in mind that you can poison yourself if you drink too much water to chase your beer.

Rule #5: Always, always, always wear a condom and get an STD test at the school clinic after an encounter. Lots of girls will say they are virgins, but they tend on closer inspection not to be (or maybe they just use a much looser standard of "virgin" than I do). Do not take your condom off or have sex without one, if for no other reason than because it's not fun to worry for the next several weeks what stage of the menstrual cycle that girl was in, and whether she could be pregnant.

Rule #6: Identify the most competent people in your class and make friends with them. I'm pretty damn smart, and I've still been very well-served by the help my friends in the philosophy dept. have been able to give.

Those are the big rules to remember. There may be more, but you should always remember these. The purpose of college is learn something, drink, and make friends, so be sure to do plenty, but not too much, of all three.

Don't get so wrapped up in your major that you neglect the opportunity to take interesting classes in other fields.

Speaking as a graduate student in political science, later in the game you will find yourself far ahead of your peers if you work to get yourself the most diversified education possible. Psychology, math, philosophy, even literature -- these are all good companions to the political scientist (though you shouldn't necessarily limit yourself to what I find useful, either).

Have fun!

More advice: Come on down to The Ohio State University for a football game... we'll show you a REAL good time! ;)

I need more advice!

BUMP!

Sorry if this has been repeated, but here goes:

1) Study. Uni is a whole different world from high school. Instead of possibly being the star pupil or the star athlete, you suddenly go from being the proverbial big fish in a small pond to being just one fish among many big fish at best or the little fish in the ocean. You're going to have to apply yourself to do well. Collaborate with other students -- not just when you're assigned to group projects, but whenever you're not understanding a concept. Related to that, I'd recommend that you do your homework faithfully and that you study as you go along instead of pulling an all nighter. Studies show that you do better when you get enough sleep.

2) Find out the helpful resources on campus. The University of Maryland had everything from a career center to tutoring programmes to a help line for people with emotional issues. I'm sure Michigan State is no different. Learn the resources and make use of them. In a lot of cases, you get those as part of the package deal with your tuition and fees. In other cases, you might have a small copayment that you can charge to a student account. But make sure you take advantage of them!

3) Get involved. If dorm life isn't what it's supposed to be or if a service the university provides isn't adequate, don't just complain about it to any passing stranger or your roommate or your fraternity brother or sorority sister. Join a student organisation, write for the student newspaper, etc. Even if you don't have time to get fully involved in the minutae of battling arcane policies, you might be able to address a particular issue such as parking or security.

4) Have fun. College is supposed to be the best time of your life. Many people my age and older look back on their college days with fond memories of everything from miracle grades on an exam to football games won to bar crawls and keg stands. Appreciate the time you have at uni because the time will come that a) it will be over and you'll be pining for your schooling days and b) that you will face real life challenges and problems that make cramming for a final seem like a pleasant exercise.