Freshman Advice Thread

[DFWClone]

Going into my freshman year.. How does this look?

The times of your classes are brutal. You're gonna be tired of that by the 2nd week.

Last semester my earliest was a 9:30 class and I could barely scrape myself out of bed on those cold *** winter mornings to get to class. My earliest this semester is 11.

 

[BikeSkiClone]

My last semester on campus I scheduled 4 classes for MWF at 8am and 9am and TR at 8am and 9:30am. Made life easy, just had to wake up. Early in college I struggled with falling into the trap of going to class and then going home or to the gym and then not wanting to go to a later class. Having them back-to-back was great. I'd go to class and then go stay on campus to study or go home and relax or study for 3 or 4 hours before work. Only class I missed that semester was when I had a phone interview for the internship I ended up accepting for the next semester. Worth it.

 

[Cydkar]

Why don't you make mommy and daddy's money (or yours, I guess, but probably not) worth something and use those last credits of anything to knock out some MBA or other masters program classes? You can either go on and finish the MBA at ISU, transfer them to almost any other program later in life, or just benefit from the knowledge you'd gain from challenging yourself.

Don't know why you'd spend $1000's of dollars to sample wine and walk.

You don't remember your last semester of college? I do. I just wanted to GTFO. Your advice is sound but you have to be mentally ready to not coast your last semester.

 

[CyFan61]

Going into my freshman year.. How does this look?

I think it looks pretty good; getting from Pearson to Curtiss in 10 minutes shouldn't be too bad but could be close occasionally. If you stay on campus from start to finish in your classes - 10:00-2:00 MW, 11:00-2:00 F, and 8:00-3:00 TR - you should be able to knock out most of your homework before you even get back to your dorm and have the whole late afternoon/evening to whatever you want.

People recommend avoiding 8:00am's if you are not a morning person, but unless there is an alternative that doesn't get you back-to-back-to-back's and isn't from like 3:15-4:40pm, 8:00am is the best option. I hated those classes that weren't over until almost 5:00 and I still had a ton of stuff to get done afterwards.

 

[Rabbuk]

My advice is to take harder math classes than these guys.

I took Calc 3. I think most engineers only take one class past that. Diff eq.

 

[CyberJJJ]

1) Go to class
2) Take Notes (Get to know someone else that takes notes so if you miss a class)
3) Do the class reading
4) Study for tests
5) Actually go take the test instead of golfing nine (had a roommate do that once)
6) makes friends with the best looking girl in class - beyond the obvious reason socially, she ALWAYS had access to the best test files on campus as all the guys were trying to use those to be Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People)

 

[istater7]

What time is Lied or State Gym usually the least busy (as in going to workout in the weight room)?

 

[Rabbuk]

What time is Lied or State Gym usually the least busy (as in going to workout in the weight room)?

Weekends before lunch.

 

[cowgirl836]

I think it looks pretty good; getting from Pearson to Curtiss in 10 minutes shouldn't be too bad but could be close occasionally. If you stay on campus from start to finish in your classes - 10:00-2:00 MW, 11:00-2:00 F, and 8:00-3:00 TR - you should be able to knock out most of your homework before you even get back to your dorm and have the whole late afternoon/evening to whatever you want.

People recommend avoiding 8:00am's if you are not a morning person, but unless there is an alternative that doesn't get you back-to-back-to-back's and isn't from like 3:15-4:40pm, 8:00am is the best option. I hated those classes that weren't over until almost 5:00 and I still had a ton of stuff to get done afterwards.

absolutely on the 2nd part (and the 1st). I'd rather have morning classes than still be in class at 4pm. Plus if he gets an internship or a job for the summer, I guarantee they'll want him in earlier than 10am so it's good if that's not a completely foreign schedule by then. The breaks he has are perfect for getting homework done and he's still done at a decent time on Fridays.

 

[JHUNSY]

What time is Lied or State Gym usually the least busy (as in going to workout in the weight room)?

Weekdays morning up to around 10:30. Weekends probably up to 11 a.m. and after 6 p.m.

 

[CyFan61]

What time is Lied or State Gym usually the least busy (as in going to workout in the weight room)?

I had the best luck in the early to mid-afternoon. It is a zoo in the late afternoon into the evening, but then gets bearable again later at night. I would not recommend going to either from like 3:00 through 8:00 or so on a weekday.

