their schedules a little. If during the first couple lectures you just can’t stay awake or that 20 page term paper seems impossible, don’t take the class. ■ Don’t get a credit card. Unless you are one of those type-A personalities that can keep track of everything, it’s way too easy to part with money you can’t see and end up in nasty debt. ■ Do get a Brita, and a mini fridge. The Brita means you don’t have to pay for bottled water when you’re thirsty and the dining hall is closed, and the fridge is good for keeping (somewhat) healthy late night snacks. ■ Don’t overload on units. As long as you don’t decide to take only pottery and ballroom dancing one semester, you probably don’t need to cram your schedule in an effort to “get ahead.”Usually, doing so will just result in a lot of unnecessary stress, and a lower GPA. ■ Do take advantage of campus resources. Free gym membership, unlimited access to a health center, wonderfully up-to-date Internet services, paid psychology surveys, on-campus jobs that pay way more than minimum wage — there are a lot of services and programs to get your money’s worth. ■ Don’t let the freshman 15 creep on. Second trips to the all-you-can-eat dining hall are more tempting than you’d think, as are the ice cream machines that run at every meal. Try exercising now and then, it can be a good study break. ■ Do get a job if you have free time (especially one where you can study while working). ■ Don’t shower without flip flops. Enough said. ■ Do party on the weeknights. Chances are you won’t have classes early in the morning every day. Sometimes a mid-week social outing is refreshing, and can save you time to put aside a whole day on the weekend to work or just relax. ■ Don’t party like you just got paroled from prison. Just because you don’t have a curfew anymore doesn’t mean you should start doing bodyshots and staying up until 4 a.m. A bad hangover isn’t the worst consequence of nonstop madness, especially if you weren’t a big partier in high school. If your only experience with alcohol is a sip of Mom’s wine at dinner, you probably shouldn’t attempt that keg stand. ■ Do leave high school in the past. You don’t have to call home every day, your high school friends might be easy to fall back on, but hanging out with them every weekend isn’t a good idea, and most of all, you don’t have to be the same person you were in high school! ■ Don’t let Dad’s plan for you dictate your college experience. Just because your family have been doctors for five generations doesn’t mean you can’t take a creative writing class. If you end up fulfilling your parents dreams, great, but remember that this is your college experience, not your family’s.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 29, 2007. Read the original PDF.