College Living Arrangements Part II: Apartments and Rooms

Life in a college town tends to be pricey, and at some urban colleges and most two year and technical colleges, on-campus housing is not an option. So that leaves you either living at home with family or finding your own place. While staying with the 'rents is not glamorous, it might sound more appealing than living off of Ramen noodles because renting is expensive and can be really involved.

Grab Bag of Advice About College

These posts are always a challenge because I want to tell it like it is in college, but I don't want to frighten anyone---at least, not too much. I would like to apologize in advance for grammatical errors or strange digressions. I'm getting over a cold, but I also know school is starting, so I don't think putting this post off is a good idea. This is stuff you need to know.

Two Year and Four Year Schools

• You are 100% responsible for keeping track of all your grades; not your teacher, not your advisor, not your mom, and not your roommate. On your first day of class, also known as, the "easy day when you get out early and don't have homework" read your syllabus and set up a grade tracker for each class.
• Mark the due date for every assignment you have in the calendar you use. If you never use your wall calendar to know what's going on, use the one in your phone.
• Read actively. Make notes in the margins of your textbooks. Don't blindly accept anything as a given. If something doesn't make sense to you, write a question in the margin. If you don't get clarification from the text, do a little research on the web and bring the question to class.
• Take notes in class. Review your notes after class and check for incomplete sentences or anything that is no longer comprehensible because you spilled coffee or had to run to the restroom during that part. If you need to fill gaps, check with a classmate before the next meeting.
• Quick word on bathroom breaks: in college, nobody will even remind you that the world doesn't revolve around you because most of the professors really don't care about whether you're sitting there or not. Maybe you're totally cool with that, but just remember that you aren't DVR-ing the lecture, so if you miss something, you'll need to ask a classmate what you missed, or you might miss it again on the test.

Four Year Students

• Professors don't usually track attendance, but if you flake on a lot of your classes, be aware that you are flaking on a really expensive piece of class time. Also, college professors are not obligated to choose exam questions from content that overlaps between lecture and book. Some of them choose all of their questions from the lecture even if you're required to buy the textbook.
• Grades are unforgiving. Typically, four-year professors will not grant extra credit for anything, especially missed assignments. You might score a few extra credit questions on a multiple choice test that could counteract one or two questions you missed, but that's as good as it gets. Also, typically, you have a midterm and a final. Those tests might be 50/50 or 25/75, but either way, if you bomb one, you're screwed, so study, study, study for every exam.
• General education courses tend to be harder than courses in your major. Every professor believes his/her subject is important and they don't care if you don't feel the same way regardless of how justified you think you are. Maybe women's studies seems like a crock to you, but guess what? That 3 credit "crock" can still drag down your cumulative GPA semester after semester whether or not you think it's important. Every class is important as far as your average is concerned. Typically, upper division classes in your major will be easier than lower division courses and courses outside of your major. If you encounter an exception, consider it a gift.
• Brew your own coffee or bring a to-go cup to the dining hall. Campus coffee shops are a rip-off and the coffee is usually foul.

Two Year Students

• Attendance usually counts as part of your grade. Yes, it's obnoxious and high school like, but it's a way of giving you another way to get points if you bomb a test.
• You have more homework for a 101 class than your friends at the four year school have. It's annoying, but you have to do it. Again, this is a place where professors are trying to give you a break.
• Read your text book. Ask questions. Keep up with assignments. Professors can and often will give quizzes.
• Even though a lot of people around you will act like and dress like they're in high school, don't let any of that fool you. It's not high school, and if you look at it as grade 13, the only person getting screwed is you. It's college. Take it seriously.
• Counselors are academic advisors and, often, licensed mental health professionals. They aren't guidance counselors and they aren't there to print your schedule when you lose it or make it for you in the first place. College is about learning how to make informed decisions. Counselors can and will provide you with a lot of helpful information and insight, but they can't do that if you don't arrive prepared and with an open mind. Also, counselors do not have the power to get your professor to stop doing something that bothers you or that you think is unfair. Who can? Nobody. My dear, life is not always fair, and as you get further into education and the workplace, you will see that while you will meet some lovely people, a lot of them are schmucks.

Good luck!

Late Registration is not your friend

Higher Education seems to be going through a low period in terms of vision and leadership right now. Since we truly have a great system in this country, I am sure that it will shake off this crew like a bad case of flees before long, but for those of you in the mix for the next four years or so, don't swallow all the stuff out there that is in the name of "customer service." You don't go to college to buy a teddy bear. You're going there to get an education. That means occasionally, you may need to learn things you aren't interested in and do things that are difficult for you. Information may not always be as reddily available as you would like. Welcome to life!

Also, did I mention deadlines? If you are one of the many first-generation college students out there who chose community college as the best way to complete the first two years of school, you've made a fiscally responsible decision. Good for you! You will very likely do well once you transfer. One problem with community colleges is that they are so concerned about getting and keeping students that they let them get away with a lot of stuff they really shouldn't let them get away with. Since it's more "convenient" to be able to register whenever you think of it, most community colleges let you do just that----even if the class has already started. It's all fun and games until you do the math, and here's the math:

College living arrangements Part I: Dorms

Living arrangements tend to be an afterthought when you begin your college career and obsession from your sophomore year on. Whether you're living at home or striking out on your own to find housing, you're in for an adventure.

On Difficult Classes

We're nearing the mid semester mark and a lot of students are coming to advisors to ask about dropping courses or to see if there's an easier teacher to take that tricky course with next time around. Some of them are complaining about personal difficulties or problems with bosses. Here's the thing: tough classes suck. Personal problems can suck the life out of you and so can nasty bosses. I've had them all and I know from first-hand experience that any one of those is a pain in the ass, but combine two and it's rough. The catch is that the Universe seems to have a sick sense of humor in that it frequently will throw you a curve ball right when you need your whole brain the most.

Beyond the parties: study habits and grades

As I mentioned in a previous post, regardless of how you feel about a class, the grade goes on your transcript if you don't drop it. That means if you get an F or even a C in a class, that low grade will continue dragging your cumulative grade point average down unless you repeat the course and replace the grade. (Not all colleges will even replace the lower grade with the new grade. For example, Penn State University counts the grade for the repeat and the previous grade in the student's GPA.)

College isn't Burger King

Thanks to the Baby Boomers, we are in the midst of what must be the most protracted version of childhood in any civilized society. I recently faced the challenge of developing a presentation on how to increase retention starting in the classroom, and one issue I knew I had to address with faculty was the joy of "helicopter parents." It used to be that if a student had an issue with a professor, the student got a real-life lesson in effective and ineffective negotiation techniques coupled with the realization that a lot of people pursue careers in academia because they can't play well with others. In case this is news to anyone: when you're in the workforce, you will have to deal with some insane egomaniacs who are in a position of power over you--it's called having a boss. You know Michael Scott from The Office? He's a nice version of a lot of the weirdos that rise to the top.