Tips From Fall 2005

• Get to know all of your professors on a first name basis. SU is a seemingly large campus, but in actuality it is small enough to converse with a professor one on one. Do the same with your TAs. If a professor or TA knows what type of student you are and becomes acquainted with your strengths and weaknesses, you will truly make the best out of your experience here at SU.
  
• Enjoy Freshman Forum. You do not get to go out for lunch or go to plays with your professor and other students in any other class. It is a very enjoyable class if you just show up and do your work.
• Take risks and be outgoing, because you are not going to meet any friends if you are in your room all day. Keep an open mind and open up because it is like a brand new start to your life.
• Try to develop a routine as early as you can, and stick to it as much as possible. It really helps you get settled in and figure out college life sooner.
• Take the class seriously. I know that you will probably think of it as a waste of time, but it helps you get to know aspects of the school and Syracuse the city. It might not seem like a lot, but this class is honestly the easiest A you will ever get. The assignments are easy and take little time and you also get to enjoy fun activities and food at the chancellor's expense. Take advantage of all this class and the school offers you.
• Keeping a monthly/weekly/daily planner helps you to keep track of everything you should be doing. It helps you to balance your work, homework, and free time so you won't feel overwhelmed, relieving some stress.
• Experience is everything. Syracuse University has many opportunities that should be taken advantage of in order to gain the experience that is necessary in life to be successful.
• Start the reading early when you are still not overwhelmed by work. Even though there are not check-up points to make sure you have read, spread out the reading, because having to read most of the book in 2 days is not fun.
• Enjoy the free food.
• Don't stress yourself out. College is a time for personal growth and experience. You learn what you are good at and you experience things that you never though you would before. Don't get overwhelmed about your first tests, because they will be hard. If you don't do that well, talk to your TA or your professor because they will tell you exactly what you need to do to get the grade that you desire. Never give up, and relax!
• College is hard; don't take your studying for granted. Tests and assignments won't feel easy like high school, get ready to work hard.
• Don't shut yourself off from campus life because you're homesick or lonely. Try to go to all the events you can, you may meet some interesting people, and you can always leave early if you're not having fun.
• Get involved in everything. The time will go by so quickly, and you need to decide early on what you would like to be involved in and what you can weed out.
• Don't be afraid to open up to your teachers. They are here to help you and aid you in becoming successful. If there is something going on, talk to them. They are human, too. They will try to understand the problem and fix it the best way they know how. If you do not talk, there is nothing they can do for you.
• Take advantage of all the activities such as plays and free lunches. All things that cost you money but are free when you do them here, and dining hall food eventually gets old. Going out is nice.