What is your best advice for kids heading off to college this fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re the "lighten up, people" poster -- you know, OP's original question included a request for advice for parents, so "Lighten up" poster could have just said something like "I don't think kids are really into getting advice when you move them in; just be open to hearing from them when they need help." That's kind of what s/he said at one point in trying to justify/defend the "lighten up" post. That would have gone over fine without being obnoxious and cooler-than-thou. I don't know, maybe "Lighten up's" mom should have offered some advice way back when "lighten up" went to college: "You can disagree agreeably with people."

“Lighten up” poster here. Whatever. Just watch Freaks & Geeks. It’s high quality stuff - even for empty nesters!

Back again? Lighten Up should be renamed Get a Life.

DP: That show is pretty funny too! Haven't thought about it in a while. I thought the pillar thing amusing, but the whole "I'm summa cum laude, T20 and never went to a prof's office" snooty. Hence the weird response . (That is, of course, If I'm remembering correctly that that's from same poster. Maybe I'm combining responses arbitrarily and that's why they seem weird together). Or maybe it's just that your daughter is funny and you aren't.

[Anonymous]

This started as a nice thread of people sharing some pearls of wisdom and it’s been ruined all this back and forth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This started as a nice thread of people sharing some pearls of wisdom and it’s been ruined all this back and forth.

I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is part of what I wrote to DC, who graduated from college several years ago. DC later told me that they re-read the note periodically.
:::

As you start your life at school, think through the sweep of human history and try to guess how many people were given this opportunity. Acknowledge to yourself just how rare and special this gift is. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity you have.

Find a Constant: Find something to hold on to, something you can carry with you throughout college as you encounter all these new things. It might be running, playing your instrument, or something else entirely. Regardless of what your constant is, you should practice making it as routine as brushing your teeth. It will give you stability when everything else is changing.

Get Out There. Everyone will want to meet you and there will be none of the social awkwardness that usually accompanies rushing up and speaking to total strangers. Everyone is a total stranger. Do not squander this short window of opportunity - it will never come around again. Join clubs and groups. The earlier you meet people and find a place to belong, the sooner you will enjoy school.

Show Up: Go to every single class and sit in the front. Get help early and often when you need it. Group work, study sessions and other academic collaborations are the norm in college. Get into study groups early in the year, before the midterm rush.

Be Present: Look people in the eye. Offer a firm handshake. Show up on time. Help out. Be present. Pay attention to those around you. Never again will life mix youth, freedom, opportunity and resources together in quite this heady combination. If these are to be the very best years, you must make them so.

OMG PP. I'm the OP and you made me cry. This is wonderful.

Thank you, OP.

~PP

[Anonymous]

Eat real food! It is really easy to get pizza, fries, and burgers every day. But you will feel so much better if you don’t. Oh, and drink water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This started as a nice thread of people sharing some pearls of wisdom and it’s been ruined all this back and forth.

Except they weren't really very polished pearls is all. Nothing profound about any of the advice offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This started as a nice thread of people sharing some pearls of wisdom and it’s been ruined all this back and forth.

Except they weren't really very polished pearls is all. Nothing profound about any of the advice offered.

Tell us your profound advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This started as a nice thread of people sharing some pearls of wisdom and it’s been ruined all this back and forth.

I was just about to post the same thing

[Anonymous]

I do think that a poll of college students would show that the large majority never or virtually never have any contact with the large majority of professors outside of the classroom. Why do folks on this board think that extensive contact with professors outside of the classroom is so critically important when the evidence is to the contrary? Not trying to be snarky; I am genuinely curious.

What might be going on, I think, is that that was the experience of more DCUM parents than the average college graduate because this is such a "Type A" area. It might also be that too many years have passed since DCUM parents went to college and they're misremembering.

I remember going to college, working hard and partying hard, having friends who did the same, then all of us going on to successful careers and lives. And I don't remember any of us ever having anything to do with professors outside of the classroom except in rare instances. While it's true that none of us got PhD's, virtually all of us went to grad school, med school, or law school.

[Anonymous]

Don’t have sexy with the crazy girl. She was most likely molested. She needs a friend, just be a friend.

My sin thought I was insane when I told him this but he said.., “wow, there was that girl”

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of cocaine … don’t do cocaine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This started as a nice thread of people sharing some pearls of wisdom and it’s been ruined all this back and forth.

I was just about to post the same thing

Oh really? The first response was don't smoke cigarettes and don't get pregnant. Then someone said wear a rubber. Then someone said join a frat and "chicks" will think your "peenie weenie" is big. Then somebody said she wished she'd been told that most guys aren't worth the trouble.

Which of these pearls of wisdom was "nice" exactly?

[Anonymous]

Be prepared for a lockdown. Have whatever books, ideas, cookies, etc. you’d need to be OK if you were stuck alone in your room
for two or three weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This started as a nice thread of people sharing some pearls of wisdom and it’s been ruined all this back and forth.

I was just about to post the same thing

Oh really? The first response was don't smoke cigarettes and don't get pregnant. Then someone said wear a rubber. Then someone said join a frat and "chicks" will think your "peenie weenie" is big. Then somebody said she wished she'd been told that most guys aren't worth the trouble.

Which of these pearls of wisdom was "nice" exactly?

That is all nice advice. Very frank and direct.

[Anonymous]

This thread went south when a poster poo-poo'd the need to suck up the professors and other posters didn't like that. Nobody was offering any real advice before that, just joking around.