College Life

[pennybug84]

I'm kind of sad because I missed out on a "normal" college life (living in dorms, being away from home, etc..) I live in a college town & because it's cheaper and easier I just lived at home while I went to school. Sometimes I wish I had moved out to experience roommates & what not. But other times when I hear bad stories about roommates & what not I'm kind of glad I didn't. Anyway. I'm glad I went to school but now I'm looking for a job & that really stinks! I hate job hunting period but w/the current economic crap we're going through it's even harder! Grrrrrrrrr

[xoxocamille]

i dont have the full college life...i live at home....and only have classes on tues and thurs

Aw, don't worry, you're not the only one. I still live at home too, but I will be transferring to a university in a matter of 3yrs (there's a ton of required classes I need to finish before transferring).

The other night, I was checking out these websites/forums that discusses about the hardships students go through when applying to Medschool. And guess what, it got me more & more scared. My friend [who is also planning to go to Medschool] sounds so confident that we'll both get in our first try, but eh. Statistics show that only 30-40% of applicants actually get in Medschools, and I don't know.. it's just way too competitive. Long story short, I'm breaking out more than ever because I'm stressed, haha.

But other than that, college is okay for now. I still can't believe I'm almost finished with my first year in college, but it's only the start of a very long journey. Mhmmm.

[To whoever comes across this post: If you don't mind, what is your major? I'm curious.]

[debussygirl]

Hi, okay so I'm going to college next year, and I'm going to be living in a dorm (far away from my parents) and I'd like to know what you guys found helpful, in general, to have in college and the dorms, and stuff that I should leave behind. I'm going to be living like a day's drive from my current home, so I really don't want to be taking unnecessary junk and I don't want to forget anything I might need, so I was just looking for some advice.

[bac]

First of all, congrats. Going away to college is a really exciting thing. I don't know that you can ever have all that you want and I am sure you will have some things that you won't use. Of course, I went to college in the dark ages, before computers were everywhere. I even TYPED some of my papers in college. Scary, I know. So I may not be able to give any advice in the technical department.
However, one thing I can think of...I went to college thinking "OK, I'm a grown up now and I don't need to take my "comfort objects" with me". Little did I know that others would have their "comfort objects" and then I would be wishing I had my "comfort object". So after the winter break I made sure I brought my "comfort object" back with me to college. I had brought a few photos and stuff to put on my walls, but it was nice to have my "comfort object" in bed with me every night. Might sound silly, but you are still in need of comfort and sometimes even more than when you were at home because Mom and Dad aren't there. Oh, and definitely bring your camera...so much fun stuff to capture.

[debussygirl]

Hm, I hadn't even thought about comfort objects or homey things, I've been so worried about clothes firstly (I'm moving to the snow and I'm in southern CA, so I need winter clothes) that I hadn't even thought about making the dorm homey. I will definitely need to bring some books then, and pictures. Thanks for the advice!

[Variety]

Debussygirl, if I'm remembering right, aren't you going to BYU next year? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Items to take with to college . . . it's hard to remember the things I found helpful when I lived at campus, cause now I drive to campus every day. Some things I remember going back home for were my bike and rollerblades - easy fun and exercise, and having a bike is great if you don't have a car - sometimes it's just too far to walk everywhere. I do think you are smart to start thinking about it now. I didn't, and packing 2 days before moving was stressful. You can pay attention to the things you use ofter, and keep in mind what you'll want to have with you as you go through the next few months. Keep a list, even. If I think of anything else, I be back and let you know.

[debussygirl]

Yes, you got it right I'm going to BYU.
I have debated about bringing a bike, but I don't think I'm going to because I don't think we'll have enough room, and I prefer walking.
Thanks for the advice! I don't really do lists, so I should probably get one together of what I need to bring. I started one for what I need to get, but I haven't really even thought of what I'm going to be bringing that I already have.

[21Twilight21]

I know this thread hasn't been posted in like forever, but I'm hoping to get it active again ! I'm fixing to start college at the end of August and I'm wanting to hear some experiences that people have had their freshman year! I've talked to some friends over at the Teen Thread about this, but I think it will be so much more fun to talk to other people about college life here !

[BlueCitrus]

I just finished my freshman year--it was a disaster, but entirely my fault. I treated it like high school, and I didn't have the best work ethic in high school either. I never did the readings, I studied the night before/day of, started papers three days before they were due, only wrote one draft of said papers. I earned solid C's and a few B's I'm definitely looking forward to basically doing the opposite of what I did last year, even though my first classes are a month from tomorrow (the 8th.)

The biggest thing for me is I think it shocked me how much initiative you really need to take. You may only have two papers and a final that are marked, but that doesn't mean that's the only work you need to do other than show up for class. Even if the profs don't mention you have such-and-such readings, if it's on the course syllabus you should probably read it--I didn't because it wasn't getting marked and suffered big time. I'd show up for exams and there'd be gaping holes in my knowledge.

21Twilight21 are you commuting or living on campus? I did residence for about two months and couldn't stand it, so I moved back home (luckily I live in the same city as my school, so it was possible.) I did much better first semester than I did second semester because of the basic fact I can't focus on work at home. Maybe its because I haven't put serious effort into homework since fifth grade, or my family doesn't understand how much of a priority that paper that I'm writing is. I just don't really like working at home, so work doesn't get at home. I'm planning on spending a few hours on campus after classes to knock back the work load/readings.

[21Twilight21]

BlueCitrus~ I keep hearing from many people that college isn't like high school because you really have to focus and depend on yourself to get work done.
Yes I'll be living on campus. My university requires that I live in the dorms my freshman year. I'll be moving approximately an hour away from home which I guess isn't too bad.

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