Things They Don't Tell Freshmen

Roll your eyes if you must. Jest about us “stupid freshmen.” Whatever. But, once upon a time, you were in our place. And sure, we’re dumb in some areas and have to learn our lessons the hard way, but you have to admit, there are some things that we don’t know how to do because NO ONE EVER TOLD US. You know, those things that are so standard on campus that no one ever thinks about the fact that new people don’t know about them. And the only way they’ll know is if someone tells them.

Maybe some of these are just me… probably. So make fun of me if you want to. Doesn’t matter to me!

I also posted a status on facebook asking for ideas, so some ideas are from my friends.  

So here it is, a tribute to all freshmen: past, present, and future. We’re not completely brainless… sometimes we’re just uninformed.

[as I typically do with my list, two asterisks (**) indicates that the particular item applies to CCC only… or I don’t know if it will apply to other colleges, so I don’t want to make a faulty blanket statement]

THINGS THEY DON’T TELL FRESHMEN

(in no particular order)

Cathcart Schedule (translation for other schools—meal schedule)

Alright, this one was kinda my fault; I’ll give you that. But I never thought to look for the meal schedule the first week of school. That wasn’t on my radar! So I woke up one fine, Saturday morning with my tummy growling and… no Cathcart. Because Cathcart’s weekend schedule is weird, THAT’S why. Only brunch and dinner. As if there aren’t people in this world that depend on their three meals a day. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, people!

Okay, okay… chill out Lydia. But I was hungry, alright?

Anyways, I missed a few meals that first week because I didn’t know the schedule.

“Hey you freshman, FYI, printing off the Cathcart schedule or having it handy is a good idea. That way you won’t STARVE.”

That would have been nice…

**Paying for Laundry

My siblings all went to BJU for at least one year, and there, like many other colleges, the laundry machines are run with quarters. My sweet family helped me prepare for college by giving me OODLES of quarters before I left. I was totally set for laundry. I had $20+ worth of quarters. So the first time I had to do my laundry on campus I walked down to those machines, and do you know what I saw? Some weird swipey-machine. No space for quarters. Turns out, one can only use his/her Cougar Card to run the machines. I didn’t have money on my Cougar Card, because why on earth would I need money on my Cougar Card? So I hike over to The Cove to put money on my card. I was going to use the bunches of quarters I had; they were for laundry anyways. Nope. The only way to put money on your Cougar Card is with a credit/debit card. -__- Thank you Clearwater for being weird. I wish I had known that I couldn’t use quarters for my laundry before I came to college. Things they don’t think to specify in The Guide…

**Exam permits

So this one wasn’t a big deal since they were given to us, but no one ever foretold us what exam permits were all about. We just get this e-mail that,

“Exam Permits will be placed in your boxes on Wednesday morning (12/4/13).  Please take your exam permit to each exam so you will be allowed to get credit for your final exams.”

Okay, so yea, they tell us right then and there what they are for. But many of us freshman were just a little surprised. We were never warned about these. Suddenly we just receive an e-mail about them being necessary to our college survival and they show up in our boxes and we’re all just like “WHAT ARE THESE THINGS AND WHY WEREN’T WE WARNED!”

(at least, that’s what we dramatic students were thinking…)

Exam Week Schedule

FUN FACT: You don’t have to go to normal classes exam week! Yea, THAT would have been nice to know. I’m not the only freshman who didn’t know this. There were a few of us, after hearing some people talk about “this is our last chapel” and “exam schedule” and all that fun stuff, had to take a bite of our humble pie, walk up to an upperclassman, and say,

“um… this is going to sound stupid… but next week… exams… uh… no one really ever told us…

Do we have to go to normal classes next week?

Please don’t judge me…”

Book Buying Do’s and Don’ts

Some freshmen were fortunate enough to have people forewarn them about books and how they should/shouldn’t be bought. This one is in honour of all those who never had that privilege. CCC doesn’t have a bookstore, so, obviously, this one won’t apply to any CCC students, BUT—don’t buy your books at the school bookstore. You can get they much cheaper from Amazon or somewhere like that. Make sure you check those out. Compare prices. Also, for some schools, it’s wise to not buy your books early—wait until you go to class to find out what you really need. So many poor college students show up to class with a shiny new $150 textbook only to find out they don’t need it at all. (Just remember: this is risky. Talking to other students is probably a wise move on this one, because for some classes you really do need that book. And you’ll need it the first day… or before that even. Look into this one. To each his own.)

