Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What should I try to do while still in college?

news.ycombinator.com

71–80 of 100 posts

Re: Ask HN: What should I try to do while still in college?

#71
post #20

Do EVERYTHING you can that will not be economically feasible (travel for a month or three) or even possible (spend a summer at Cambridge University in England). You will live to regret not doign these things when, after you get a job, you get two measly weeks of vacation per year. Use it all up: take extra classes, join a club, make a friend from another race, etc...

Good call on the club thing. I'm a marketing/management student and I ended up as president of the human resources club on campus. It is a good thing I did, because now I get to go to all the alumni events and meet important people I wouldn't have otherwise.

To the OP - Just get involved. Start by going to every event and club meeting on campus and stay at it until something sticks.

Re: Ask HN: What should I try to do while still in college?

#72
My advice, is a little different from the rest. All those things are good and all, but it doesn't hurt to lay the ground work for your future.

I recommend that you start coding your statup now. This is the best time for it. You have no expenses. You have very few commitments. And you are surrounded by a lot of other smart ambitious people that you can tap. Clubs, professors, classes, will make it easy for you to find out who the smart people are. So if you run into a problem, you can easily find someone to help you understand it.

And this way the times when your startup grows very slow, you'll have some other things to play with. Honestly if you don't have an idea now, start throwing some ideas in your head, pick one and start coding, if you change your mind along the way, change your product, you have plenty of time to get a winning combination. And remember, it doesn't need to be rocket science, Facebook is nothing more than a big database.

But this shouldn't be your only concern, you have to multi-task. Honestly the startup life is pretty shitty. You work all the time, you lose touch with most of your friends because you constantly skip going out, and unlike college where you are surrounded by women of your age, you end up being pretty much a monk, seeing two-three women your age during the week. So spend that time in college having fun.

a) start lifting weights. Trust me, it'll do wonders to your social life and for your self esteem. Honestly if you are afraid of going to the gym, buy a set of weights at a store and workout at home. I actually prefer that because you don't spend the extra time of driving to the gym, and can do it whenever you have free time.(i usually work out when I watch TV since I'm in front of it anyways)

b) Join some activity clubs. Honestly you sound like you have no idea what fun things you like. So look at all the clubs at your college and join a bunch and see what you actually like.

c) if you want excitement there is nothing better than buying a motorcycle. Start off with a Ninja 250(used). The reason is that its a starter bike(it'll run you like 2K used, 3K new, they hold their value really well). Granted its a little dangerous but thats part of the excitement. Then once you get the basics down, upgrade to a 600cc bike(the most expensive one will run you like 7 grand). And don't upgrade to a 1000cc bike because those are the killers.

d) get laid, Honestly college is probably the easiest time of your life for that .You are surrounded by women your age and as long as you are even remotely in shape you'll get a positive answer. If you wear glasses get contacts. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you'll be knee deep in women once you graduate. Like I said, w/o going out I see maybe 1-2 attractive women my age. And if you hate the party scene in college, you'll hate the bar/club scene when you graduate. You don't want to end up like that guy in the 40 year old virgin movie. And trust me, if you ride a bike, have a decent physique and no glasses, in college? You will have NO problem getting women's numbers. All you have to do is initiate the conversation.

e) take a road trip, just get into your car and head some place 2000 miles away.

f) obviously there are many other exciting things to do, but I don't know your money/location situation, so I dunno if you can afford to go sky diving, or if you live near an ocean so you can learn how to surf/ride a jet ski

Re: Ask HN: What should I try to do while still in college?

#75
Take your best idea and RUN WITH IT! Don't quit college - the degree DOES matter; But use that free time and run all aspects of your "startup" business - create it, deploy it, market it, refine it. You can do that AND keep your classwork up. Once you're out in the post-grad world, the pressure is on - so take advantage of it NOW and see those ideas come to life!!

Go on an info-diet, CREATE, don't CONSUME.

Re: Ask HN: What should I try to do while still in college?

#76
post #45

Smoke weed (or do tantric yoga) until you become conscious on a new level (you'll know when you have, if you have difficulties smoke more stronger weed, hash, oil, use a vapourizer or take it orally after extracting it with fat (bake Take mush (of the psilocybin variety) until you understand the nature of the change in consciousness created by the mary jane. (you can try mescaline anytime after mush if you so wish, i…

Kratom's worth trying... it's a leaf legal in America right now. Free samples available, just email me if anyone has questions. I always get crucified when I try and discuss kratom, so please don't try and criticize me linking to a business here. It is on-topic for the sub-discussion of the thread.

http://www.getkratom.com

Re: Ask HN: What should I try to do while still in college?

#79
Start doing some part-time businesses now. Get with classmates, especially classmates outside your major, put together something quick and dirty and see if you can make a few bucks. You'll learn what you need to complement your skills & personality and get some experience balancing different parts of your life, going through the whole business start-deliver-grow-falter-fail cycle. Invaluable experience and killer resume/interview material.

For social groups, find groups _outside_ of college. You'll be able to connect with people at all stages of life, and you won't be an outsider the day you graduate. Find something with a worldwide presence, whether it's the group or just the activity itself. I did medieval re-enactment, I connected with not only other medievalists worldwide, but all historical enthusiasts. Travel? Free room and board and often transport from the more established co-enthusiasts. Instant networking, too--jobs, advice, backing, prospects, you name it.

Post reply on HN