College isn't too hard to get through. Just work hard, find something you love and relax at any chance you get. It'll be a good time.

And suggestion number 1 is don't go into teaching....biggest mistake ever.

The biggest enemy of a college student is procrastination. There's a few semesters worth of classes that you need to take in order to get your AA degree, and they're just as about as boring as non-elective high-school classes, only harder.

You'll get some projects in these courses, and you want to get an early start on them. There's no worse feeling than forcing yourself to throw your project together at the last minute just to meet the deadline.The worst ones are composition courses and any Gorden Rule class. Also, familiarize yourself with proper citaton skills. If you forget to cite your sources in writing assignments, bad things will happen. It's considered plagarism and you could get expelled for it.

Also, remember to study in all your courses. It's not like high school where you can just memorize all the stuff. there's a lot of content that you have to practice and familiarize yourself with.

Look at this guy. How goes it?

I could throw some insight to this on the real...

Having 104 credits with one semester remaining before obtaining my degree in Political Science/Philosophy, I can tell you that whatever major you go for you have to be passionate, confident and enjoy working in the field.

The key to school isn't necessarily your GPA or where you attend, its more about what you do with your time in between semesters. Making connections, working in your field, etc. Make the ties necessary so that when you graduate with your degree you're not waiting around after graduating.

I don't know what your financial situation is but the best thing you can do is keep yourself in the least amount of debt possible. If you want to go away I would recommend an in-state school that would be affordable to pay for either in school or post-graduation.

Majors are also subject to where you live, if you live in Idaho I wouldn't recommend Finance, again the key is to be passionate and wanting to learn more about your field. If you study political science like me the best thing you can do is have strong beliefs and either volunteer or build a relationship with political people.

There's a lot of research to be done, you can use your first semester to feel things out, but I would want to know what degree I want sooner than later because in short ultimately, its the time spent between school that is going to determine your life after school.

Of course I do STD, I had a book published about it, it's on Amazon for $19.99.

That's how I know. I'm gonna need a refund.

From someone who went to college and grad school and grew up in a family of university employees, here are my tips:

1) Go to class. Every day.

This sounds obvious, but it's also the most important. You wouldn't believe how many students either flunk out or dig themselves a huge hole in the first semester simply because they don't have their parents to nag them in to going to school anymore. Use your freedom responsibly.

2) Get your core requirements out of the way as fast as you can.

These will likely be 100 level classes and they should all be relatively easy depending on how balanced you are in your education. In many cases, 100 level classes will probably be easier than classes you took as a senior in high school.

3) Graduate, don't procrastinate.

Yes, the job market is terrible right now, which means that you want to leave school with as little debt as possible. Sure, you'll be paying it off in to your late 30's regardless (unless you have a ton of scholarships), but really, the less debt you have, the better.

4) Get involved.

I'm not just talking about making friends, going to sporting events and parties etc. You'll probably do that regardless. I mean, once you choose a major, get involved with it. Join a club that pertains to it, get to know your professors once you get up in to the 400 level classes and above. These people can help you get connected to places of future employment, internship possibilities, and can also be contacts on your resume, which will likely be next to empty when you graduate.

5) Balance your interests with the job market.

In other words, if you love writing, that's great. Now look at the places where your talents can be best utilized (journalism? Law? etc) and choose a PRACTICAL major (ie everyone chooses liberal arts, which means that no one in these fields stand out all that much regardless of their GPA) that best allows you to use your talent and make money.

Yes, doing what you love sounds great, but if you have no idea how you'll actually apply your gifts in the real world, then all of the education in the world won't even remotely prepare you for a job in your desired field.

6) Set aside one class that you want to take.

Want to learn basic Japanese? How about the history of Russia through Peter the Great? Perhaps you want to learn kickboxing? Set aside one class that's just for you. If you have room for more, great, but don't leave college without getting at least one class like this that really teaches you something that you had no clue about before.

7) You have advisors. Use them.

This sounds stupid but again, lots of college students overlook this one. These people are paid to help you. They are paid to help set up a program for you that helps you get the best out of your education. Not only that though, they should be able to give you career advice, provide information about career paths or help you with tests and what not if you have no clue what you want to do. They're a good resource. Again, use them.

8) Get a job.

While you're in school, I mean. Not a big job, working long hours (unless you have to), but a college job, working with other college kids. It's a good way to get to know more people and in college, mark my words: Maybe you're rich, but if not, then you will, at some point, be very very poor during this experience. Having a paycheck, even a small one, is nice.

9) Don't overwhelm yourself.

I know I've said to get a job and use your advisors and pick what you want to do and don't waste time and go to class etc, but I mean all of this over the course of four years. Don't do what a lot of students do and jump in to everything right away.

Ease your way in. Don't get a job in your first year if you don't have to. Do an internship in your last year. Study abroad at some point if you can. But again, don't try to do 50 different things in your first semester. Get used to everything, but keep a plan in mind of when you want to do stuff.

10) Enjoy yourself.

I hate to break it to you, but this is the final bubble. Once it bursts, you're an adult with real bills and the need to get a real job to pay them. Enjoy your last four years of freedom from that crap. I don't mean that to sound negative either. College is AWESOME. You're going to have a great time, even when you're up at 4am, cramming for a final that's at 8am or writing the last page of a 20 page paper before rushing off to class. It's a great experience, just try and have fun, learn as much as you can and prepare yourself for what comes next.

Hope that helps! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

As much as I'd love to contribute (senior in college), numerous people in this thread have already said it better. I'll just leave it at this, don't take a liberal arts major without having a practical plan (or even better, a minor) for the future ahead. For example, i'm pursuing a political science degree but i'll be going to grad school to teach on the collegiate level. So if you're gonna go into the liberal arts field, at least consider the possibility of going into education or engineering or whatever. It'll help you in the long run when you can afford to feed your kids and own nice shit.

I'm being an engineer. I plan on getting my bachelors degree and joining the army army going in as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Good choice, being an Engineer is practically a job career guarantee. Best of luck!

-Do your homework and don't procrastinate!
-College is really expensive so take it seriously.
-Behave like an adult not like an idiot from HS!
-Use half.com to purchase your text books, colleges/universities really rip you off!
-Make friends, it makes it a lot easier.
-Study for midterms and finals! Make yourself a study guide for each exam and memorize it!

I am going to be a 3rd year this Fall at the University of California, Riverside. Psychology major here =).
Funny thing is that I won't be at UCR for my 3rd year. I am going to study abroad in the United Kingdom for my entire 3rd year for my BA.

I'm just now going to start college here in the fall since I just passed my COMPASS test. Hopefully I'll have a good time there.