(My friend Megan suggests dealoz.com to help you buy your books)

Easy Cross-Campus Transportation

For all those living on a big campus, investing in a skateboard/bike/ripstick/scooter/something is not a bad idea. You’ll save a lot of time going from class to class. My friend Jon mentions how they’re great for “when you only have 10 minutes between classes, and you need a snack.” (Good for small campuses too—I see them all over CCC—but not quite as necessary. I mean, we can get anywhere on that campus within two minutes, so…)

Class Skips

Long story short—don’t just use them all willy-nilly. If you have 3 skips for a class, don’t throw them away for the fun of it. For one thing, if you use them up early, something may happen like, say, you get sick. You sleep in. You/your friend/your family member gets injured. Used up all your skips? Looks like you’re going to class. Either that or you’re getting dropped from the course. There goes a bunch of wasted money. Those skips are there for a reason—necessity. If it’s not a necessity, don’t use them. Listen to the wisdom of my friend Jon Dial:

"If you can miss 5 days, don't purposefully miss five days so you can go shopping or play call of duty. YOU (or someone) [are] paying for YOUR educatoin. TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT. I did this my first 2 years of college, and all through high school, and I greatly regret not taking my education more seriously. Knowledge is better than gold."

Be careful, however, to not be too scared to use a skip. If you need to use it, do! If it is a class that, honestly, you really don’t need to be there for (you know those classes), and you have work that needs to get done for a (pardon me for saying this) more important (or just more intense) class, it’s okay to do that. Just be wise. Maybe I’m sounding contradictory… the main idea is, don’t waste class skips. You’re an adult now. Make wise choices. Moving on…

Medical Supplies

This was an interesting one that I didn’t know about, but my friend Anthony suggested it.

“[T]he nurse at school usually has free samples of generic cough medicine, cough drops, Tylenol, band aids, an other basic medical supplies that you can pick up instead of going to the store and buying them.”

Hmm… pretty nifty if you ask me! I don’t know if this applies to all schools. In fact, does CCC even have a school nurse? Anyway, this could be very helpful, and, obviously, is not common knowledge.

Eating Habits

Careful, careful my dear friends. We’ve all heard of the infamous freshman 15… or five… or whatever. It’s tempting to get cheap food to keep in your dorm. We’re poor college students, right? But, let’s think about it, what’s cheap? Ramen noodles (the famous college kid food) and other foods like that. While you may be saving money, you will, as my friend Anthony stated so well, “be pay[ing] for it in many more unpleasant ways.” I kept a big container of almonds in my dorm during the beginning of the semester. Sure, they weren’t the cheapest things in the world, but they lasted me a while (and would probably last other people longer, because I kind of overdose on almonds and stuff like that), and I didn’t feel like a load of crud after eating them. And remember, your stomach may lie to you. Many times, when you feel hungry, really you are just thirsty. You may not believe me, but it’s true. Drink some water. It will help. Then, if you’re still hungry, grab something healthy. Also, if you’re like me, you eat when you’re bored or studying (which are fairly synonymous, let’s just be honest). Don’t. Just don’t, okay? You’ll thank yourself later. You’re not really hungry. You’re bored. Food isn’t going to help. One more thing: during the first couple weeks of college, your body is still getting used to your new eating schedule. You will be hungry ALL.THE.TIME. At least, I know I was, but I was too cheap to go buy snacks, so I was totally dependent on Cathcart’s meal times. I was sooo hungry, but after a week or two, my body adjusted, and I was just fine with my three meals a day. Push through those first few weeks, and you should adjust too.

TH Classes

This one was suggested to me by my good friend Katelyn. My classes weren’t listed this way, so I never faced this problem, but I can see how it could be confusing, especially to those who have never seen “H” stand for Thursday before. In class listings, “TH” means Tuesday and Thursday. To break it down, “T” stands for Tuesday, and “H” stands for for Thursday (since there are two days of the week that start with “T,” the powers that be have designated “H” to stand for Thursday—though some, such as Clearwater, use “R,” so keep that in mind). It seems that there have been freshmen in the past that missed their first Tuesday class because they thought “TH” meant Thursday only. It’s okay guys; others have been there before.

Bible Class Perspective

Another good suggestion from my dear friend Katelyn:

“If you’re at a Bible school, don’t stress yourself out too much over your Bible classes to the point that you start viewing the Bible as a textbook, or resenting your time in His Word. You have enough to worry about in college, don’t lose the one resource that brings lasting peace.”

