Leaving for College!

[Oglemi]

Going back to Madtown in a couple weeks, getting an apartment this time with some friends (no more dorms w000000t). Not only is the apart. like way cheaper than the dorms, I'm also only going to be around people I like, and not have a roommate that kinda sucks. (See Bass's post for some good tips about roommates!)

The only thing I'm not looking forward to this semester is having to cook for myself all the time lol. Anyone have some easy recipes to make so that I'm not always eating ramen/soup/pizza/take out/etc. ??

 

[Jellicent]

The only thing I'm not looking forward to this semester is having to cook for myself all the time lol. Anyone have some easy recipes to make so that I'm not always eating ramen/soup/pizza/take out/etc. ??

Pasta is as cheap as it gets. There's a lot you can do with it, too. With some Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, butter, and a jar of marinara sauce, you can whip up Alfredo (melt some butter in a pan, pour in the heavy cream and wait for it to start bubbling like a mad bitch; add in the Parmesan evenly throughout the pan, toss it around a bit, and tada!), pomodoro (3/4ths marinara, 1/4th heavy cream; a simple, creamier alternative to boring marinara, should look pink), dolce (a more even mix of heavy cream and marinara, it'll come out creamier and orange/light pink), and vodka (you're in college, you have vodka :P It's basically pomodoro, but add in vodka [not while the pan is on the flame!] and some red pepper flakes if you have em to spice it up) sauces. All of those can use some pepper, salt, and garlic powder, but those are standard spices you should have on hand anyway.

Eggs are also a great bang for your buck, and there's so much you can do with em. Sunnyside, scrambled, omelets, whatever. They're eggs, you can't go wrong. Scrambled is the best, cuz you can just add whatever the fuck you have sitting in your fridge to it, and it'll come out good. Odd as it sounds, a bit of marinara sauce is also nice in scrambled eggs and cheese :)

Bread is also something cheap to keep on hand. It's real easy to whip up a quick cold sandwich with lunch meats, a nice grilled cheese, toast for your eggs, or even makeshift garlic bread for your pasta.

Most homemade things are gonna be a lot cheaper than takeout, and there's a ton of other things that are simple to make for a low price. Eggs, cheese, bread, pasta, marinara, heavy cream, butter, and your meat of choice are just all so versatile that they can go with whatever else you get or stand alone just fine. If you get just that stuff, you're looking at about a 20 dollar weekly food shopping trip that will actually last you the full week (and probably longer if your roomies don't eat it all) ^.^

 

[Glen]

i went to university for a year but i was really bad at it so i dropped out, OOPS

 

[Byrne]

^ lol

Tomorrow's the day! At like 8:00 A.M. I'm gettin' moved in and shit. Then I sit around for five days until classes start. Fun?

 

[Oglemi]

^ lol

Tomorrow's the day! At like 8:00 A.M. I'm gettin' moved in and shit. Then I sit around for five days until classes start. Fun?

This is the exact time to get to know people. Volunteer to help other people move in, or just hang out in the lounge if there's one in your dorm (hopefully on your floor). I made the mistake of my freshman year of moving in and then keeping to my self, and not visiting with other people. It makes it really awkward when you're there for a week and still don't know anyone's name lol :S (it actually took me like two months until I started coming out of my room more frequently and getting to know people, and by then a ton of people were really good friends with each other).

Last year was better though because I was part of the move-in volunteer crew, which meant I was there early specifically to help the freshmen move in and get situated. I really met a lot of people lol

 

[Zacchaeus]

Tomorrow's the day! At like 8:00 A.M. I'm gettin' moved in and shit. Then I sit around for five days until classes start. Fun?

This, except

This is the exact time to get to know people. Volunteer to help other people move in, or just hang out in the lounge if there's one in your dorm (hopefully on your floor).

My college actually spends those first few days with social and volunteering activities to help you get accustomed to the campus, get to know your fellow students, roommates, or whoever, and blah blah teambuilding crap. But I'll gladly take a few days of teambuilding over jumping straight into 8:00 am classes

 

[Blackhawk11]

Going into my second year at Michigan majoring in computer science. I definitely have some interesting tips for people just starting college.

First off, alcohol is everywhere, make sure you ease your way in to it (if you want to drink that is; plenty of people don't!). You do not want to end up in the hospital. Limit yourself to one or two beers/shots per hour until you know how your body handles alcohol, and then you can start to drink a little more.

Second, leave the door to your room open as much as possible (obviously not while you're out or sleeping), especially early on. Wander your hall and pop your head into any open rooms, introduce yourself, etc. Make sure you find and befriend someone who has some kind of Nintendo console for the inevitable Smash Bros matches later in the year. If you are that someone, be open to having lots of friends!

Third, explore your campus! A girl and I wandered around UM's north campus a couple of nights during our first week and familiarized ourselves with the area and just had a good time. Also, if you know your way around, you can show the campus to your family if they visit.

Fourth, having a girlfriend is possible during college, I did it. However, long distance relationships (assuming fidelity) suck.

Fifth, respect your roommate (if you have one). Don't play loud music all the time, keep the room at least somewhat clean, don't hog the TV, use headphones for computer audio, if he's going to sleep, turn off your lights or at least try to angle them off of him, don't take his food unless you have permission (my roommate and I kept our own food, but kept the fridge stocked with pop/water and shared that. basically if you went home for a weekend you picked up a couple cases of pop). Oh ask if he has any allergies that you should be aware of and try to accommodate those!

