1. OH MY GOSH! Frosh Week is the best!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Frosh isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Don’t get me wrong; you’ll have fun. The concerts, contests, and sports games are a blast—but don’t be discouraged if by the end of the week you aren’t completely comfortable on campus. Establishing a solid crew of friends takes time, and a little bit of trial and error. If you’re still feeling anxious by the end of Frosh, don’t worry; the first three weeks of university are the hardest. However, big watch out: don’t drink to make yourself comfortable. I know quite a few kids who used alcohol to relax during Frosh, and making a fool of yourself won’t make you friends any faster.
2. You don’t have to go to lectures; the professors don’t even take attendance.
Technically, the second part is true. Most likely, your professor will not take attendance, especially in a first year lecture of 200-plus students. However, to succeed in university you must (MUST) attend lectures. Over three-quarters of the material on your exams will be from lectures. Also, for the tuition you pay, it comes out to be about $60-$80 per lecture.
3. First-year is about making mistakes and having fun.
Being a first-year student is not an excuse to act like an idiot. Period. Have fun; enjoy yourself, but you are at university to get an education—an opportunity you are crazy lucky to have. If you manage your time well, you will have more than enough time to mess around with friends. However, manage your time poorly and say “goodbye” to those friends because you won’t see them in second year.
4. My T.A. hates me.
I seriously doubt a twenty-something-year-old masters student spends their day thinking about how much they despise you. There is no argument that some teaching assistants do go on monster power trips (real life example: “I took a mark off because your page numbers were on the top right. I like the bottom left.”). However, managing your relationship with your T.A. is easy: follow instructions, work hard, and show respect. Yeah, their rules may be stupid, but they are the rules. The more respect you show for them and their rules, the happier they will be to help you and possibly reconsider a low grade. Your T.A. already got their undergraduate degree. You don’t pass first year and it isn’t their problem; it is your education. Like a lot of academics, the majority of teaching assistants have big egos. So, play into it. A trick I use is bouncing essay ideas off of them. First of all, you’ll probably get some great feedback, but they will be invested in your success on the paper, as well. It would be silly for a T.A. to give you a low mark on a paper they contributed to. They’d be calling themselves dumb.
5. I just didn’t have time to finish my assignment.
… Oh, stop.
