Surviving College With Gear And Sanity Intact? 1081
Mshift2x writes "Like many others, I'm shipping off to college for the first time in a few days. I'm excited, nervous, and a whole array of emotions at the same time. I'm sure many slashdotters have gone through this already, and I'd appreciate any wisdom, suggestions, or thoughts the community could provide." More specifically, phrogeeb writes "Per our earlier Slashdot article on laptop lock insecurity, I've been looking around recently for other options as far as keeping track of my laptop and other semi-expensive and certainly valuable (for a college student) stuff in a dorm room setting. Any ideas? I'm looking for both laptop-specific and comprehensive solutions. Locks? Alarms? Video cameras? Trip wire? (A few serious suggestions would be appreciated.)"
ruff! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:ruff! (Score:4, Insightful)
Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Informative)
Actually this is the smartest thing I expect to read in this thread, while also being the simplest and cheapest.
Lock your damn door, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It doesn't matter if you are in the room, not in the room, just running real quick down to the bathroom or across the hall to another room with the doors open. If you don't have one foot in the door and one foot out the door, throw the deadbolt.
As for your sanity, here are some rules for life in college
1. Sex. Women do all their freaky stuff in college, so have an open mind and hit as much of it as you possibly can. Buy a big box of condoms and some good lube (google for 'millenium id').
2. Class. A good education is important, but don't let it interfere with #1.
3. Network. Not TCP/IP, but people. Every job you get in the future is going to be because of who you know, so get to know a LOT of people. Get to know them well so they don't forget you.
4. The Law. Graduating from college doesn't erase your law record, so don't get arrested.
5. The Dollar. You are going to get a lot of offers for credit cards. Credit cards are not 'free money'. If you can't pay cash for it, and if you haven't managed to save enough money to buy it in the last 6 months, what makes you think you are going to earn enough money in the next 6 months to pay for whatever you are considering putting on plastic? Graduating from college doesn't erase your credit history either, so don't screw it up.
6. The Warez and MP3z. Add #5 and #6 above up and decide if you can afford it. I'm guessing you probably can't, so don't do it from your own computer.
7. Take a few classes for personal enrichment. You aren't going to meet the best chicks in your software engineering classes.
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Interesting)
Indeed. Not only can your stuff get stolen, but something could happen to you. I've heard stories about guys wandering into girls' rooms at night and hitting on them, or, in my ex-roommate's case, cutting thier hair. (She is my ex-roommate because she moved into another building after that. She also blamed it on me
Also, consider buying a desktop, rather then a laptop. They're a lot harder to steal. And no, it's not worth having a laptop to take notes on in class - unless you're taking English Literature or something, you'll find it a lot easier to take notes the good old-fashioned way, on paper.
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Interesting)
- Raise absolute hell and look like some stressed out moron.
- Pick up your laptop and walk to the library.
Guess which one results in more work getting done?English lit (for the one person who'll read this) (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, most schools use packet shapers and otehr tools to prevent P2P apps from forming connections. If your school is part of the Internet2 project, you can try this. [i2hub.com] It operates outside of the internet, is uber-fast, and the RIAA spies don't have access to spy on you.
Save Your Soul, Stay Away From Psych Majors!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
Speaking from experience, both recent and remote, the parent is both oh so right and oh so wrong.
NEVER date a psych major. I would seriously recommend staying away from the discipline entirely as the temptation is usually irresistible. I'm convinced they learn stuff in those classes you couldn't learn from navy seals interrogation training.
I have no idea about the Sociology majors, but I do highly recommend entomology if you can take some of those classes. I've met many a very cute, super-cool bug-loving girl in my day, and have found their worth and demeanor to be much more reliable.
Of course, most generalizations are crap, but the thing about crazy Psych majors stands up to the test of time. Do yourself a favor and run like hell when that cute psych student starts making eyes, you may end up a research subject.
You've *Got* To Get Out More (Score:5, Funny)
Obviously you've never met 30- and 40-somethings at Burning Man or similar...
Re:You've *Got* To Get Out More (Score:5, Insightful)
- many remember their wilder younger days, and want to relive them after a marriage/relationship ends
- many/most know what they actually enjoy, and will happily tell you if you ask (unlike many 20yo women)
- give them what they want, and they'll give you what you want, almost without exception. Again, big difference from many 20yo women
- financial independence is a wonderful thing!
Best of all, the tables are almost completely turned from when I was ~18. Then, my sex drive was sky high and I would do just about anything to get laid. Now, my sex drive is (relatively) under control while theirs is sky high; hello, home-cooked dinners and fully catered TV football games with your mates around!
Now I'd better make a call to ensure *someone special* doesn't read
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Insightful)
This advice does not help (Score:5, Funny)
That won't help a bit. You can still end up spending a LOT of money following this advice.
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Interesting)
I'll match your Amen and raise you three more. True story:
I was walking around in downtown Chicago late one night, toward the end of my college years, when a homeless man and woman stopped me and asked for money. I said something to the effect of, "Listen man, I'd like to help you out, really. But I've got $12,000 in debt right now, on top of a $19,000 car loan, $18,000 in school loans, and a few thousand I still owe my dad. I can't spare a dime." The guy turned to the woman and said, "Damn, he's worse off than we are, let's get out of here."
The biggest problem being my overuse of four (4!) credit cards. I was stupid. Extremely stupid. This was four years ago, and I've been doing debt management the whole time on the $12,000 credit card debt. I'm finally just a few months away from paying off the first two of the four cards, but I've got a few years left before I get the rest paid off.
Get one tiny credit card for emergencies, but never use it except emergencies. For all the rest of the bazillion credit card offers you will get in the mail, always, always, always tear them up. Get a checking account with a debit card that can be used as a visa card, and use this whenever you need a credit card.
If only somebody had told me this, or I hadn't been dumbass enough to figure it out on my own....
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:4, Insightful)
Less funny, hopefully helpful adaptation (Score:5, Insightful)
Try to apply this to more than sex. If you're going to a good school, people are doing a lot of freaky cool stuff. Get involved, and keep an open mind. Don't give into conformity when it comes to any group, jock or geek- try a lot of things out, figure out what you like, and persue it.
If your college doesn't have lots of crazy/cool/fun stuff going on, and you aren't finding anything you really enjoy, transfer, take a year off, or at least find some new friends. It's a big world and there are lots of options, so don't squander your time doing the same old BS. Find a way to grow, learn, find talents you didn't know you had, whatever.
