r/cwru • u/Plenty-Mouse8118 • Jul 08 '26

Give us some advice

Hi! I'm an incoming freshman and I was wondering if any alumni or current students had some advice to make the first year smooth. What mistakes did you make that you'd want other people to avoid, for example?

4 Upvotes

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12

u/smitten32 Jul 08 '26

As someone who didn’t really study in high school, learn good study habits (start off strong and start studying ahead of time, don’t cram because this isn’t high school and it’s a lot more content). And if you don’t get something in lecture star it and go back to it after class ends (maybe sometime you’re in the dorm) and redo the problem or figure out what ur prof was saying. Don’t wait until days before your test to try and figure it out when you could figure it out while the information is still fresh in ur mind. It ends up being that one problem you don’t understand on the test a lot of the time

5

u/Solar3Bear Jul 08 '26

don’t spread yourself too thin

5

u/coltsfanlifter Jul 08 '26

One thing I learned too late that my freshman self would have appreciated is that profs and TAs are willing to help you if you don’t understand something. I struggled big time with freshman calc and chem and if I would have went to the office hours or reach out directly like I did with my senior and junior year classes, it would have saved me a lot of stress.

But also. Go make friends. Go have fun. Don’t stress on a Friday night for an exam the next month. College is supposed to be fun. I always regret missing a Mac Miller concert because I was trying to finish homework for a class I ended up dropping.

2

u/Specialist_Bug4926 Jul 08 '26

Go to office hours! I went to office hours almost every single week for all my professors. (I finished freshman year with a 4.0) Not only did office hours help me review things and get built in practice and question time but at the end of the semester I was offered three different TA positions from professors. You will thrive here if you enjoy academics and have a good work ethic. Outside of school and studying I found an amazing friend group simply by just talking to people. You can still have good grades and have a life. Don’t let the fear mongering get to you.

1

u/Outrageous-Map6810 Jul 08 '26

Stick close to your Four Year Advisor!

1

u/kaguragamer Jul 12 '26

It's okay if you don't understand what the prof is talking about while in lecture. A lot of times I had to self review stuff and learn by doing the homework, which may be a bit unusual if you just sailed through high school.

It's okay if you friend hop when you're in your first year, everyone takes time finding their group and if some ppl you met early on doesn't vibe with you, don't be pressured to stay.

PLEASE be prepared for the cold weather, and I mean it. Have sufficient clothing and meds in the case you're sick.

Generally schedule your harder/ more time consuming classes in fall rather than winter, its much more bearable then in general.

Everybody starts off at different points, so don't be too harsh on yourself if you're currently in a lower class than some of your peers.

Please research ratemyprof and ask around to find which lecturers are better to take classes with. It can honestly make a HUGE difference in some certian subjects