1. Have lots of safe sex. Best de-stressor ever. 2. Don't do hard drugs. 3. Take classes that are interesting but have nothing to do with your major whenever possible. 4. Make as many friends as possible who take classes with you, share your major or have similar interests. #4 is the most important.
1. Don't skip class. It is easy to fall into a rut and easy to get lazy. The best way is to force yourself to go to class even if it sucks. I had friends who marked on their loft when ever they skipped a class. That way they could see that they shouldn’t skip. I also had friends who failed easy classes just because they skipped too much. Just go to class. 2. The easiest way to make friends is the 1st week of class. Get to class early and chat it up. It can be a little hard to talk to people but if you do it from day one it is much easier to ask them for notes or help later. One of my college best friends (still best friends to this day) I met 1st day of school. He had a Flogging Molly shirt on and I started to talk to him about FM/DKM. 3. Work hard during the week, party on the weekends. I did this probably a little too much. Basically I never did homework on Fridays or Saturdays unless it was in dire need. Granted my GPA probably took a hit but I had a lot of fun. It's going to be hard depending on roommates/friends because they will be dumb. Get your shit done, then have fun. Also when you get out of school and have a M-F job it will be normal for you to be able to go nuts on the weekends. 4. Avoid Greek. (Opinions will very). My personal preference would be to make friends and not buy them. Even when I went to frat parties with friends who were in the frats, I had fun but it wasn’t for me. 5. Find campus groups. I was in a skate boarding club and I didn't skate. I went to try to find people who were into punk music like I was. I later joined Guitar Club and was a "beginner" for 2 years. I actually played drums and helped Guitar Club set up a show/fund raiser. 6. Notes. I’ve been out of school for 5 years now so I am not sure if this advice is still valid. One thing I did sometimes (though I hated it) was I would take notes in a notebook (not a computer). At some point after class I would read them starting on page 1. So a few weeks in you have say 10 pages of notes. Read from page 1. It blows, trust me I know, but if fucking works. You’ll know the material better that way. This won’t work for all classes and you’ll need to adjust as needed. A math class might not make sense, but a psych class it works wonders. I did so well on my final (over entire course). One tip along with that is if you can get to class early, read your notes while waiting for it to start. 7. Know the class – Some classes all you will need to do is show up and take notes and you’ll be golden. Others it won’t matter how many notes you take, if you don’t read the text book you are screwed. Some classes the teachers are worthless and your textbook, TA’s, Office hours, and friends are your best bet. Office hours can be an amazing thing if you don’t understand something and the Prof is willing to help. 8. Don’t pick a worthless major, but consider a worthless minor or double major. Seriously pick something you can get some joy out of but that will also help you get a job. I have a major in computer engineering and was 1 class away from a psych minor. I loved my psych classes but knew it was not what I wanted to do. 9. Don’t forget to call your mom (if your family gets along). She’ll love it and sometimes send you food. 10. (advice I was given) Make sure you watch Animal House before going to college. Those are my tips. Basically work hard, be careful, and have fun. People say college is the best time in your life.
have a LAN everyday. My apartment in college is a perpetual LAN party. Its pretty awesome. I second the go to every class. If possible dont sign up for early classes. I dont start until around noon.
- do lots of hardcore drugs - have tons of unprotected sex - screw reading, just guess on tests Nah seriously, I'm sure the apply yourself, do your work stuff is all common sense by now. My #1 tip is to get to know the teacher. Don't let him/her not have a face to the name. It's really quite remarkable how much easier they will go on you if you can just show them you care about the course. Trust me, that one goes a long way.
Avoid classes with a lot of group work. More often than not, groups are full of retards whose sole purpose in life is to drag you down. Go to class as much as possible. It's a real drag to have things surprise you when you miss a couple classes. If your school has anything where students can rate professors, use it to figure out who you want to take your classes with. Bad professors can make even the most interesting/enjoyable classes become awful. Try to avoid online classes. They're usually harder to get any help for if you find yourself struggling.
Just don't piss about. Always do just that little bit extra research than you have to so that you keep ahead of the topics, that way it links them together and you gain a better understanding and faster.
Be Serious when it comes to Class. Meet a lot of people. Party Hard Enough to enjoy the night. Careful Where You Stick It In.