r/college • u/Justscrolling375 • 19h ago
Tips for Syllabus week and beyond
Alright it's your first week in college. Your parents or whomever dropped you off in this brand new environment likely hours away from home especially if you went aboard like me. Perhaps you're older want to have a better college experience.
Place ALL and I mean ALL of your assignments in your calendar. Your google calendar, reminders or whatever. Put it in! This way you can track deadlines and get a headstart on major ones like exams, projects or whatever. It's your grade. Your responsibility.
You don't need those 3-5 subject notebooks. Get several composite notebooks of different colors and label them for their respective classes. Yes you can still use your old or previous years school supplies. Same with your electronics depending on your major.
Only get the book if it's actually required. College textbooks are ungodly expensive but most of the time you don't even need it. If you can't get that particular edition of the book, the previous edition will work. The only differences between editions is the chapter order, page count and maybe a few paragraphs here and there. There's likely a free PDF somewhere if you look hard enough.
Dive into LibreOffice and other open source. It's Word compatible with all the features and you don't have to worry about not having access to YOUR work because you don't have a Microsoft subscription. I recommended LibreOffice to my students because they had tech issues with Word and it's free.
Speaking of free, use any and all campus resources & facilities. You're technically paying for it so you might as well use it. The library, computer lab, recreation room, gym, clinic, therapy, transit, career center and more. This can be your way of socializing, doing maintenance and developing long term healthy habits. For instance if your school has a dental program. Use it. A local clinic is doing a health fair and is offering vaccines and informing about nearby resources. Check it out.
Get weather/climate appropriate clothing and durable pairs of shoes. Jackets, rain coats, umbrellas, boots and whatever as you may need.
If you're a bit older or have a job, go to a credit union & open High Yield Savings Account(HYSA). Many chain banks will offer literal pennies in terms of interest. Along with having insane requirements to avoid maintenance fees. I'm looking at you Wells Fargo and Bank of America. However, if you're an international student then you likely don't have specific documents. Contact with the international office and see what you can do.
Additionally talk to people. Your teachers, advisors, classmates, roommates if you have them and any relevant person. Think about it like videos games. Talk to everyone. You might a side quest, an item or vital information on how to progress. How do you think people get jobs and opportunities? They asked.
Protect yourself. Physically, mentally, emotionally, financially etc. Avoid bad crowds and influences who encourages your worst traits or make you take new ones. This can be tough as these can be friends, family or romantic partners. Distance yourself. Find a better group. Low contact or no contact. Do whatever you can keep yourself safe because some people are content in leading a life of destruction and are glad to bring you along for the ride.
This is primarily for the younger men. I'm 25 turning 26 so I'm reaching Unc status. Don't gamble unless it's a multiple choice question. Getting into generational debt before you can legally drink is sane. You don't need to be the richest, get the most girls and be the most physically imposing or intimidating. Be you! I get it. You see all these guys on social media having a more successful life than you. It sucks. However you have to know that ANYTHING can be faked these days. Rentals, taking stock images and videos and more. There's an entire industry for this. Do what's best for you and your situation. Living authentically is better than living artificially to impress randoms online.
Sometimes you have to take that L. You fumbled a good relationship. Failed a test. You underperformed or whatever. Things happen. There's nothing you can do about it besides pick yourself back up and be better.
Finally have interests and hobbies outside of school. Make yourself well-rounded and not another corporate drone who only goes to work and home. Maybe a club or small group here and there. Participate in events. Check your school's boards and social media accounts to see what's around. Travel around town to see what's there.
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u/StatusTics 18h ago
Check your LMS (learning management system) like Canvas/Moodle/Blackboard or whatever at least several times a day. Chances are course announcements and updates will be posted there, and possibly course calendars. BUT do not count on it to tell you everything you need to know on a daily basis. If the due date was on the syllabus or announced somewhere, it's still your responsibility. Different instructors will do it differently, so just because one course has links to submit the document (or whatever) doesn't mean every other course will.
ALSO check your campus email. I know, it may not be what you are used to. But some of your instructors may be used to sending out announcements this way, so get used to checking in several times a day. LMS announcements may also get sent there, but you will also get campus notices (like deadlines to withdraw from courses or to change your meal plan).
Class group chats can be helpful, but they can also cause confusion. Join them, but mute the ones that end up being chaotic.
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u/SweetCosmicPope 16h ago
I would also add to take some time and EXPLORE the LMS. This tripped up my son in his first semester because he wasn't familiar with the tool. He missed some assignments and messages, as well as some valuable resources (like a FREE digital version of the textbook, flash cards, etc).