2. Class. A good education is important, but don't let it interfere with #1.
Actually, yes- class is very important, but never let your schooling get in the way of your education. Focusing too much on grades and toeing the line can make you miss out on truly educational experiences. Learn everything you can from wherever you can. Work hard on your classwork, work hard on your social life, work hard on your soul. And remember: Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
3. Network. Not TCP/IP, but people. Every job you get in the future is going to be because of who you know, so get to know a LOT of people. Get to know them well so they don't forget you.
True. Knowing people can be a great resource. Also, learning how to deal with people can be a great resource, and college is a good time to practice on a wide variety of people. Ignoring all that, knowing lots of people and staying pretty much on people's good side will make college a lot more fun, whether it's useful or not.
4. The Law. Graduating from college doesn't erase your law record, so don't get arrested.
In other words, a little mischeif makes for good memories, but keep it light and harmless. One really bad mistake can screw your life up for several years, so just try not to get into too much trouble.
5. The Dollar. You are going to get a lot of offers for credit cards. Credit cards are not 'free money'. If you can't pay cash for it, and if you haven't managed to save enough money to buy it in the last 6 months, what makes you think you are going to earn enough money in the next 6 months to pay for whatever you are considering putting on plastic? Graduating from college doesn't erase your credit history either, so don't screw it up.
Not really going to add anything here. I just quoted it for repitition. This is one you can't hear enough.
7. Take a few classes for personal enrichment.
I have to shout this, being slashdot and all: DON'T JUST TAKE COMPUTER/ENGINEERING COURSES! Take some philosophy, psychology, literature, etc. You know, useless stuff. Read some Plato. If you don't like it, find me in the forums, I'll talk to you about it.
This hooks in nicely with my adaptations of #1, #2, and #3. College should be opening you up to new things. Try things you don't know about. Make friends with good people you don't understand. Take classes about interesting topics that are over your head. Learn a musical instrument. You'll be glad you did.
Most of all, have fun. If you don't like what you're studying, then what you're studying is preparing you for a career that you won't like. Find something you love, and study that, and you'll figure the rest out later.
What else... what else...? Ok, I can only think of one more thing. Don't believe everything "smart people" tell you. Smart people can be wrong too, professor or not. Stupid people can be right. Like I said before, keep an open mind and learn whatever you can where you can. If someone says something you don't understand, don't just assume he's right and you don't understand, and don't just assume he's wrong, and therefore not worth paying attenti
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Insightful)
be careful also.
Just because someone can afford to go to college does not mean they are clean. I'm not talking about AIDS, most people are tested for that. I'm talking about genital warts, herpes, and other fun STDs.
A freshman girl came to school last year without being tested, and spread HPV (genital warts) to 9 other people, which then fanned out to probably about 30 at this point. Numbers are one in two or one in four of the people you meet at college will be exposed to HPV. Then if you are a responsible partner, you will have to inform other partners before hooking up with them. If you aren't, well then you don't deserve to have sex knowingly spreading a possible cancer causing illness.
And avoid sleeping with anyone on you hall. It probably wont last, and it makes things weird.
Number 2 rule -- check your Snopes (Score:4, Informative)
So, we pop off to Snopes, and what do we find?
Of course, it's an urban legend [snopes.com]
Women? (Score:4, Insightful)
There's a silent majority of people for which sex doesn't play a major part in their life. For one reason or another, mostly looks and the inability to socialize, there are some who will go their whole life without the sex you describe as "freaky". I've longed for "freaky" sex with a hot college chick all my life, thing is, now I'm old enough to be their dad. If I were you, I'd simply shut the hell up about how great sex is in college, because it pisses the hell out of us who don't get it to no end. Keep your sexual acts to yourselves. It just isn't good for a person to know about the enjoyment other people are having.
So piss off!
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:4, Insightful)
I can't agree with this advice more, though I will add that if it's possible, get a second major in a different an area you like as well. I went to college to get my physics degree, but also picked up a sociology degree because I really like the classes and the teachers. The reason I suggest the major is it gives you something concrete to put on a resume to show that you are a diversified person. My physics degree will get me a job, but that additional sociology degree catches peoples' attention and has helped me stand out.
Plus, it was nice to go from classes where there were only two girls out of twenty students to classes where I was one of only three guys out of fifty students.
-Colin [colingregorypalmer.net]
Re:Lock your dorm door = number 1 rule. (Score:5, Insightful)
My freshman year, I lived with 3 guys that were basically married and had "TC Syndrome" - TOO COOL. They were too cool for the 'dorks' on our floor. Too cool for the ugly girls. Too cool for the fat girls.
Let me tell you something, kids. You are NOT too good for anyone. Everyone out there has something good to offer. That fat girl? Not only does she end up being really fun to hang with, but she has some HOT friends. And guess what -- those hot friends will LOVE you when they realize that you're a good dude and you can proudly hug the big girl in front of everyone.
Don't limit yourself. I would do anything - ANYTHING - to have my freshman year back. Don't conform. It took me 2 years to make up for all the friends i should have made as a freshman. Don't conform.
And also, to the original ask-slashdotter - assuming you're a computer nerd, don't get mad when people want help from you... but make sure you let them know that it'll cost you a 12-pack - 6 for you, 6 for them, and then go out with them. What a great way to make friends.
God I'd kill to have it all back. I'm now about to enter my 5th and final year, and i'm calling it "Freshman Year Part II" - doing all the stupid things (without getting arrested... i kinda want a job) that I should have done freshman year. Don't waste it.
PS: If you do turn into a party animal like i have, then do your schoolwork early in the day so that you can go out at night. Party animals who procrastinate too don't make it in college.
Sleep, Grades, Social Life -- CHOOSE TWO.
A new age of Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
(Scratches head)
Re:casual sex? (Score:5, Insightful)
1. Condoms are at least 98% effective. Combine that with another form of contraception, and you stand a very good chance of avoiding pregnancy.
2. The morning-after pill is available throughout the US for emergency situations.
3. Abortions are not "easy" -- I've had relationships with women who've had them, and it's almost always been a harrowing experience. But, it was always the right choice for them, and they would do it all over again.
4. Only have sex with people you trust.
5. Either lighten-up about sex, or practice abstinence. There's no reason to be scared to death about sex if you're properly educated about it (and I don't mean the Right-wing Christian Fundamentalist "sex-ed" so popular in high schools these days).
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Informative)
Treat your dorm room like a server room, always lock it up.
