Reading 50
College: You Thought You Knew
By Sarah Plaut
August 3, 2006
So, there you are with your high school diploma hot in your able hands ready to leap onto the college frontier. You've
attended all of the college fairs, you've bought an ungodly amount of Ramen noodles, and you're ready to leave your
parents in the dust as you go in pursuit of collegiate bliss.
So you think you're ready? I thought I was, too.
It was the summer of 2003 when I moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University. I was prepared with floppy
disks, matching towels, a mini fridge, a campus map and, of course, my stash of noodles. And I looked good, too. I walked
around campus wearing little sundresses and high heels with my makeup always done. OK...maybe my overdone appearance
screamed "freshman," but that didn't dawn on me at the time.
Well, as a former college freshman and self-proclaimed perpetual mistake-maker, I believe I hold the credentials to
dispense a little advice to the new kids on the university block. I'll first let you in on a secret — you're going to need
more than a fridge and a map if you want to survive.
So, in an effort to help the up-and-coming pillars of scholastic society avoid making the mistakes that shaped my freshman
experience, I have compiled a list of things that I wish someone had told me prior to my entrance into college.
• First, get a working alarm clock, a comfy mattress pad and a surplus of Tylenol PM. Without these things, no
freshman should continue further. Do not pass go; do not enter your dorm room. Sleep is invaluable in college; so anything
to aid you in this quest will be of utmost importance. Remember, college dorms are comparable to jail cells and do not
come complete with soundproof walls.
• Learn these Websites: www.Ratemyprofessor.com and www.Half.com. The first is a guide to the best and worse
professors on campus. College classes are not created equal; and, therefore, a good professor can make all the difference
in a course (and in your grade). The second site is where the cheapest textbooks can be bought. Every upperclassman
knows that only uninformed freshmen buy their books at the college bookstore.
• Money Management: Let me first start by saying that loans and credit cards MUST BE PAID BACK. When you
get your first financial aid check you feel like you've won the lottery. Prada shoes and Lacoste polos are never so easily
within reach — until you have to buy food and textbooks and pay your sorority dues. If you go into college with the
understanding that money is never free, you are already ahead. Unfortunately, most students ignore that simple fact
and suffer the consequences. I've seen it happen — students attending endless Scrabble Club meetings simply because
they offer free food. I even had some friends sell their plasma to make a few extra bucks as a result of such financial
dilemmas. And honestly, ask yourself, are designer clothes really worth your plasma.
• Find the school gym and library. Most campuses allow students access to the gym at no addition cost, so you might
as well take advantage. If you want to avoid the infamous "freshman 15" (or 20), then pull out your running shoes. As
for the library, just know you will spend many nights there, so you might as well get acquainted early.
• Never leave your laundry unattended. Period. I was never told this little gem of advice prior to my first dorm
laundry experience. After throwing my clothes into one of the time-worn community washing machines, I came back later
only to discover that someone had so kindly added something to my machine. I ended up with a wardrobe of bleach-stained
clothes. And trust me, no one will think you're cool in your tie-dyed Citizen jeans. So guard your laundry.
• Go to class. This is coming from a former skipping pioneer. During my first summer at college it wasn't long until I
had my professor e-mailing me and inquiring as to my where abouts. Oh, I was at college all right, the college bars, college
conceits and the college fraternity parties. I soon realized the importance of attendance in class when my professor said
the letter "F." The "sink-or-swim" mentality set in, and I made the choice to reform from a female Van Wilder to more of
a dedicated student. However, in all seriousness, I soon came to the realization that college really wasn't hard — as long
as you went. • Don't wear your pajamas to class. No matter what anyone tells you, it's never OK. You never know who you
are going to meet, whether it's a new boyfriend/girlfriend or future employer. While any school-spirit shirt and pair of
jeans are perfectly acceptable attire, please leave the boxers and bath robes at home.
As you can see, no amount of high school counseling sessions, the "which college is right for you" tests or parents' well-
meant advice could ever totally prepare you for the educational whirlwind that you will be thrown into. Sure, all of those
generic preparations help, but those are just icing on the proverbial college cake. Some things you simply have to
experience for yourself.
I mean, who knew you could live off Kraft Easy Mac and Starbucks? I don't remember reading that survival technique in
any "welcome to college" book. I learned that all on my own.
For me, I already knew that college would be difficult. I knew that I would have to study and study hard. I knew that my
dorm room would render me claustrophobic.
It's the stuff that I had never thought of—the things (often a roommate) that came screaming or scavenger-hunting or
crawling down the dorm hall on a random Tuesday night that blindsided me.
It was the ultimate Frisbee at 3 a.m. in the park. It was checking my e-mail and chatting on AIM when I should have been
researching Buddhism for religion class. It was watching Sex and the City reruns in the common room with my new friends.
It was the sorority socials, the Lambda Chi boyfriends, the college Republican meetings and the snoring roommates that
no college brochure or high school teacher could have ever prepared me for, but I survived.
However, more importantly, I learned (often the hard way) how to function in a college atmosphere. I learned just as
every college freshman will.
(Sarah Plaut, the daughter of James and Lori Plaut of Winter Garden, is a senior at Florida State University majoring in
creative writing. She was a six-week intern at The West Orange Times this summer.)