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Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

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Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#121

Post by ja27 »

akeefer wrote: post #73

It's a bit random, but: if you're not already in good shape (and many of us hacker types aren't coming out of high school), find where the gym is and learn what to do there, and go three times a week. College is one of the first chances where you A) generally have free access to a decent gym, B) have enough control over your own time to set a workout schedule, and C) you're generally old enough that working out will…

Also, check out other campus recreation opportunities. College is a great time to pick a life-long sport that you can use to stay in shape and blow off stress. Swimming, golf, tennis, running, hiking, cycling, etc. are all good. There are also lots of social clubs around campus, usually funded by your fees, that let you try otherwise fairy expensive activities like sailing, kayaking, backpacking, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#122

Post by falsestprophet »

pwnix_rising wrote: post #95
yef wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree. College is a great time to take the next, probably awkward step with the opposite sex. If you don't, you're stuck learning those skills while you're in "the real world", a setting which is generally less amenable to meeting lots of people who are around your age, thus inhibiting your rate of learning. The goal is not to meet a soulmate at 18, but to become comfortable interacting with potential s…

College is a great time to take the next, probably awkward step with the opposite sex. If you don't, you're stuck learning those skills while you're in "the real world", a setting which is generally less amenable to meeting lots of people who are around your age, thus inhibiting your rate of learning. You have a really strong point here. I guess my argument would be that most of what happens with the opposite-sex is…

most of what happens with the opposite-sex is detrimental and unpleasant

I don't know what to say other than to quip: you're doing it wrong.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#123

Post by hyperbovine »

nostrademons wrote: post #59
run4yourlives wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

College doesn't matter at all That's exactly what I was going to post, but I feared the downmod army, to be honest. I'm 34 now. Nobody has cared what happened to me in my early 20's since I was about 25. It just doesn't matter. Sure there are a lot of positives you can gain in those 4 years, but some of the most boring and average people I know define themselves by where and when they went to college and what they di…

"As an aside, my totally unscientific examinations suggest that people grow more after a year of travelling than they do after 4 of college." As a corollary to that - study abroad while in college! It will never be cheaper, easier, or more socially acceptable. The semester I spent in New Zealand cost my parents about 1/3 as much as a semester at Amherst (mostly because tuition + room & board at New Zealand universiti…

Couldn't agree more. The statistic when I was in college was ~10% of students studied abroad, which I found shocking. A year's paid vacation to almost anywhere on the planet and 9/10 people said no! Also, despite the fact that you spend most of the time partying and traveling, employers look on study abroad favorably when you get out. I always found this amusing.

Two other things: 1) go to western Europe or Tokyo, or somewhere similarly developed and 1st world. It is far more difficult to go live in those places when you are no longer a student. 2) Go for a year. The people I studied abroad with who opted to do one semester were devastated when late December rolled around and it was time to go home. Although it may not seem like it, you aren't missing anything back home, and the friends you left behind will not have anything interesting to report when you get back.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#124

Post by pmb »

Olin is designed to be challenging, and your fellow students are all going be selected from the top tier. This means that you have a 50% chance of being worse than the median (and probably the mean, too). You may need to learn how to learn from your peers, and learn how to act when you are not the smartest person in any given room. It may be the very first time either of those two situations has come up for you!

To get to graduate school, you'll need at least a 3.0 and good recommendations. The good recommendations is pretty easy at a place like Olin as long as you are enthusiastic, but the 3.0 may be difficult given the average GPA at Olin in combination with point 1.

You can have any two of: friends, grades, and sleep. I recommend the first two, but make sure you sleep enough to maintain a baseline of bodily health, or else you will lose out on all 3.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#125

Post by potatolicious »

potatolicious wrote: post #100
psyklic wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, in college it is MUCH easier to date and meet people than in the real world once you start a job or company.

I wish I can upvote you a million times over. This is something most people don't really appreciate until they leave college. As a recent grad this is something that bothers me. In college almost anyone you meet (of your interested gender) is in your dating pool - you are at most a couple years apart in age, everything works out, you're at the same stage in life, etc. Once you leave you will find that: 1 - Chances fo…

The fact that I'm getting upvotes and no solutions is somewhat telling, and very depressing :S Is this really one of those problems that we have no solution for?

Shoulda stayed in school...

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#126

Post by alain94040 »

You have some time, but you must know that when all is said and done, your grades and your classes won't matter to land you a job, your side projects will: http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/05/13/being-a-new-cs-grad-...

In the meantime, keep a good balance between study and social life. College is a great time to reinvent yourself and be someone new, no strings attached. Make mistakes now, so you don't make them later.

And +1 for travel abroad at least one year. It will change your perspective on life.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#127

Post by dave_au »

akeefer wrote: post #73

It's a bit random, but: if you're not already in good shape (and many of us hacker types aren't coming out of high school), find where the gym is and learn what to do there, and go three times a week. College is one of the first chances where you A) generally have free access to a decent gym, B) have enough control over your own time to set a workout schedule, and C) you're generally old enough that working out will…

Excellent advice. It has hidden bonuses as well - if you schedule your workouts for the mornings it might bias you towards getting a little more sleep at least 3 times a week.

Never underestimate the effects of being fit and well rested on your ability to think clearly.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#128

Post by calcnerd256 »

potatolicious wrote: post #100
psyklic wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, in college it is MUCH easier to date and meet people than in the real world once you start a job or company.

I wish I can upvote you a million times over. This is something most people don't really appreciate until they leave college. As a recent grad this is something that bothers me. In college almost anyone you meet (of your interested gender) is in your dating pool - you are at most a couple years apart in age, everything works out, you're at the same stage in life, etc. Once you leave you will find that: 1 - Chances fo…

Maybe some day the culture will be right for most people to find one another online. All of our metaphors for it will have to break first, though.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#129

Post by electronslave »

Point: You will be utterly lost. Counterpoint: So, too, will everyone else be lost.

Use your time to maximize your experience as best you are able. If you are studious, study your brains out. If you are a doer, find a lab and camp out there until someone asks you for help. If you're a drug user of any kind, walk around the on-campus/near-campus housing until you hear a party, then crash it. If you like guys/girls more than anything else previously mentioned, put some ice down your pants and concentrate on school for a few semesters. When you're confident and familiar, it'll count for a lot more in the long run (plus the available dating pool will have mellowed out by a lot.) Get off campus eventually, don't be a shut-in, don't think of the campus as your only safe harbor.

Point: Younger people at your school are still hormonal, just like high school. Counterpoint: When everyone's lost, it's good to be found. Find yourself -- not just within you, but in others. Independence is not overrated, but it is often ignored.

Re: Ask HN: Advice for freshmen entering college

#130

Post by HalcyonMuse »

potatolicious wrote: post #125
potatolicious wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I can upvote you a million times over. This is something most people don't really appreciate until they leave college. As a recent grad this is something that bothers me. In college almost anyone you meet (of your interested gender) is in your dating pool - you are at most a couple years apart in age, everything works out, you're at the same stage in life, etc. Once you leave you will find that: 1 - Chances fo…

The fact that I'm getting upvotes and no solutions is somewhat telling, and very depressing :S Is this really one of those problems that we have no solution for? Shoulda stayed in school...

I've heard good things about coffee shops, but I haven't tried them yet. According to a recent article on YC, this is a "third place." (The article was about MMOs.) Pubs and bars are also "third places."

Essentially, though, yes, there is no solution that rivals college. Often people say that their college years were the best years of their life - I wonder if this is a leading factor in that decision.

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