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Funny)
Except with more beer and porn.
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Funny)
You should upgrade your server room!
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Insightful)
Hehehe. (Score:5, Insightful)
What it really all comes down to is: Keep an eye on your stuff. Lock your doors, keep your valuable stuff out of plain sight.
A weird one: Where I went to school, if you lived in the better part of town, you were MUCH more likely to have your stuff stolen, even if you took precautions. If you lived in the "bad" part of town, you could leave your doors unlocked---and this is New Jersey we're talking here.
Re:Bah (Score:5, Insightful)
Protection. (Score:5, Funny)
Treat your penis the same way, lest you contract malware that even Norton Anti-Virus won't clean up.
Re:Protection. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Protection. (Score:5, Informative)
As in Norton Utilities, Norton Anti-Virus.
Ah... You must mean Peter Norton.
Re:Protection. (Score:4, Funny)
For those wishing to adopt the personality firewall, it's public domain freeware that can be aquired either intentionally from other geeks, or indavertantly by reading too much
Note to lightsaber bearing mods: Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Informative)
But really, it's your call. Whatever you feel most comfortable with.
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Insightful)
if you locked the room, your roomate can't lock your keys in the room while you're in the shower, leaving you standing half naked and dripping wet waiting for your RA to unlock it and laugh at you.
Re:ruff! (Score:4, Informative)
But how do you make up for roommates that leave the door open when they go out, and you're already gone? I had this happen to me Sophmore year, and it really pissed me off. Then I moved off campus and lived in a house where miscelaneous people would sleep on our couch, and ironically, I didn't care.
Granted, this means you have to actually -leave- your room, which is asking for a lot.
Also, look out for your roommate's friends. As a freshman, you're almost destined to get a stupid jock roommate with a lot of shitty friends. (They like to piss on freshman geeks that way in admissions at some places, I'm sure.) Most people are always looking for a way to steal shit from someone.
I'd suggest getting a lock box and keeping all your non-computing shit in it. This includes keeping things like CDRs, CF, cameras, and what have you, in the box. These things like to disappear, as they're valuable and fairly common for people to own: "No, this isn't your SD card. I got this with my camera." It might be a good idea to chain the box to your bed (or some other unmoveable object) as well, as it will make a nice target for someone foraging through a room: they see a box with a lock on it, and no valuables in the room, and they're going to assume they found the mother lode.
Keep the key to the lock box on your laniard/keychain/whatever, and with you at all times. Get a laptop lock (if you have a laptop) or just some cable + a lock if you have a desktop, and chain the machine to your desk/cubicle/whatever they give you. Maybe do the same for your stereo, if you have one, or you think it's necessary. Try not to make it obvious what a given key is for, either. (Don't label it, ffs. You wouldn't put a sticky note near your computer that said "root" with the password on it, would you? Use your head.)
I suspect that being messy might also increase your chances of not having your shit stolen. For example, if you've got a laptop and a messy room, there's more stuff all over the place to distract one's vision. If they just step in, there's not a single object on the desk saying "steal me" - they'll just see a pile of stuff.
I honestly don't think things such as security cameras would be necessary. However, it certainly couldn't hurt to stash a webcam somewhere and have it upload photos somewhere else - you never know when it might provide you with "valuable information" - for instance, cheating girlfriends roommates that steal food.
I'd recommend that you don't simply let people use your computer to check their email, or what have you. If you do, you might want to get fast user switching set up and create as lackluster an account as possible (just a browser, ma'am), regardless of what OS you run. Having people constantly use your machine ("Yeah, ask Jim in room 301 if you can use his laptop to check your mail, John, he's a nice guy.") is a good way to draw potentially unwanted attention. The people I know that have had computers stolen from their rooms usually had a lot of people in their rooms using their machines.
Finally, it probably wouldn't hurt to write bsome quick/get some software that alerts you (via email, say) where the machine is, so that in the event that it is stolen, it can be tracked relatively easily.
Re:ruff! (Score:5, Insightful)
I was up coding at around 5am one Wednesday morning my freshmen year when I some guy popped out of the bathroom and, seeing me, walked down the hall in the other direction. I didn't think much of it.
About 15min later I heard some doorknobs jiggling down the hallway where I couldn't see and I figured people on my hall were getting up. I was a bit shy back then so I shut my door so no one would know the lamer had been up all night (again).
Shortly thereafter the guy next door to me knocked on my door. He asked, "Hey man, were you just in my room?" I said, "No, why?" He told me he thought someone had just been in his room but I didn't know anything so he went back.
He came back to my room again saying, "Holy shit man, someone took my wallet." We called the police but by 7 AM it was clear nothing could be done beyond having me give a description of the guy I saw coming out of the bathroom.
Re: train your roommate too (Score:5, Informative)
Be Sensible (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Or better yet (Score:5, Informative)
The best solution for taking notes (other than perhaps a tablet PC) is a cheap laptop. Not valuable enough to get stolen, not a replacement for a real machine (so you still have a real machine to back up onto and stuff in the very likely event that your laptop is damaged/broken/stolen), but very very useful.
With some creative Word customization, I was able to keep up with most classes. So my notes were much better, especially given that my handwriting sucks.
PDAs are wretched for taking notes on.
Re:Or better yet (Score:5, Interesting)
The biggest problem with using a computer to take notes is duplicating diagrams and equations quickly. In physics classes, these are the entirety of your notes. Equations you can sort of do if you're good with TeX, but the effort involved might distract you from the material. Diagrams are almost impossible to keep up with.
The majority of the time, I take notes with a paper and pencil. If I whip out my laptop in class, it's because I'm not real interested in what the professor is saying. (Going to class and amusing yourself like this is a lot better than not going...you'll at least find out about assignments and tests and whatnot.)
PDAs are wretched for taking notes on.
Agreed. Work bought me one for a project, so I took a few notes while I was playing with my new toy. They're completely indecipherable. It's so awkward to keep your hand off the display while writing with the tiny stylus that my mediocre handwriting became awful. And if I had used the on-screen keyboard or Grafiti, I would have had problems keeping up.
PDAs are more useful for displaying information than entering it. Or if you do enter information, there should be very little of it, in a rigid format.
Have cheap [looking] stuff (Score:5, Insightful)
You've hit the nail on the head. Have stuff that nobody wants to steal, or at least, that looks like stuff that nobody wants to steal, but that does the job good enough for you. And make sure you can live without it.
