For anyone who's going into college

[Amethyst Star]

I'm just wondering who else is going to college/university. If you are and have any questions, feel free to post here! I just thought I'd start off by giving some of my information:

Name: Shannon
School: The University of Montana - Missoula
Year: 2nd Semester Sophomore (I transfered some credits)
Major: Russian (language/literature)
Minor: None yet, but possibly Spanish and/or Russian Studies

My biggest piece of advice, get involved with a club or group of some sort...maybe marching band, but that may be just me. Also, if you end up not liking your roommate, move out before it gets worse. I didn't and it ended up being a horrible experience for me.

-Amé

[Umbrasquall]

Moved to the lounge. ;)

I'm curious though I have another year of high school left, what's it really like to be a college student? I heard different stories but...

[Scwigglie]

As you know, college for me this fall! :D

I don't get it though, can you really move out whenever you want.. or do you have to wait to the end of the semester? Because how would they find you another room? I'd assume everything would be filled up.

[Umbrasquall]

Many of the colleges I've heard about make students stay in on-campus dorms for the first one or two years.

[Jin]

Anyone know which is better, Chico State or UCDavis? :|

[Scwigglie]

Originally posted by Squall
Many of the colleges I've heard about make students stay in on-campus dorms for the first one or two years.

Mine doesn't. I'm living in this private residence thing. It's somewhere inbetween a regular dorm and an appartment, about 5-10 minutes walking distance from campus.

[nightowl]

Also, if you end up not liking your roommate, move out before it gets worse. I didn't and it ended up being a horrible experience for me. [/b]

how would that work? what would you tell them? i hate my roommate?

[Lucid83]

I just had a final today for my engineering class. I was afraid that I wouldn't pass this class but now I know that my lowest grade would be a C. So I am relieved.

I kickes @$$ on the midterm before this and this final was ok.

[Zaphod]

What kind of engineering, Lucid83? I'm in my fourth year of computer engineering myself.. almost done! :-P

[jacobo]

yay.

name: jake
school: northern arizona university
year: frshmen
major: ba psychology
minor: philosophy

[Amethyst Star]

AFAIK, most freshman stay in the residence halls, and at some schools you're required to until you've accumulated a certain number of credits. I transfered 19.32 (yah, .32) credits, so technically after my first semester I could have moved out because I was considered a sophomore. Oh, and that's another thing. If you do transfer credits and you're registering for classes for the following semester/quarter/trimester, make sure you know what grade they're putting you in. At our school we register online and we have a specific hour window in order to do so and when I tried to register for spring 2004 at my time (Freshman, last name starting with C-[whatever]) it wouldn't let me. So, it took me a bit of time to find out that they had me listed as a sophomore and so I didn't get to register until the last day. At UM the sophomores are the last to register, but oh well.

Now, if you're having trouble with your roommate and you think you should move, talk to your Resident Advisor (RA) first. If they can't help you sort it out, go to the resident's life office and ask them if they can find you a new roommate. Now, don't just say it's because you don't like them or they're mean to you. Establish that your roommate(s) is/are keeping you from being able to study, sleep, etc., whatever that problem may be. If they drink in the dorm (if it's legal, and all ppl in the room have to be above the drinking age or everyone there gets in trouble), tell them that. If they smoke, tell them that and also that their habit is distracting you from what you need to do. Your point in college is to learn and if your roommate is preventing you from doing so, then leave. If they're being just plain stupid, make it sound like they're disrupting you, but also be honest. You can try and wait until the end of the semester, but I did that and it was just (I usually don't use the expression) hell.

Also, if you're willing to pay the money you can try to get a single room.

Anyway, college is so awesome and is so much better than high school. The classes are quite a bit faster paced than high school and there's more to them, but unless you get a crappy teacher (which I did only once) the professors are typically much smarter than most high school teachers. You can, to a certain degree, pick your schedule so you can have most of your classes in the morning, or later in the day, or have a break in between morning and evening. Also, for the most part, it's like you've been given a clean slate. There are a lot people who don't know you and so you get the chance to establish yourself without any pre-conceived ideas, unless you go to school with a lot of your friends (which I didn't).

BTW: Thanks for moving this to the lounge. I wasn't thinking too well when I put it in the Newbie forum.

....that was a rather lost post for 2:15 am... WBTB... the things I do for lucid.

-Amé

[Scwigglie]

Man, my college is already a lot different than your's, Ame. lol

But how do you switch roommates in the middle of the semester?? Everyone else must be established already, all rooms full, no one else wanting to move, etc.

As for classes, we got total freedom when it came to picking them. There were some required categories, though. For instance, you had to take at least one class in.. ethnic studies. But there are like 200 classes in that category! 8) And no one gets to pick classes first/last, whatever.

UW-Madison, woot! :D

[Amethyst Star]

It's not a huge problem to change roommates in the middle of the semester, usually. There are usually other people who've had roommate trouble and either they or the other person has moved out and they're looking for someone else, too. When my second roommate moved out, I was moved into the room of a girl who's roommate left to live with her boyfriend or something wierd like that.... I wasn't too happy, though, because they gave me 24 hours notice 2 days before Spring Break when I had tests and work was hectic and my boyfriend and his parents came over...not fun.

We have general education requirements, too, but except for classes like freshman english, I can take them whenever I want. Most people like to get those out of the way, and I'd agree except I have a lot of language and literature classes that I have to take in order...however at the rate I'm going I'll have taken all the offered Russian classes by the end of my Junior year and have to do an independent study or something...maybe a study abroad...Ooo *excited look* I'm not looking forward to math, though, but luckily I only have to take one semester.

-Amé

[Scwigglie]

Whooo, study abroad!!! :D

Is it easy to sign up for that? Are there like limited spots?

djasdkjasd That's the one thing I REALLY want to do. ;)