10 Things I've Learned as a Freshman

1. Go to every student org's information meeting that you can possibly fit into your schedule- This is vital for a successful college experience. Everyone comes into college with the motto, "no regrets." Well this applies as much to partying as it does to your involvement in student organizations. An information meeting will take 20 minutes of your time and will answer many of your questions. You don't want to be the senior saying, "Man, I wish I would have joined club x, y, and z as a freshman." Remember, "no regrets." Just last night I went to an info meeting for a co-ed service-based fraternity that I thought I would potentially enjoy. Turns out I have no interest at all in joining. I found this out by GOING TO THE MEETING! There is no harm in learning more about a group before deciding to disband the idea of joining. Tonight I'm going to a meeting for the organization Women in Business. I am not a business major nor do I really even enjoy business. Yet, I want to learn more before I decide against this club.

2. You don't have as much free time as you are lead to believe. I am in the classroom more in college than I was in high school. WHAT?! You mean college isn't one giant free-for-all where you happen to do homework occassionally? That's right.

3. If you are lost as to what you want to major in, buy yourself some time by taking 18 credit hours like I am. At the University of Iowa, the maximum amount of hour you can take is 18, and here I am at that max. Upon hearing my peers were taking closer to 15 or less I heavily considered dropping a class. The idea of having less free time than everyone else is daunting, or it was to me at least. Don't cave to the pressure. Instead, you will be the one with more free time your senior year when you are not packing your schedule to fulfill all of the requirements of your major. Taking 18 hour is keeping me busy... very busy. But now I have some wiggle room that puts me at ease. Say I drastically change career paths- I now have built up enough credits that I can take new classes and still graduate within the highly desirable 4 years.