I had a crappy bike in college, but it looked really flashy. I left it locked up, but with a crappy cable lock. It got stolen.
I had a great bike that I built myself from an aluminum frame with a bunch of great components. I painted it with a tooth brush, and the handle bar tape looked like it had been put on by a monkey on speed. Don't even get me started on how old the leather bindings on the rat traps were. It looked like crap. I left it all over, unlocked. The only time anyone touched it was when the campus cops picked it up because it wasn't locked.
Most thieves, especially on or near a college campus, are looking for the easy theft and the easy sale. The want to grab something, unload it, and buy their booze/pot/coke/etc. So, don't make your stuff easy to steal, and don't make it look like it's worth stealing.
On a similar topic, don't ever buy something that looks too good to be true, either. It was probably stolen from someone else. People that buy stolen stuff are what cause stuff to be stolen.
BTW, emacs is the ultimate note taking engine. Abbrev mode and outline minor mode make it simple to get down the things your prof is saying in the correct structure.
Yup, the campus cops stole my bike (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah, there's a long story there.
Ah what the heck, I'll tell it. Not like anyone is going to read this anyway.
So, I went to visit a, um, friend, that lived on campus. I rode my bike up, and like I normally did, I leaned it up against the bike rack outside her dorm. No lock. I'd been leaving it unlocked for a long time, maybe a couple of years and it had never gotten stolen. Why should I worry?
I came out the next morning, went to breakfast, grabbed my books out of my gym locker (I was a boy scout, always prepared and all that), and went to class. Physics always makes more sense after a night of heavy, um, studying. Afterwards, I went back by her dorm to grab my bike to head home for a couple of hours of shut-eye. No bike.
I'm sure my reaction was typical. F*ck. F*ck. F*ck. Storm about a bit. Stamped my feet a good bit. Looked to make sure someone didn't move it to the next door to f*ck with me. Probably pretty funny to watch. Then, shoulders bent, I started to walk home. Thank god the Capitol bar was on the way home, and I had enough cash for a couple of pints.
I'd give you a link to the Capitol, but it couldn't do the place justice. Let's just say it's the best place on earth for a pint after your bike has been stolen. Heck, it might be the best place on earth for a pint regardless of whether your bike has been stolen or not. Thanks Stephanie for rebuilding after the lighting strike.
Anyway, I moved on. I no longer was spending nights with my friend, nor was I mourning my bike.
Losing the bike was the last bit of incentive I needed to finish my other bike project. Pissed as I was, I made my new bike from bits I had laying about the house (okay, back yard, shed, basement, you get the picture), which was twice the bike that I had lost, look like crap. I painted it with a toothbrush, and made the handle bar tape job look like crap. It worked well, though, and it actually made my commute to school easier. So, really, I didn't mind that much that my bike had been stolen.
For a while I locked the new bike up, just because the other one was stolen, but it wasn't long until I got too lazy to lock it up. After all, if this one got stolen, I had another at home waiting to be built out of parts, and that was fun for me.
To put beer on the bartop, I took a job working with the campus food service. I know, I know, you probably hate me and all the other people that forced that crap down your throat. Sorry.
My main job was handling the catering for events on campus. I delivered food, especially breakfast treats like bagels and coffee.
One day I jumped into the catering truck with a tray of (what else) doughnuts and assorted pastries for the campus police and others organizing the yearly auction on campus.
You see, each department would retire things, like computers, decks of punch cards, hydraulic rams, or APCs (yes, APCs, they were used for explosives research) that they no longer needed, and those would be sold at auction. I dropped off the tray of goodies, and took a look around at the swag. I never bought anything at these auctions, because they always sold the stuff I was interested in (like computers) in lots that put them out of my price range, but, like a good geek, I liked to drool over the things I couldn't get, like Linotype machines and welding rigs.
Wandering about, I came across, in a dark corner a bunch of bikes. In case it's not already obvious, I'm a bike scavenger. You have a bike part you don't want, give it to me, I'll figure out something to do with it. I thought, maybe nobody will be interested in these crappy bikes. So, I took a close look.
That's when I saw it. My old bike. Yup, tjere it was. Nothing wrong with it except cobwebs from storage. It was sitting there, ready to be sold to some yahoo that couldn't appreciate all the work I'd put into the damn thing.
Luckily I knew most of the campus cops (don't ask how), and I was on a friendly basis wi
Advice (Score:5, Funny)
Solution: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Solution: (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Solution: (Score:4, Insightful)
I must be old (Score:5, Informative)
But seriously, don't bring too many expensive devices, and if you have to, don't show off them in the public.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Advice (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Advice (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Advice (Score:5, Funny)
I thought he was an undergrad, not a Phd candidate.
only one thing will really work (Score:5, Informative)
Depending on your dorm layout the person responsible probably doesn't live on your floor. That said there's plenty of outsiders who might pass through looking for goodies. If you live near the ground floor don't let things be easy to spot through the window, and keep it shut with the shade closed when you're gone if you're on the ground floor.
Re:only one thing will really work (Score:4, Interesting)
I would also add two things:
1) do NOT for any reason leave anything valuable in your car - unattended - at any time, anywhere, no matter how safe you think it is. I had my car, which at the time was an old POS, broken into twice. Once from what I thought was a very safe lot, and the other time when I happened to pull a late night in a lab. I parked in a crowded lot, only to come out in the middle of the morning and find my lone car with the window smashed out. Thief never got much, a couple speakers from the car, and the two bucks in pennies that I had in the ash tray, but it was a hassle to get the window fixed (I might add there is a special place in hell for the lowlife tards that steal this kind of worthless crap).
2) Avoid things that look visibly valuable and easy to take, no matter how secure the room. If you get a PC tower for your room, put it in the ugliest beige case you can find and hide it in the corner. In fact spray paint some stripes on it so there is no question who it belongs to. If you get the trick case with the cold cathode lights and all that, you might as well hang a sign on the door advertising it. I worked as a TA for a while - shared a room with some other TAs. Room was always locked - I made the mistake of leaving a CD player on my desk. Found it missing one day, but it wasn't the other TAs who took it. Turns out it was a teenage friend of the prof's kid (prof gave his kid a key to the room). If I would have kept it out of sight it never would have happened...
Re:only one thing will really work (Score:5, Insightful)
Own cheap expendable toys, buy them used, and don't waste your too-precious time and energy worrying about them. Put a dollar value on anxiety and add it to the price of any big-ticket items you are thinking of getting.
