Last month, my sister Michelle had her high school graduation party. At our house, among the piles of cards and presents given to her, she received an interesting gift. This gift was a book entitled “College Roadmap: Your Guide to Becoming A Freshman in Life,” and my cousin who gave it to her thought it was pretty much the best thing she was ever going to get in her life. She’s going to be a freshman in the fall here on campus, so naturally she was going to need something to tell her exactly what it’s going to be like and how to “survive” so that she won’t take one wrong step and fail out of college. 

At first I thought this was a silly gift, sure to be full of cliche pieces of advice such as ‘don’t be afraid to make new friends,’ and ‘college boys are different than high school boys so be careful.’ Guess what? It was. But that doesn’t mean that those of you who are starting in the fall don’t need a little bit of a map to follow. I know that my sister comes to me pretty much every week with a new question, whether it is about dorms, classes, or what color bedding she should buy. In fact, I wish that when I started out that I had an older sibling to turn to with my questions. So here is my list of the top 10 pieces of advice I wish someone had told me when I was a freshman: 

1. It doesn’t really matter what dorm you’re in as long as you keep your door open. There are 23 public residence halls and 15 private ones on campus and each one comes with its own stigma. Allen is for hippies, the “Six Pack” is party-goers and Hendrick House is for engineers. 

Forget those when you move in and focus on making the most of where you are placed. As long as you keep your door open and make an effort to talk to people, you’ll make new friends, no matter where you’re living.

2. Learn time management. It’s so easy to arrive on campus and get caught up in friends, parties and RSOs. If you don’t take time out of your day and plan time for homework and studying, it most likely just won’t get done. Everyone has different study habits and unless you take time to learn what works best for you then college is going to be very, very hard. 

3. You’re not in high school anymore, so don’t expect things to stay the same. You might have been the valedictorian or the track star back at home, but here there is such a diverse mix of people that you most likely won’t be No. 1 anymore. I’m not trying to dishearten you, only to get you to see that college can be a humbling experience. 

4. Remake yourself into who you want to be. Thinking back to high school, I was who I needed to be; someone who got good grades, did after-school activities and got into a good school. But now you don’t have your parents looking over your back, so take the opportunity, if you want, and change. 

5. Walk through your classes before the first day. This piece of advice might make you say “well, that sounds dumb,” but it honestly helped me. The weekend before classes started I grabbed a friend and headed out to the Quad equipped with my schedule and a campus map. You won’t be as nervous if you at least know what the building looks like for your 10 a.m. class. 

6. Don’t go to the dining hall five minutes before it closes. If you’re a foodie like me, then you appreciate good, fresh food. That is not what you will be eating if you go at 6:28, thinking that you’ve got plenty of time to grab some grub. You will be eating the remnants of what was a nice lasagna but is now crusty noodles and cold cheese. Yum. 

7. Don’t be late for class. One of the conveniences of living in dorms is their locations. Chances are you’ll be living close to most of your classes, so it might be tempting to think that you can roll out of bed five minutes before classes and still have plenty of time. 

You don’t. It’s worth it to wake up 15 minutes earlier, grab a bite to eat and give yourself enough time to get to class. I’ve had teachers who will lock you out of the room if it’s one minute past the start of class. 

8. Watch your weight. The infamous “Freshman 15” is no myth, my friends. It does exist and if you aren’t knowledgeable about the things you are eating, then you will fall prey. Dorm food is convenient, but it’s also fattening. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that you can withstand eating cheese fries and a cupcake for dinner every day and still maintain your desired figure. It is possible to eat healthy if you keep track of your portions and maintain nutritional balance. 

9. Get involved. There are so many registered student organizations on campus that if you can’t find one for you, then you probably aren’t looking hard enough. They’re a great way to keep you busy and have fun at the same time. From Squirrel Watching Club to Marching Illini, RSOs are a great way to meet new people, get involved, and put something on your resume.

10. Do typical ‘freshmen’ activities. These four years are going to fly by so quickly, so take advantage of all of the amazing opportunities you have in front of you. Be a freshman for a year. Ask silly questions in class if you don’t understand something. Don’t be afraid to make some mistakes. Most of all: have fun!

Lindsey is a Senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].