16 Tips for the Class of 2016

Hey guys!

Less than a month until heading back to St. Mike's, and I couldn't be more excited! This time last year, I really had no idea what my first year in college would bring, but it ended up being better than I ever expected. You learn a lot your freshman year..not only about the subjects you're taking classes in but also about life as a college student in general...so here are a few tips for you incoming freshman that I picked up during my first year at SMC!

1.     If you’re not a morning person, try not to sign up for 8 am classes. It's difficult to focus without ridiculous amounts of coffee and willpower.

2.     Don’t be afraid to change your major, even more than once. If your interests change (which is very common), then there are many other areas to explore and fall in love with! 

3.     Bring your room key with you wherever you go. I got locked out of my room on the first morning after moving in because I went to the bathroom and closed the door behind me, not even thinking to grab my key. Then I had to awkwardly walk over to Alliot in my pajamas and with no shoes just to get a temporary key. Bottom line, that key is your new best friend. 

4.     Make an effort to go see professors during office hours, it really does help. You don't need to be failing the class to get a little extra attention...the professors have office hours so that they can be available to you for nearly anything...take advantage of it!

5.     Check out Burlington/Church Street once in a while. There's so much to do off campus as well as on campus...and with your KnightCard, it's free to ride the bus into town! Grab some friends and go into town for shopping and a bite to eat at one of the many wonderful restaurants that Church Street has to offer...I try to do this at least once a week :)

6.     Introduce yourself to all of your neighbors when you get to school for orientation. That’s how I met all of my best friends...I went around to most of the rooms near me with my roommate and we all planned to eat together in alliot that night!

7.     Do at least one MOVE event. You’ll be helping out and you'll feel better about yourself as a result...plus, it's a great way to meet other students!

8.     Experiment with the food in Alliot. When things get boring, make up something of your own from a few different stations.

9.     Your roommate might not be your best friend, but mutual respect will make it easy to live together. More simply, respect that you are different people with different living styles...and try to coexist peacefully. And if that doesn't work...you can always request a room change...but usually people are more than happy with their roommate :)

10.  The upperclassmen aren’t out to get you, they’re actually quite friendly. There's a common misconception that the upperclassmen are out to get the freshman, or just don't like them in general. This definitely isn't true at St. Mike's...the upperclassmen often become friends with first-years and everyone is one big community...so there's no need to worry about dodging the seniors in the hallway. 

11.  If you want to sell back your textbooks to the bookstore at the end of each semester, don’t scribble in them or highlight every other sentence. For those of us who buy our textbooks through the bookstore, we can sell them back at the end of the semester, but only if they're kept in good condition. 

12.  Vermonters call soft-serve “creemees,” there’s no use in arguing about it…we’ve all tried.

13. 10 minutes between classes is plenty of time..unless you have to go from a class on North Campus to a class on Main Campus in that amount of time. In that case, I suggest wearing sneakers and sprinting rather than trying to take the shuttle...you'd be late before they even pick you up from North. 

14.  Don’t forget your usernames and passwords. Write them down or something, mine are all on a post-it in my agenda. Your MikeNet, eCollege, KnightVision, and SMC email are essential to survival. Seriously. 

15.  Remember that Alliot is “ally-oh.” You don’t pronounce the “T” at the end…classic mistake. 

16.  Enjoy your freshman year, you’ll only get one! J