College is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so no wonder you want to make the most of it. But there are tons of challenges and choices to make when you first start. From which modules to study, to which campus sport to sign up for, you will face more decisions than you ever had in your life. And what’s more, chances are they’ll be life-changing. So in order to stay focused and get the most out of this incredibly productive and interesting environment, you want to hear some useful advice. And honestly, when I was in college freshman year, I’d have benefited tons from what you’re about to read.
First, let's start with the elephant in the room. Partying, partying and more partying is a key (although we can debate how key it actually is) part of the student package, but you can always overdo it, making your grades, motivation, and lifestyle suffer as a result.
A good tip from Katie Roiphe, book author and the director of the Cultural Reporting and Criticism Program at New York University, is to learn how to drink. She suggests drinking two drinks fewer than you want to. “You will get more joy out of life if you are alert to it, before that second-to-last drink, when the evening gets slurred. If you drink too much, you lose those lovely, wild moments,” Katie says and added that if you master the art of getting just-the-right-amount drunk, you will have more fun. This will turn out to be a super amazing skill to carry through your adulthood.
Secondly, you have to remember that college years are excellent for making valuable connections. Trying to talk to your college professors is a great thing to do, but many undergraduates feel either intimidated or feel like they have other things to do. But Roiphe argues that your professors will appreciate your making an effort to connect and discuss things.
“This will be useful for you later, if you need a recommendation or a job, but it is also the way to get the best possible education. I know this because I am a professor,” she said and added that “So many of my most important pedagogical conversations happen in my office or outside of the classroom over coffee.”
Matt Might, a professor of Internal Medicine and Computer Science and Hugh Kaul Endowed Chair in Personalized Medicine also has quite a few wonderful tips on everything from dorm room coffee to study habits to saving cash on tuition. Might’s first advice is to realize that professors are not teachers. “Teachers in high school were trained and certified to educate. Professors spent the best years of their lives extending the boundary of human knowledge, and then won a professorship on their prowess in research. After that, someone threw them into a classroom and asked them to teach,” he argues.
Thus, according to the professor, the key to interacting with professors is to realize that they're not teachers. “As researchers, professors have access to the cutting edge. Few students exploit that access, but it's not hard,” argues Might. His advice is to ask a professor about their research since “even the crankiest professor is going to brighten when talking about their own research. If it sounds interesting, ask if they need help in their lab.”
Another thing to do is to sit in the front row. “A good professor is going to tune the lecture by reading the facial expressions of students. Unfortunately, it's hard to see all the way in the back, so we're really crafting the lecture to those that sit up front, whose faces we can see,” Might explains.
Just like Roiphe, professor Might urges students to go to office hours since it’s “a chance to get one-on-one mentoring from an expert. Plus, when you ask for a letter of recommendation, the professor will know you.” And this is what you ultimately wish when the time comes to look for a job or an internship.
