I’m a pro at going to the University of Northern Iowa. I’ve long lost count of the number of people I’ve seen come and go, and the friends I’ve made that have then vanished into that strange world outside of Cedar Falls and its esteemed university. The freshmen of 2009 were largely just beginning middle school when I started here, and even with plenty of empty nesters wandering the halls, I feel old.
What does this translate to? One degree with another on the way. Me never having held a real job, yes. But I’d also like to think that I have learned a few things that would have been useful had I known them when I was 18. My experiences are my own, but if there’s not something to be shared from them, then I’ve done it all wrong.
1. You’re going to have some bad professors. I’m not talking about the criminally disinterested ones teaching for the health insurance or the incompetent ones who have no business in a university in the first place. I’m referring to the ones who grade dishonestly, ridicule students with opposing views, and hold grudges against people for no particular reason. If you’re lucky, you can drop their class and move on, but if they teach a course required by your major or you have too few hours to drop, you might be stuck. It hurts, but the best thing to do in these situations is to clench your teeth and push through. You’ll encounter no shortage of people in life that are insufferable and unjust, but you often have to work with them anyway. On the other hand, there are instances where a bad professor can go too far. I generally frown on narking, but if you’re being seriously wronged, then don’t pass Go, see the department head and make your complaint known. This would likely make it impossible to work with the professor in the future, so make sure the grievance is worth the effort to have it redressed.
2. On the flip side, you’re going to have some great professors. The great ones aren’t just fantastic teachers or knowledgeable in their field, but demonstrate genuine concern for their students’ education. Do yourself a favor and get to know these people. Volunteer during class, stop by their office and say hello, shoot them a friendly email. Not only might you learn a lot, but it also counts as networking. A letter of recommendation from a professor carries a lot more weight than the one from your freshman year roommate.
3. Wait a few class periods before buying the books. For the first couple years, I’d buy every book on the rack at University Book and Supply, only to find that I didn’t need some or even all of them to do well in the course. Get a feel for things before throwing away dollars that could better be spent on essentials, like beer or designer jeans.
4. Ever heard of Ratemyprofessors.com? Use it religiously. I’ve not once failed to form a highly accurate expectation of a professor going in thanks to it. When browsing the profiles, learn to read between the lines: if a professor’s good reviews include phrases such as “he’s not so bad once you get to know him,” then beware. Learn to figure out what reviews are based on an honest analysis of the professor and which ones are based on a student who’s angry that the or she didn’t get an easy A.
5. It’s an open secret that countless college students drink and drive. Despite the endless stream of warnings not to, just about everyone has made up their minds about whether or not they’re fine with doing it themselves. I’ll spare you the lectures and tips about getting cabs and catching buses and having a designated driver, because it’s like smoking: we know it’s bad, but some of us do it anyway. A tip: before you get behind the wheel, think about how much fun it would be to call everyone you respect and tell them that you got a DUI.
6. There’s nothing wrong with being a C student if you’re not planning on any education after your undergrad degree. Few, if any, employers will be concerned with your undergrad GPA, and I’ve met people with sterling GPAs that I wouldn’t trust to mop a floor. On the other hand, if the end of college approaches and you decide that graduate school would be prudent, it won’t be easy to explain to an acceptance committee why you’d make an excellent grad student when you were a resolutely mediocre undergrad. A GPA is a slippery beast; it takes a damn lot of A’s to offset a single C.
7. You know your boyfriend or girlfriend, the one from high school that you love sooooo much? Dump them. No one ever follows this advice and everyone regrets it. The game is different now, and high school is best left in the past. A few years down the road, virtually everyone your age will be married, engaged, or looking to be, not to mention they’ll all eventually have the girth of a gas tanker.
8. Every class has that person. They constantly raise their hand, blathering on about every insipid thought that goes through their head, be it related to the discussion or not, often waiting until the last ten seconds of class to start. Don’t. Be. That. Person. In these halls, the insufferable people are talked about a lot more than the cool ones.
9. Choose your major(s) carefully. It’s amazing to me how many people pick a major which they’re wildly unsuited for or that they find as fun as a bad case of swine flu. If you’re like most, you’re plunging yourself into incredible debt for this degree, and even if the tab is on someone else, your time is even more valuable than money.
10. When I was a freshman, I lived as if I wouldn’t be around when I was 25. Not that I was suicidal, but I just never bothered to consider that I might need to prepare for the future. It’s a terrible feeling when the end of college is near and you realize that there isn’t a desirable next step.
11. Enjoy college, because soon it’ll be over, and even if you go back, it’s never the same as when you were young.