Then take all of that unwasted energy and put it towards having fun. You'd be amazed how much more fun life is when you aren't worrying about your possessions.
insurance? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:insurance? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:insurance? (Score:5, Informative)
Flash forward to your friendly neighborhood insurance agent office, filling out your claim for your uber cool $3k laptop, they may well cut you a check, but I doubt they will provide you with the 20 pages of history term paper that you have already pounded out.
Hint, when backing up your work, start thinking multiple physical locations.... But then again what is an education without having to re-write a paper or two, so on second thought forget the backups and go have some fun....8)
Losing papers? (Score:5, Funny)
Mal-2
Re:insurance? (Score:5, Insightful)
Forget bringing your own printer-- save yourself the money on ink cartridges and print from the labs. Better than the savings of money, you'll get some exercise walking back and forth.
That's another thing. Unless your campus is miles and miles across, you really don't need a car. Walking is cheap and efficient exercise-- though don't hesitate to take advantage of any of the uni's health facilities, either. Plus, it gives you time to think as you move between areas; and talking with a few friends makes any walk seem far shorter.
Just a few random thoughts. Use them at your discretion.
Insurance Policies (Score:4, Insightful)
everyone is dumb in college! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:everyone is dumb in college! (Score:4, Funny)
hehe.
I hear that a 4 year university starts getting easier to "figure out" around year 7. Hang in there!
Re:everyone is dumb in college! (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm glad to see someone bring this up. I've never had a piece of electronic equipment stolen, and neither have any of my friends...but bikes are another story. I've had some problems (wheels and frame vandalized, a stolen wheel, a stolen seat, once a whole bike stolen which I miraculously got back), and I know several people who have had multiple bikes stolen. I've got some hard-earned advice on the subject:
Of course, adjust your level of paranoia by your dependence on your bike and its price. I bike everywhere and my bike tends to be one of the better ones on whatever bike rack I lock it to. When I ride my road bike, it's usually the most expensive bike on the surrounding few racks. (Low-end road bike...but a lot of college students have super-cheap mountains.)
don't let it out of your sight (Score:4, Interesting)
2. Since you will have to, buy insurance on it. It's about $75 a year for $5k of coverage and that covers everything in the room, including your clothes.
I had someone walk into my room, and steal my camera from me while my roommates weren't looking (I was gone at the time). There isn't much you can do to stop that, except buy a safe.
Second, try something like stuffbak.com (I haven't used it myself, but i hear good things). If you leave it somewhere and a good person happens to find it first, you get it back, and they get a reward.
How to recover a stolen laptop. (Score:5, Informative)
Even better--PC Phone Home (Score:4, Informative)
ps-be wary of the combination of credit cards, alcohol and women ; )
Times have changed. (Score:5, Funny)
Don't geek out immediately! (Score:5, Insightful)
Later, once classes start to kick in you can start to distinguish yourself as the alpha-male of the technology realm. But if the first impression people have of you is a computer geek, then they won't bother to get to know you and you won't have an opportunity to know them.
Re:Don't geek out immediately! (Score:4, Insightful)
My solution (Score:5, Funny)
Worked for me!
Re:My solution (Score:5, Informative)
Re:My solution (Score:4, Informative)
Go to Class! (Score:5, Informative)
I don't care how smart you are, if you don't attend the classes, you won't learn the material. Trying to keep up by just reading the textbook won't cut it anymore. You will often cover things in the class that won't actually be in the book, but will help you understand the material better.
Oh, and don't forget to do all those papers, homework assignments and to study for the tests too.
Record... (Score:5, Insightful)
My advice, as asked (Score:5, Insightful)
If you're worried about data lost, get an external firewire or usb 2.0 and a long cable and hide it away. They're not going to go through your stuff just to find where the usb cable leads to.
As for other matters that are far more important than any laptop:
Make new friends, but keep your old friends from home just as close. Friends from college are different than friends you grew up with. If you're computer science or computer engineer (I assume something along these lines since it's slashdot) make friends in your major. Stick together and do homework together. There's no need for competition and you'll connect with them on a specific level since they share your interests.
Of course, use the internet to find books. Go to the campus bookstore ahead of time, get the ISBNs and go to cheapesttextbooks.com and find the best deals. They search all the sites, like pricewatch, for the best deal.
And finally, don't underestimate the power of alcohol. It can make great friendships, but don't abuse it too much.
A Backpack & Insurance (Score:5, Informative)
The one thing I've recommended to friends of mine, and I will be purchasing one myself - is a backpack with a notebook slot. They are a bit less obvious on campus than traditional laptop bags which will reduce your likelihood of someone just walking past and grabbing the bag when your not looking (as they would be expecting textbooks not a laptop in a backpack).
But ultimately you need insurance. I don't know what insurance policies are like around the world, but I'm a unviersity student with 'tenant' insurance, not in dorms though, its only a $500CDN deductible if my laptop gets stolen, be it on campus or from my home. As well it is replacement insurance - not cash value insurance - so that I don't get a lower payout as my laptop depreciates in value - they would be paying for me to replace it with a laptop of equivalent value in the future.
That's what I've done to protect my shiny new IBM Thinkpad T41 that I love so much
Things to keep your sanity in tact (Score:5, Informative)
Pretty much every one of these I violated my first semester, and have since changed and had a significant improvement in my college experience.
Don't bring 6 computers, two monitors/keyboards/mice, two PDAs, a PS2 + dreamcast + gba, a stereo, two TVs, a dvd player, a few old hardware for "conversation pieces" and your laptop. I did this my first semester, and while I won the "most geeky person in hightower hall" contest (not a real contest), I had no need for all that stuff. Bring a laptop, one desktop, one test machine, a TV, one or two game consoles which at least one should double as a dvd player, and some speakers. Maybe a PDA if thats your thing.
Cancel your Everquest (or whatever) accounts. I was a 4-year Everquest player and got to college and found out that Everquest didn't work on the university network. I was pretty pissed off about it for two weeks, but after a month or so I realized that I was much better off than had I been playing Everquest. I didn't even care about losing my multiple level 65's with 200+ AA after six weeks.
Get involved. We have a linux users group here at my university which is really active and very awesome. Met a lot of my now college friends this way. I'm sure your university will have an ACM chapter, an IEEE chapter, and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Join all of them. You also have a good side effect here of resume-whoring.
Don't be afraid to have fun. If you get arrested a few times, its no big deal. Do stupid stuff often and without premeditation. You'll have alot more fun this way.