Last, take some intro classes that are completely random but sound interesting. I took an introductory logic class through the philosophy department and loved it. I also took an introductory programming class and decided that's what I want to do for the rest of my life lol.

Oh, bring lots of food. Pop-tarts, candy, chips, nuts, popcorn, instant noodles, cheezits...Whatever you like to snack on.

 

[Itchni]

I second the notion to take random courses first year as electives that sound cool. I took an intro to rhetoric class that drastically improved by writing and argument forming skills. I even learned how to trick less intelligent people to believe logical. Really really useful course for any major.

 

[sax king]

Hey speaking of going off to college, I'm having a hard time deciding where to apply ED. I've narrowed it down to two schools mostly, but considering three. If anyone is a student at Pomona, Amherst, or Bowdoin, PM me.

 

[billymills]

I even learned how to trick less intelligent people to believe logical.

How intelligent are we talking here...

 

[v]

you can't believe an adjective

 

[Glen]

you can't believe an adjective

are you telling me i can wax philosophical but i can't believe logical

 

[v]

I wouldn't know, I only wax on or off

 

[ck49]

Good luck to everyone whose leaving this year. I still got one more year before going off. Quite a few of you guys are going to places I'm applying to so don't be shocked if I shoot you a PM in the spring asking about it.

 

[Itchni]

you can't believe an adjective

oh god i never double checked that

i meant logical fallacies lol sorry

 

[Alaka]

I'm starting at University of Utah next week, pretty excited.

 

[some hero]

I'm starting at University of Utah next week, pretty excited.

Utah... excited... huh... I never thought i would see those two words in a sentence.

 

[Ouro]

Utah... excited... huh... I never thought i would see those two words in a sentence.

I'm excited to be leaving Utah!

Park City Utah is kinda fun doe.

 

[Byrne]

Utah... excited... huh... I never thought i would see those two words in a sentence.

You should visit Utah during the mid 90's. Stockton and Malone, man!

Well, it's 1:16 a.m. My roommate is dead asleep. I just got back from my girlfriend's room (first sex session as a college student was a success!) and now I'm trying to be sleepy. I took a shower in the communal showers for the first time. It was pleasant with no one in there until I heard the outrageously loud sirens from outside. Come on, kids, you've got four years to be drunken idiots, why are you getting the police/ambulences involved on your first night?!?!?

 

[Joeyboy]

Going into my third year as a declared psych major :) You'll enjoy it tons mate, I was nervous as well too but it fades literally within the first week. Also have fun with your girlfriend, who cares that a lot people tell you to ditch. If it dosent work out, it doesnt work out but it always can work out :)

Just have fun, you've got some great years ahead of you.

 

[kalphite]

I move in to University of Michigan Ann Arbor to start freshman year in two weeks. I scheduled way too late of an orientation so my schedule sorta sucks, have class at 8 AM every day but at least I finish pretty early most days. Going in for Computer Science in the College of Engineering, and taking Calc 3, Physics, Intro to Aerospace (it's the only variation of a required intro to Engineering class I could fit in, seems fun though), and Intro to Engineering Profession (basically a bunch of different engineers talk about what they do, easy GPA booster and it'll help me decide for sure what I want to major in), which comes out to 15 credits this semester. I can't wait to move out anymore, lol.

 

[some hero]

You should visit Utah during the mid 90's. Stockton and Malone, man!

Well, it's 1:16 a.m. My roommate is dead asleep. I just got back from my girlfriend's room (first sex session as a college student was a success!) and now I'm trying to be sleepy. I took a shower in the communal showers for the first time. It was pleasant with no one in there until I heard the outrageously loud sirens from outside. Come on, kids, you've got four years to be drunken idiots, why are you getting the police/ambulences involved on your first night?!?!?

Like i said before, i know way too much about your life and could probably write a book about it.

 

[Byrne]

Like i said before, i know way too much about your life and could probably write a book about it.

I know pretty much all there is to know about you. Every morning you wake up and kiss your Eli Manning poster. You eat cereal out of your Giants bowl, head to school and it's boring. You come home, fap to pictures of Eli Manning with his shirt off for a couple hours, and then go to bed and repeat.

:3

 

[Feathers]

jealous of everyone who gets to move away. i'm going into my second year but my school is so small that it has no residence. we're expanding but it probably won't be finished until after i graduate.

no idea what the real college experience is like but good luck to everyone. though i still pay rent at home so i kind of know how that feels. though i'm not a party person so when people have parties i come home and cuddle with my PS3, so i guess enjoy your crazy college parties?

 

[Blln]

i'm going into my 3rd year of college now. i absolutely loved my freshman year...well actually, i don't know if i could say i loved all of it - it definitely had its highs and lows, adventures and misadventures, triumphs and failures, etc - but i wouldnt trade one minute of it. i feel like that's what college is supposed to be like: a full range of experiences, a ton of new people - new best friends, new douche bags to dislike, new girls to have huge crushes on, new unfair teachers to complain about and on and on. you don't really get that many opportunities in life to meet so SO many new people, to jump into a completely new community, which is why freshman year really is a completely wild, incredible experience.

going into my 3rd year, things should be pretty simple, i should just be getting back into the groove of things - except instead of going back to school i am actually studying abroad this fall. instead of driving up to campus and moving into my dorm, next week i'm getting on a plane to stockholm, sweden and not coming home until christmas! i am a little nervous - have never been to sweden before and don't know a single person there, reading this thread has made me a little sad that i won't be on campus this fall - but mostly i'm just really really excited!