It’s the middle of the summer and you’re loving the couch-potato life that being a high school graduate brings. You have turned in all your research papers, crammed for your exams, and picked out some colleges to apply to. You walked across the stage, got your diploma, and chose a college. Now what? Relaxing, spending time with your friends, and enjoying a responsibility-free summer are all crucial activities. Before you ride off into the college sunset to experience countless new adventures, however, you need to take care of a few things. It turns out that the college admissions packet you received after your acceptance letter wasn’t provided as kindling for your summer campfires. The packet contains important information regarding move-in times, the registration procedure, and much more. Check out the “must do” list below for some tips.
Call your new roommate:
Nothing is more awkward than showing up on day 1 to find out you both brought refrigerators and microwaves, but neither one of you brought a shower caddy. Checking ahead of time and coordinating who is bringing what will save you many headaches. It might be smart to plan your move-in times as well so that you’re not both trying to cram all your stuff into the room at the same time.
Find out about parking:
Not all colleges allow incoming freshman to have a car on campus. Double check to make sure you are allowed to bring one (if you even own one), and how much it costs. If you have to register do it early, so as to get the best parking lot on campus.
Research the best campus hangouts:
Do your homework and find out where the best campus hotspots are. You don’t want to be out of the loop and have an upper-class student trick you into thinking you’re walking to a campus pub, only to end up at a professor’s house.
Look over the course options and get your schedule:
Although this might seem overwhelming, it never hurts to think ahead. You won’t have to pick out your major the first day of class, but you want to be thinking about the types of classes that interest you. If you have no idea what you want to do, then take classes from a wide variety of degree paths. Depending on your school, you either have an assigned schedule or you can pick your own courses. Read that acceptance packet and find out what you need to do. Leaving it to the last moment might mean you get stuck with 8:00am classes, 5 days a week. Yuck!
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