- Don’t sign up for the morning class. You are not going to make it on time, if at all. And if you do make it through the door and into a desk, you’ll need about two large Colombian coffees from the Ugly Mug to keep your eyes open.
- You WILL break up with your high school sweetheart. Around Thanksgiving. It’s called the Turkey Drop.
- The quickest way to gain the “Freshman 15” (pounds) is smoking marijuana, snacking at night and eating at The Commons.
- The quickest way to bank debt is using your credit card and not keeping track of your purchases. Each time you buy something with your card with a negative statement on your bank account at TCF’s on-campus bank at the Student Center, they charge you a $35 overdraft fee. Don’t buy things you can’t afford!
- Always have your student ID with you. That is how you get signed in or let into a dorm after 7 p.m.
- Don’t allow yourself to continue in something that you don’t like/love. Find out what makes you happy and stick to it. If you don’t love someone or something, then get away from it. The bigger the hole you dig, the worse off you will be until it becomes resolved.
- If someone you know is struggling, push YOURSELF to accomplish something so they can share it with you and you will have turned an awful situation into something motivational.
- Be safe about who you sleep with and when you do, just be blunt and say, “I don’t want this end up badly, so lets take some precautions.”
- Get to know the community and town of Ypsilanti. Break out of the “ghetto of like-minded individuals” that college students usually find themselves stuck in. Maybe get involved in something off campus — a job, a civic organization, volunteer activities, politics, etc.
- Go to class. Don’t let the freedom of being away from home go to your head. The more you go to class the more likely you are to succeed.
- Don’t date within your group of close friends. They inevitably will be forced to choose you or your sweetheart.
- In case your laptop is broken, you need to print something or your roommate is being so loud you can’t hear yourself think, the computer lab in the Student Center is usually open 24/7 in the fall and winter semesters. You enter from the side door with your Student ID if the Student Center is closed.
- When you get an assignment, do not put it off. Do it right away because at least you will have a rough draft to turn in.
- If you get caught by the police doing something illegal, do not run. You cannot outrun them.
- The tunnels and hallways connecting Buell Hall, The Commons, Downing Hall and Best Hall are your friends in the winter.
- When walking past Nightwatch, remain calm and collected. They’ve turned people in who they think show signs of intoxication.
- PAY ATTENTION TO THE FINE PRINT FOR FINANCIAL AID
Scholarships: Many students can lose financial aid assistance by not fully understanding the terms like not maintaining a high enough GPA, enrollment-status for a scholarship or possibly a requirement of being part of some sort of campus organization.
Loans: Be mindful of interest rates, requirements of repayment periods and deadlines. If you don’t, it can result in a very bad personal financial situation like a jacked-up interest rate.
- If you spend all your time wishing you were someplace else, you’re wasting your time. Either dig in or go to that other place. Until you commit to a place, not just physically but emotionally, you’ll have trouble making connections and getting involved.
- If you have a class at Ford Hall or Mark Jefferson, make sure to double check that you have everything with you because they are the farthest away from the residence halls and it takes at least seven minutes to walk back and get it.