Go to class at least half the time.
Wisdom from My professors (Score:4, Insightful)
Grades are determined on Friday Nights:
A students take notes from class and notes from chapter reading and combine them
B students take their notes and file them away
C students watch the D students start to drink.
College is about adapting
Insurance!!! (Score:4, Informative)
Renters insurance will cost you for the year far less than a single piece of security equipment, probably about the same as a cheapass webcam which would probably get stolen too if it ever comes to that. Back up the critical data to cd and leave it with a friend in another room from time to time, and password protect your laptop in hopes that whoever steals it won't be able to hack in. Beyond that its just not worth the headache to try to keep an eye on everything, its just equipment that you can buy again down at Best Buy with the insurance check should somebody ever get to it. Besides that, the best security system on the planet won't help you if somebody steals your bike from the rack in front of a lecture hall, or snags your iPod in the cafeteria while you're not looking. Insurance will cover all of this and you don't have to worry about making sure its working every time you leave the room.
Get some insurance, and get some sleep.
Exercise, Vitamins, Water (Score:5, Insightful)
Exercise 30 minutes a day 5-6 days per week. Find people who want to exercise with you, and mix up your routine with fun things. This is, I think, the most overlooked thing at school. Exercise will give you more energy and a higher IQ.
Take vitamins every day, especially on the days you are hung over. Vitamins are pretty cheap, especially if they give you a little bit of an edge in avoiding sickness.
Drink lots of water. Drink 3 glasses of water right before you go to bed if you have been drinking, and drink another 3 when you wake up after drinking.
I presume you are going into a scientific or computational field. Make sure you have a firm grasp in math and physics before you jump into your other courses--these subjects provide the mental framework you need to succeed.
If you aren't already thinking about it, consider getting a minor in business, or try double-majoring in business along with your primary degree. Figure out the registration system, and locate areas of overlap in requirements for your liberal ed and major classes.
Do your homework right after class, and enjoy your evenings.
When you visit friends and family back home, do not try to show them how much smarter you are than them. Instead, try to understand what they are saying.
Get on a regular sleep schedule.
Regrets (Score:4, Funny)
As for school, it doesn't really matter what you do. Once peak oil hits, it's all a white line nightmare [back2themax.com] and, unless you're good with a supercharged V8 and a crossbow, you'll be dog food.
Generic advice... (Score:5, Informative)
The best advice I can give (Score:5, Insightful)
2) Go to class every session and sit in the second row. When you later have to argue/beg for a grade, it'll be much easier if the prof recognizes you. This will almost guarantee you a B.
3) Never fall into the trap of thinking that you don't need to know what one of your classes teaches. The only things I regret about my education are the things I didn't pay enough attention to, and now have to learn in a time when learning isn't my full-time occupation.
4) Buy a bottle on N-Acetyl-Cystine and take 2-4 before you go out drinking, especially on a school night. You will thank me.
5) Unless you're taking out loans to attend a private university, don't graduate too fast. You'll want to, by the end, but remember that the real world will always be there for you, whereas you'll spend the rest of your life remembering college fondly, even if you're happy with your family and career.
6) Try as many things as you can, it'll help you learn you who are.
7) Good luck.
To add to #2 (Score:5, Informative)
There are two good side effects of this:
1) If you need help, you are much more likely to get it. Maybe you want in a class in the future, and the professor remembers you and lets you in. Maybe you need some advice, and the professor give it to you. They are generally much happier to help those they know, and that have shown some initiave and intrest, than those that never say anything.
2) Grades. As mentioned by the parent, they'll give you more leanincy. Not even just for begging, you can just generally slant the grading in your favour. It's just human nature. They feel that they better know you, so they are more likely to cut you some slack.
As a senior undergrad. in CS... (Score:5, Insightful)
Unless you bring your laptop to every class with you every day, or leave it in your car from time to time, your laptop will be out of your sight for several hours/day. As in, sitting on your desk where your roommate(s) and other dorm buddies might -- if they are the unseemly type -- consider stealing it and selling it while you're gone. In this case, no laptop security hardware will save you -- time is on their side, and your hardware, at best, is a lock strapped to a probably-wooden desk.
That said, a laptop lock is still better than nothing, and for that reason, is worth the investment.
Mostly though, I wouldn't worry *too* much about physical security unless your roommate is untrustworthy. Of course, you won't know that until you've lived with him/her for a few weeks, will you?
Now my other subject:
Sanity -- Self-discipline, time-management, and happiness
Here are my 3 main tips:
1) DO NOT SLACK OFF LIKE IT'S YOUR SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, EVEN FRESHMAN YEAR. Your GPA is King if you want to go on to grad school, med school, law school, etc.. That said, you really only need a minimum of a 3.1-3.2 or so to get into grad school or law school. Med school is harder though.
2) DO NOT SPEND ALL YOUR FREE TIME LEARNING LINUX/*BSD IF YOU HAVE NEVER HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THESE OS'S. They will eat up all your free time (compiling god knows how many libraries you also have to download first, manhandling config files, reading poorly-written documentation, etc.). Learn them over time, but do not live them as I did. OSS is a very small subset of life.
3) DO NOT GET (too) BIG INTO THE CAMPUS LAN-GAMING AND WAREZ SCENES. Warez is too legally-risky these days, and besides, it requires lots and lots of manual searching; Google doesn't cut it here, and thus it takes lots of time to get the philez you want. It usually isn't worth it.
Welcome to the reasons I voluntarily dropped out of a major, well-funded, well-respected 2nd-tier science/engineering university, and will now be finishing up my degree at a shitty, underfunded 4th-tier liberal-arts state school.
Oh, and one more:
4) Don't fall into the "I wanna be a God admin/coder" trap and ignore women (or men, if you prefer) and dating for your 4 years of college. This has been the biggest reason I am a bitter, unhappy man in my early-mid 20s. I am only just now learning how to date women, and am still a virgin. [1] Most guys (about 73% [ageofconsent.com]) get laid by the time they're 18. Me? I might as well be a hardcore loony-bin Christian straight-edger waiting until marriage for sex, so far as I count, statistically.
I have a monetarily-successful life (almost certainly) coming to me in spite of all of the above, because I have managed to determine and pull myself up from my failings, but in doing so, like I said, I'm as bitter and unhappy a man as anybody I know.