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

Why don't you make mommy and daddy's money (or yours, I guess, but probably not) worth something and use those last credits of anything to knock out some MBA or other masters program classes? You can either go on and finish the MBA at ISU, transfer them to almost any other program later in life, or just benefit from the knowledge you'd gain from challenging yourself.

Don't know why you'd spend $1000's of dollars to sample wine and walk.

Both my parents dead so thanks for assuming. Even when my father was alive (mother dead for almost a decade now), he didn't give me any money for college.

To take MBA classes at ISU you have to take your GREs, apply, get accepted, and then sign up for them. Thanks but no thanks. I am waiting to work for a company that will pay for my Masters. (Spoiler alert: most of them do). Why would I spend even more money on out of state tuition on getting a Masters right now when I can wait until a company pays for me?

Secondly, it doesn't even cost me much for the undergrad. Because my parents are dead, I am an independent student who qualifies for several grants and scholarships. My cost this semester was $800.

But you keep on assuming

 

[CYF5]

Both my parents dead so thanks for assuming. Even when my father was alive (mother dead for almost a decade now), he didn't give me any money for college.

To take MBA classes at ISU you have to take your GREs, apply, get accepted, and then sign up for them. Thanks but no thanks. I am waiting to work for a company that will pay for my Masters. (Spoiler alert: most of them do). Why would I spend even more money on out of state tuition on getting a Masters right now when I can wait until a company pays for me?

Secondly, it doesn't even cost me much for the undergrad. Because my parents are dead, I am an independent student who qualifies for several grants and scholarships. My cost this semester was $800.

But you keep on assuming

OK....makes sense , it is us tax payers. Waste away!

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

OK....makes sense , it is us tax payers. Waste away!

I am required to do the FAFSA. So blame the person that made that a law/requirement.

But shove off when it comes to "wasting". I just didn't take any blowoff classes and was saving them until the end. It was a choice. Most people take a blowoff once or twice a year. I decided to bunch them up at the end.

 

[Dopey]

Regardless, my point is you get this opportunity once to learn almost anything the university offers.

I guess if you want to learn about walking, go for it.

 

[CyFan61]

Why don't you make mommy and daddy's money (or yours, I guess, but probably not) worth something and use those last credits of anything to knock out some MBA or other masters program classes?

Both my parents dead so thanks for assuming. Even when my father was alive (mother dead for almost a decade now), he didn't give me any money for college.

Sorry for your loss 2015, but damn Dopey looks like an idiot right now... or he looks, dare I say... dopey

 

[WrestlerJJE]

What time is Lied or State Gym usually the least busy (as in going to workout in the weight room)?

I would go either early in the morning or like at 7 at night, things usually calm down by then.

 

[ISUCY23]

I would go either early in the morning or like at 7 at night, things usually calm down by then.

Eh, it's usually pretty busy until 8:30.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I always thought 8AM classes were one of the best innovations I ever did. I had a double-major, did all the athletic bands, and I was a commuter from ~30 minutes away (haha free room and board no debt d00ds! DD), and then TA'd and RA'd later in my undergraduate career and through a quickie master's, so coming early in the morning (a) forced me to go to bed at reasonable hours and (b) well, big, open times in the middle of the day between 9AM and marching band at 4PM/basketball games at 7PM... might as well get some work done... I know the pressures must be different when you have your own living space where you can safety/comfortably take off clothing and lay down to rest, but I never had that, so it forced me into a workaholic mode, which led to some good grades, lots done, learned a lot, all of which paid off with a real job.

 

[jsb]

There's a lot of great advice about treating college like a job and studying when you don't have class, etc. And all of that advice is good. But don't forget to enjoy some things too. Once you graduate and get a job, you won't have the opportunity for a midday nap or have only 2 or 3 hours a day of classes. And sometimes do stupid things---for example, my roommate who was not a basketball fan before coming to Iowa State, was an engineering major and in the spring of her freshman year had a night test for Chem on the night of a basketball game. She and a friend decided that they weren't going to miss that game. So they rushed through the test in 20 minutes and sprinted to Hilton (on the way she completely biffed it on the sidewalk). They got to the game right after it started. Not the smartest move, but a good memory and she did fine in the class