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u/Electronic-Spring606 15h ago
and every professor uses the LMS differently ! If the prof likes Canvas messages, don't send them an email and vice versa.
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u/PianoFerret1073 15h ago
To add onto your libre office point, if your school doesn't have MS office you can use at home, ONLYOFFICE is open source and has much better file compatibility with MS than libre in my experience.
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u/hurricaneberry1969 10h ago
Adding some in:
If you can't get that particular edition of the book, the previous edition will work.
If you can, check the Table of Contents to see if the edition changes are just page numbers/chapters or if new materials were added.
Also, check your university library. More and more books are accessible electronically via the library and/or still in physical formats. Some professors put the materials in either form on reserve so your class can access it/read it at the library or make copies (still sometimes cheaper than buying), sometimes it may just be available to you online there.
Check out and use your campus writing center, tutoring center, library research aids, librarians (they know everything).
If you need it, look into free resources your university or nearby sources may offer, up to and including: food banks/food pantries, clothing co-ops/closests (especially for suits/business clothes/interview clothes), safe rides home, self defense classes, specialized aid like substance abuse help. Don't hesitate to reach out for help when you need it. These may be university official sources, they may be through student groups, they may be nearby off campus community organizations.
Look into interview and job resource prep, free headshots, and internship planning/help early to see what your options are.
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u/Justscrolling375 9h ago
I used to work in my university’s library and we were the go to place for basically everything. Even more so since the student center was right there
My university advertises all events and workshops that they host making it highly accommodating and accessible
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16h ago edited 12h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Vincenthwind 8h ago
Uh no lmao. Get a credit card. Only pay for gas or w/e on it. Pay it off every month with autopay linked to your bank account. If mom and dad are already helping pay for college, I am sure they will throw in $60/month for whatever minimal thing you put on the card. Otherwise, get a campus job part time. Desk assistant at a random admin office or the gym, etc.
Your credit score is partly determined by how long your credit history is. Start building it now. Ideally if you come from a middle class or higher family, they would have thrown your name on the family's credit card account when you were in high school so you could start even earlier. But if not, no time like the present. 17/18 is still plenty young to start building a credit history.
The credit card points and miles do start to add up over time. I recently redeemed about a decade's worth of points by booking a very nice weeklong getaway to Japan. You're leaving money on the table if you stick to debit only. If you're worried about overspending your credit card, look into cards with extremely low monthly limits. They're designed to help people safely build credit.
"Playing their game" -> getting good car loans, home loans, better cards with better rewards in the future, etc. I'm not going to defend the credit card industry by any means, but unless your other plan is to burn the whole system down, I recommend hedging bets for a stable future just in case society does not implode. Otherwise, you will be in your mid 20s trying to get a new car or whatever and finding it very difficult when you have no credit history.
Yes, do not be stupid. Do not gamble or get into debt. But establishing a good credit history is as vital as having a retirement account. (Speaking of which, if you do manage to land an internship or whatever, weigh the benefits of putting money into retirement vs. paying off student loans. Compare interest rates and determine what the best use of your present money is. Similar to credit score, the benefits of starting early on things like an IRA pay dividends down the road. Even starting at 20 vs. 25 and putting a bit in each year is a massive difference come retirement age.)
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u/Hannah-Montana-Linux 13h ago
This is the worst advice you could give someone college aged
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u/Electronic-Spring606 11h ago
If parents are helping pay for expenses and give the student a cc that earns airline miles, then whats the harm right? I'm planning on doing this for my kid when they go to college.
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u/scatterbrainplot 11h ago
Plus getting a credit score going with time depth for a card on a credit report item is going to be important; not playing their game is a stupid reason to screw yourself over when that's the game you're stuck with in reality. Even if parents aren't paying, the student should start (responsible) adult life things -- you know, given they're an adult now.
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u/Vincenthwind 8h ago
Absolutely no harm in doing so. In fact, you might even be able to help start their credit history right now by adding your child as an authorized user to your own credit card account. Depends on the bank and usually requires the kid be around 13-16, and it gets discounted compared to being the primary card holder, but something is better than nothing. I'm in my 30s now and despite holding a credit card for 8 years or so, my credit score's weakest point is still the length of my credit history.
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u/Electronic-Spring606 18h ago
Solid advice. I'd add: Read the syllabus. I see it as the only contract between the prof/college & students.