I have discovered after years of soul-searching that money isn't everything (and if you read my previous posts, you will find that I am a diehard believer in the free-market, and resultingly, money transactions). Friends, love, laughter, and the free time and freedom to choose your own path in life are. Of those, my life is sorely lacking the first 3 (of any quality, at least). Money makes all of those things easier to obtain, and it makes those things go more-smoothly and easily. But money is the means, *not* the end...
Don't waste the most-vital years of your life geeking-out like I did. Go out, party, get drunk, get laid every weekend. Do your homework too, and if you're in CS or Engineering, you may well have to sacrifice a party or two to do the assignments, but what I have just described is a far-better balance than I have achieved the last 4 years in school.
Work hard during the week, and party hard on the weekends. That is how co
Re:As a senior undergrad. in CS... (Score:4, Insightful)
I just graduated and have some alternate perspective to help out.
Going out and having sex on the weekends was actually a very empty experience.
Fresh/Soph year I followed that lifestyle, I received poor grades, I had bad life balance. I had lots of friends, and social life, but I was still depressed.
Soph summer I started to change my ways. I became more of a nerd. My social life diminished. I was focusing on being a better coder, and getting better grades. I was a bit happier during this time, but still overall depressed.
By end of senior year I was completely antisocial. I was getting great grades, and was able to graduate (CS) on time despite my horrid first 2 years. I was happier at this time.
The moral of my story: I went thru the gammit of social and antisocial, and it all doesnt matter. Its all about you, if you are happy in a certain area then just follow your passion. When I was antisocial I was still a little depressed but I was more content then when I was a social, my life was more substantial. When I was very social I felt like a sell out, I was fake, I didnt do what I wanted. When I focused on my passion, I was in control, and I was happier.
This Side Of Paradise (Score:4, Interesting)
I spent virtually all of my college life nerding out at a highly technical university with very few girls. When not nerding out, I made periodic attempts to socialize (become involved with the rave scene etc) and, for a slashdot poster, I guess I made decent progress. However, I would quickly burn out and lose faith when I was trying to promote a party Friday night or whatever and walking around the dorms just found a bunch of guys playing counterstrike typing "pwn3d j00 m4mm1e b1tchz0r!!!1" or doing sets while all the girls were huddled in the library studying, or leaving for home to be with their parents, etc.
I've heard the vast majority of colleges have active social scenes, but at least one tech school is mostly silent on Saturday night, aside from "Terrorists Win!". No lie.
So eventually I just gave up, moved off campus, found a good part time job that rewarded me for hacking cool stuff 20-40 hours a week (on top of the 40 hour course load), and recently graduated knowing basically only the same five male friends I had freshmen year.
Sometimes I adopt the mindset in your post and worry I just opted out of the best part of my life. The thought is profoundly depressing. No doubt it is difficult to develop the social skills girls/women require if you do not do so along with your peers--the vast majority of women obey a very specific, inelastic, social ruleset and many aspects of that ruleset are challenging for highly technical, introverted males.
All of that aside, the last 10 years really have blown the lid off of some fscking awesome technology. I have deeply enjoyed thousands of hours spent on OSS, coding, etc, and draw spiritual satisfaction from my geek pursuits. As powerful as sex is, there are some people who just get off on technology (insert sticky kb jokes here), music, math, etc, more than on a skank sorroriety girl (which frankly is what most of the boring easy college girls classify as). Telling a technical person to drink/snort up and tag a skank is like telling a bunch of skanks to spend Saturday night optimizing a *BSD kernel (heh theres some fun for the ACs in that quote).
Anyway part of becoming an adult is realizing that pop culture and modern society impose a lot of BS in the name of social conformance. You'll probably have to reject a metric ton of that BS to feel OK about your interests. I know first hand you will not agree from within the depths of depression, however: there are at least a few women who value uniqueness and will pull you into their world assuming you don't write them off as sluts, freaks, etc, or write yourself off as an inadequate social reject. I bet many women are potentially sympathetic but lack the social initiate to break rank with the Animal House hoards.
So to wrap this post up... Modeling highly technical systems is an amazing talent for which you may be highly compensated. However using that talent to model your own mind quickly becomes counter-productive. Socialization demands empathy with another person; if you are stuck deep in self-analysis you will not have mental bandwidth for him or her. Also trying to force yourself into a value system inconsistent with your past is probably not going to work, instead you need to use your rational abilities to address emotional/social concerns, yet without violating the narcissism constraints. College and life are just a case of discovering the right tradeoffs, very similar to the art of hacking.
Further Reading:
"This Side Of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Go grab it on Gutenberg.
Further Discussion:
brane at sdf tod lonestar tod org
The grass is always greener... (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't panic, man. You should thank God you've been saved from all the hassles, fights, distractions, embarassment, emotional trauma, guilt, regret, diseases, pregnancy, financial burden, and other ripple effects that could have totally wrecked your life.
I have discovered after years of soul-searching that money isn't everything.
Perhaps, in a few more years of soul-searching, you will discover that sex isn't everything.
Patience... There is a time for everything.
There is a time to have sex,
there is a time to not have sex.
Life will reward you for waiting for the right person and the right time. It will curse you for acting foolishly. That's why it's so important to remain sober-minded - so you can make decisions that are truly in your best interest. Consequences, my friend. One stupid move could ruin your life.
Hard-won advice (Score:5, Informative)
Unfortunately, my whole world came unraveled when I began to suffer from a mental illness called schizoaffective disorder [geometricvisions.com].
It turned out to be a lot worse than it had to be because I would not seek treatment. I thought shrinks were for crazy people, and I didn't think I was crazy. Well, it turned out that by the time I got to see a shrink, I was crazy.
If you think you're mentally ill [geometricvisions.com], get help from a mental health professional. Most colleges have some kind of counseling center, and often have staff psychiatrists and psychologists.
Life was pretty damn grim for a long time, but it got better because I finally got help.
I finally got my degree in physics, in 1993, after transferring to UC Santa Cruz.
This advice is particularly pertinent to college students because schizophrenia, manic depression, and schizoaffective disorder almost always strike a victim when they are a young adult. I knew a number of other people, both at Caltech and UCSC, who became quite crazy when they were students.
Advice to the Three Female College Slashdotters (Score:5, Insightful)
2) Don't accept drinks from others or leave your drinks behind and pick them up later. I don't care if s/he's your best friend, turn it down and get your own drink. Doesn't matter what time of day it is. Be careful. If this doesn't make sense to you, reread #1.
