All I can think of bringing wise, that I missed first time around, are cleaning supplies and paper/plastic dishes/silverware. Bring ramen, lots of ramen.

It will be the best time of your life.

Heh. I think a big part of the “college experience” is learning to think on-the-fly. This is a great way to learn that up-front. :-)

You’ll be surprised how much of what you thought you’d “need” turns-out to be superfluous, and what you end-up “wanting” or “needing” once you get there was totally unforeseeable. So take what you think you need now. Go learn what would make things better, and make it happen.

Good luck!

You need shower shoes if you’re living in a residence/dormitory. This is something that I was not told up front, but is true nonetheless. Plastic sandals work fine.

Don’t forget to bring an open mind :-). Don’t forget to have a little fun, too.

Bring yourself. Everyone works out that college is a great time to reinvent themselves – lots of people will try to impress you or change their character totally. The reality is the best way to start afresh is to allow yourself to be who you really are and the like minded people will find you (or better still, you will find them). If you do that then you will meet people who will be your friends for the rest of your life.

Whatever you do, make sure you get out regularly, make sure you study with other people, make sure you don’t do what I did- live inside and let stuff pass you by.

Henry has it right, at times University can be increadibly stressfull. Nothing keeps you sane like regular human contact.

Well, after 4 years of University in France, I think I can bring some tips (and, I’m still 3 years left…). First, take an appartment (or a room in the campus). It’s a lot easier to work when you’ve got your own home (if you can afford it of course).

Next, and as simple as it seems, work the whole year long! Working the night before your exams will work for the first year, but not for the others… I know that (personal experience ;-) ).

You should really avoid TV. It’s not a good friend to succeed (especially cable TV).

Finally, have fun! These are the best years in your student life! Go out, meet people, party, just have fun. If you don’t, you’ll regret it!

Although it’s been a while since I was in college I would say that the mistake most people make (myself included) is to take too much stuff to college. Try not to go mad planning for every possible situation and therefore overpack and generally weigh yourself down with stuff to manage, fit in your room, and generally stress about.

Tea bags, and/or coffee. It’s great when you’re living in a dorm to be able to introduce yourself to people and offer them a cup of tea at the same time :) It’s much more of an ice breaker than just saying hi.

Everyone’s pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Get a audio recorder for to take notes and sit semi-close to the front of the class. That’d help get to get a good recording while still being able to nap. ;-) Just kiddin on the nap thing (kinda).

Don’t be afraid to ask questions – If you don’t understand something or are having a hard time getting the material. It’s been said quite often and you can take this to the bank – The only stupid question is the one not asked.

Oh, and above all, it’s alright to date and all but, don’t get serious and start thinking about getting married and whatnot. Have fun but don’t have too much fun. Trust me. Finish your studies and graduate. You’ve your entire life beyond college to screw up and get murdered, er, married.

Good luck mate! Cheers! JD

Don’t worry! Going to university will be one of the best experiences of your life. Don’t worry if you don’t have everything you need, there’ll be loads of time to get it right.

The hardest thing about it is striking a good balance between your social and academic lives. Because both are fantastic, and you don’t want to miss out.

Dont go to class, go out every night, sleep in every morning. You will have a much more fun and worthwhile time.

Bring: Mini-fridge and DVDs.

Don’t bring: TV.

If your university isn’t designed to sabotage your ability to learn outside of your major, make sure to take some fun non-major classes. For me that meant film, biology, pychology, etc. Also, when fulfilling a requirement that seems superfluous, take it as a personal challenge to find a fun class (not just the easiest class). One of my favorite summer session classes was all about the Black Power movement. It had a lot of reading, but the class discussions were great. Most non-black students avoided it because they knew it was more work than other classes that fulfilled that requirement, but I think they missed out. ;-)

I believe it’s best to do a lot of these classes early on, while you still have the energy. As you near graduation, the last thing you’re going to want is one more “bullshit” requirement slowing you down. :-P

@iain: You can do that without paying many thousands of dollars a year…I must say I really disagree. If you skate through your classes with the minimal required effort, you’re not getting your money’s worth. But obviously you should take advantage of the great social opportunities…it will never again be this easy to meet new, interesting people who have time to hang out. The people can and should change your life.

Work hard, graduate, then have your fun. Real life + money is much more enjoyable than college + no money!

TP. 2 ply, quilted. You think I’m kidding, dorms stock sandpaper.

Make the first contact you have with your neighbours be something pleasant. Just knock on their door, smile and introduce yourself. This will go along way later as you’re bound to have frictions with strangers living that close to you, if they know your name they’ll at least be less likely to get you evicted. And be an active student beyond just studying, most universitiy communities have all kinds of organizations, teams or groups for almost any interest, join one and make friends for life. I’m sure glad I did.

Move in the big stuff first. Mini-fridge, TV, etc. Otherwise you’ll be smacking yourself rather hard later on.

Also, put the bed ALL THE WAY UP.

Beyond the social factors already mentioned, my advice from personal experience is: Do NOT under any circumstances procrastinate major assignments or homework.

I took an Introductory Visual Basic course [1] last year and received a ‘B’ grade in it (on an A-F scale). Mind you, chapter one was: “Do you know how to use the Mouse and Keyboard? Good, let’s continue.” The ONLY reason I didn’t get an A, even though I was getting 100%s on everything I submitted, was that I simply did not do any of the homework. I’d like to emphasize this point by stating that my friend who is a slightly-technophobic Literature major took a similar course and aced it with flying colors. Í’ve since learned from this and other experiences that Laziness is a Very Bad Thing™

Another piece of advice: Never, EVER take work-only classes. Always be sure to schedule a “fun” class or two (Pyschology, Philosophy, Music, maybe a foreign language, etc.?) with each semester/quarter/etc. Even if it’s more work than another class, the fact that it’s fun and highly enjoyable will make it seem significantly less, and will very much help ward off any so-called “senioritis” symptoms.

[1] Disgusting, yes; but the only class which fulfilled that prerequisite at the time…

Second on the languages thing…I almost forgot what fun it was taking Hebrew my first year.

Couple things no one’s mentioned yet: First, SLEEP. Especially sleep before exams. It’s been scientifically proven that people who get plenty of sleep the night before an exam do better than people who stay up all night studying.

Second, expect to learn more out of class than in it. Talk to your professors. Sign up for undergraduate research. Have fun.

Thanks all for your insight.

Things are going smoothly.

I’m guessing you’re majoring in Computer Science or something like that.

I did, I went to a school where you start your major immediately. I started with a fair amount of experience, I was able to take the hardest classes up front, which was great while it lasted, but everything after that was a disappointment.

I ended up transferring to a liberal arts college from my engineering school and studying humanities for my last two years. I found that the experience left me much more balanced and well educated than I would have been if I had only done one or the other.

You don’t have to switch schools or even majors, but I would seriously consider making something other than your major (which I’m assuming is technical) into a priority for at least a semester or two. Don’t just avoid taking “work-only classes”. Actively seek out other interests. Stretch yourself in new directions.

One of the things I think is most lacking in CS education is critical thinking. Good logical thinking is often taught, but what I found really valuable in my liberal education was my exposure to some of the many perspectives critical of the status quo. You don’t have to agree with them, but just realizing how limited mainstream ideas are and learning to understand other ways of thinking is invaluable. Make friends with smart people who have different beliefs from your own.

Oh yeah and don’t forget to eat well and get some exercise. College can make you very unhealthy, especially if you’re in a technical subject, not used to cooking good meals, and not naturally athletic.

My $0.02.

Nick