Early Semester Advice
Greetings, Galipatians! I hope everyone is super pumped for classes starting and getting involved in college life and extracurriculars. In the midst of the chaos, I am here with some helpful advice to get you started off right!
GET READY because college is sooo much different than high school. Your classes are at weird times, you have a lot of personal responsibilities to keep track of, and you’re living on your own. What the heck are you going to do? Make sure to have everything you need to start living the dorm life. If there’s anything you forgot to pack (I forgot my pillow, we’re all humans) then a quick trip to Christiansburg Target or Walmart, or an Amazon Prime order can be your best friend!
GET ORGANIZED because there is a lot to keep track of. Especially if your class schedule is super wack, you definitely need to remember a bunch of stuff. I personally use my Google Calendar (which you need to use for a Galileo/Hypatia class assignment, hint hint) for long term things like exam dates, in addition to the sticky notes app on my laptop to stay organized and not forget assignment deadlines coming up in the next week or so. One of the first hard lessons I learned during my first semester at Virginia Tech was that if you aren’t organized, then you will forget things and fall behind. Please don’t do that! Organization is the key to success!
GET EXCITED!!! College is such a unique experience, don’t waste it doing dumb things. Use your time wisely to get that GPA up, but don’t forget to have some fun! Getting involved in clubs and organizations on campus is one of the best ways to shape your college experience to exactly how you want it to be. As long as you aren’t overburdened with responsibilities, it’s a fun challenge to join organizations outside of class time. I highly recommend signing up for as many things as interest you, and then picking your top 2 or 3 to prioritize what is important to you. That way you can do what you enjoy, but you also get to enjoy some downtime occasionally too. Additionally, if you aren’t a college football fan yet, then you probably will be soon! VT football games are like nothing else you will ever see, so you should try to go to at least one!