3) Read "The Debt-Free Graduate", "You Are Smarter Than You Think!", all college advice books, and anything by Patrick Combs. Good advice there. Check them out at your college library or at the college bookstore. I ran into these my fifth year of college, and I wish I had read them sooner.
4) Major in your passion, not what your parents or teachers suggested you major in. I majored in Computer Science and I don't regret it. Unfortunately, I majored in it too late in my college career, and it didn't work out, so...
5) Always have a backup plan when things don't work out. If you end up not majoring in your passion for some reason, at least come out with a degree, even if it's a Bachelor in General Studies.
Regualr guy VS Geek (Score:5, Funny)
"Great! I'm off to collage, need some tips on the best places to party, the best clubs, and where all the hot chicks hang out."
Geek:
"I've been looking around recently for other options as far as keeping track of my laptop and other semi-expensive and certainly valuable (for a college student) stuff in a dorm room setting. Any ideas? I'm looking for both laptop-specific and comprehensive solutions. Locks? Alarms? Video cameras? Trip wire?"
Advice on notes, computers and other stuff (Score:4, Insightful)
Partying advice: Alternate soft and alcoholic drinks. Always have at least one drink fewer than the person you are trying to chat up. Party with as many different people and in as many different styles as you can over the course of the year. Never worry about not being cool enough to go to any particular party; it's staying in your room that's not cool.
Security: As has been said, always lock your door and make sure everything is insured.
Spraypaint & Restraint (Score:5, Insightful)
The simplest way is to make it not worth their while, and I personally think the fastest way is with a can of spraypaint and some artistic licence.
Ever wanted to spraypaint your deck cool camoflage colours just like the 'leet Hackers in That Film With The Cute Girl? Go ahead! You'll screw it up, repaint it silver, get funny bubbles on the case where the paint reacted with the plastic, and accidentally wipe off the key labels with acetone... and then your gear will be completely unique, instantly recogniziable, and often unsellable at pawn shops.
The more beige and standard your gear, the more likely it will get nicked.
My laptop got "stolen" (possibly by someone I knew) some years back, and turned up a few days later under a nearby tree. It was covered in unique PsiCore stickers, and whoever had "borrowed" it had failed to even get past the linux login prompt... CLI's are another great theft-prevention device.
Some final words of advice, since many, many other threads seem to be filled with hints on how to have Frequi Sex with Crazy Girls...
1. Never forget: Safe, Sane, Consensual.
2. Everyone else in University is having a LOT less sex than they say they are, or you think they are. (Trust me on this.)
3. The ones that tell you they're having sex don't realize how badly they're doing it. (One night fumbles simply don't compare to a lover who knows you well. Trust me on that too.)
4. Crazy girls are fun, but they're still crazy.
Ok, My 2 Bits (Score:5, Informative)
You learn 20% in the classroom, 80% outside of the classroom - College isn't all about the classes; they are important, don't get me wrong. No one pays $20K/year to hang out. But I learned the most outside of class in the form of social interaction, mental and psychological reform, and changing and honing of my beliefs and feelings. Understand that concept and you'll make a productive 4 years.
Party like it's on sale for $19.99 - You'll never get to do it again, and even into your twenties you'll start to slow down and start saying things like, "I used to be able to do that" in reference to long nights of drinking and partying where 3pm was breakfasttime the next day. I'm not saying you need to get so wasted every weekend that you can't see straight; have a few of those, but at least go out, have a beer, and socialize as much as possible.
Appreciate the opportunities - Picture this: it's a Thursday afternoon. The weather has just gone sunny and warm, the kind that makes you feel like everything's great. You have class at 2:30. A friend says, "Too bad we have class, we should go have a beer by the river and enjoy the weather." What are you going to do? SKIP THE CLASS! Don't do it every day, but in cases like this, you'll gain more from that skip than you would have had in class. This situation hit me during senior year; all my roommates were in the same class with me. We actually sat down, wrote and email to the prof, and apologized, saying that the day was too nice to spend inside, we hoped he understood. Then we left and went out by the river, had some beers, and shot the shit. A great, happy day. When we came home, we found an email from the prof, saying, "I don't blame you."
Women are fascinating creatures -- meet some - This is obviously for the guys, but girls, feel free to reverse the idea. Women are really fascinating creatures, and I'm not talking about just sex. Their unique perspective on life and ideas and views are great stimuli for the mind; find the interesting ones and hang out with them. Cultivate great friendships with women of all walks -- even if they never turn out to be a date or a lay, there's nothing like walking across campus and being able to yell out, "Hey, Erin!" and having that cute blonde wave back at you enthusiastically, stop and talk to you. How's that for an ego boost?
That being said, I would agree with the "get laid" sentiment to some extent. At least, there's a lot of women both interesting and just plain attractive that I wished I had gotten up the guts to approach and ask them for a night of passion or at least some friendly exchanges of pleasure. So give it a shot, you'll be glad you did.
Your friends are your rock - Make friends. Lots of them. Of all types of people, backgrounds, and interests. Don't limit yourself to geeks or any other group. Knowing people of all walks gives you the power of connections, of knowing who to contact when you need something. Need a great, raucaus party to go to? Are you going to contact a geek? No! Contact that football player you made friends with in the caf line. Need an 'in' on the setup of wiring in the buildings? Call up the weird guy that studies blueprints you saw last week! I could give a million examples, but have friends. Call them randomly. Take them out for beers at 11pm. Go over and give them 'stress breaks'. Anything.
Respect your sleep - I don't mean don't stay out late or anything -- that's fine. But respect sleep for what it is: a chance to refresh. Something that makes you think clearer. If you schedule your classes in the early mornings and you're a night owl, you WILL SUFFER. I don't care how "dedicated" you are -- when push comes to shove, and it will, you'll be screwed. Know yourself, admit your weaknesses, and get over them. Watch your schedules so you can get naps and sleep appropriately.
Take Naps - Piggybacking on the above, take naps.
Re:Don't tape your dorm. (Score:5, Funny)
With duct tape.
You won't be able to get in or out, but that's the price you pay for security.
Re:Yeah... (Score:5, Insightful)
MY rule for college (I'm still in it) is the same as it was in high school. You know the kind of people you like hanging out with. Stick with them! Since you're on slashdot, you're probably pretty computer smart, and you'd be AMAZED how many CoSci majors are really cool people.
I usually keep to a smallish group of friends. Makes staying out of trouble easier.
Re:Screw Dorms (Score:5, Informative)