I’m pretty sure that does not need anymore explaining.

I would also encourage new freshmen in Bible college to take advantage of your Bible classes! Katelyn gave me the above encouragement before I left for school. I was very careful to not look at my Bible as a textbook. I actually was very encouraged through my required Bible reading. I tried to make sure it did not replace my personal devotions (for, when you are reading for class, you can’t really dig into the passage too much—you’ll never get through your reading in time if you do), so it was like extra encouragement to me. There were days that I would feel bogged down with homework, but I received relief and peace when I “had” to do my NT reading. I was required to read through the entire New Testament, and I’m so glad I did! It was such a blessing! Take those assignments as a gift!

Learning Your Way Around Campus

This is especially beneficial for those who are going to school on a big campus, but this would be helpful for anyone. I know I’m directionally challenged; I probably would have had some serious issues if my classes were in more than three different rooms my first semester. My friend Kaity suggests visiting all your classrooms before your classes actually start and/or getting a map. Don’t be ashamed of doing something like that. It’s better that than showing up late to class your first day because you couldn’t find the classroom!

Campus Security

Put their number in your phone. It’s helpful. I know at CCC people call them all the time to unlock doors for them. It’s altogether a good idea. And be nice to all the janitors, security, kitchen staff, IT, etc. etc. First of all, you should because that’s the Godly thing to do. Also, it has its perks. It’ll be a lot easier to get help when you’re friends with those you need help from. Do you think security wants to help out the jerk that is rude to them every time he/she comes on campus? Uh, probably not. Think the kitchen staff will be cool with you coming into the kitchen to grab something if you’re always disrespectful to them? Yea, I don’t think so. Just be good, for goodness’ sake!

(I’m not saying that you should befriend people just for the benefits. I’m just saying that if you’re a jerk to the staff, don’t be surprised when the staff doesn’t want to help you out!)

**Cathcart Kitchen Secrets

I worked in Cathcart, and this one still took me a few weeks to figure out. The kitchen staff is cool with you going into the kitchen to cut your own fruit, find a banana, etc., as long as you know what you’re doing. Now, if you make a mess of things and don’t put things back where they belong, don’t expect to be Mrs. Johnson’s good side, like, ever again. But they’re fine with people going in and cutting their own apples. Actually, they prefer it! It saves them time! Also, Mr. Yeater will make you an omelet or quesadilla or whatever if you bring him the stuff you want in it (or someone else will be on duty to do it). I always forget about this, so I’ve never done it yet, but my friends to it all the time. It may take you longer to get your food, but let me tell you what: I’m always jealous when I see my friends get their food. It looks sooooo good. 

Coffee

I’m putting this one in just for Nathaniel.

“Make sure you’re sufficiently competent at producing a quality pot of coffee at a moment’s notice. Because you will wake up late, and going to class directly after you’ve woken up without a cup of coffee is simply unreasonable.”

I guess if you’re dependent on coffee, this is a really good suggestion. For those of us who aren’t… moving along, shall we?

Scantrons

I must say, thanks to my mother, I was very blessed in this area. My mom had us using scantrons in her classes in high school, so I am very used to them—filling them out, filling them in, etc. etc. However, not everyone had that privilege, and the professors never really explain how to do it. They just hand you one, sometimes tell you what to put in the blanks (the often-times unnecessary blanks… thankfully some professors recognize that and are just like, “yea, leave that empty”), and sit at their desks, once again assuming that everyone knows what to do. But not everyone does. Some kids have only ever seen scantrons during specific academic tests such as ACT, SAT, etc. Let’s be honest here: that’s totally different than getting one in a normal class. So, in honour of all those who were not previously accustomed to scantrons, let’s give the freshmen a little help, k? Not really our fault, and we just want to make sure we’re doing everything exactly right! That’s not really something you should fault us for… at least I don’t think so.

Shortly after I started getting ideas from my friends on facebook, a theme began to emerge: time management and balance. I was given so many pointers and opinions, I thought that I’d leave that topic for another blog… maybe. If I ever get to it, it will have its very own post. I also think that it is one of those things that every college students needs reminding of (and maybe tips for), regardless of year. I mean, who doesn’t struggle with time management and balance between relationships and school and working out and food and sleep and sanity and…

Get the picture?

But for now, this is what I have for you. I hope some of you can relate, and maybe, just maybe, this could help prepare an incoming college freshman someday. May you avoid some of the awkward/embarrassing situations that we found ourselves in. Learn from other’s mistakes—that right there will help you a TON!