Marquette/College

[tower912]

Don't date crazy.   You can't fix crazy, it can only drag you down   GPA for 3 semesters while dating crazy: 2.4.    GPA for the 5 semesters not dating crazy: 3.1.

[APieperFan3]

The engineer (nerd) in me has this to offer...

Do your HW/studying after your classes if your schedule allows it. EX: If you take a 9am and 10am class on M,W,F then graba bite and then study during the afternoon until your 2:30 or whatever. Then you're done by 5/6pm and don't have to make a decision to study to party. You can do both!!

I did this starting my sophomore year b/c i was struggling in my major a little bit. My GPA rose by about .8+ ....and so did my BAC at night.

[groove]

Don't date crazy.   You can't fix crazy, it can only drag you down   GPA for 3 semesters while dating crazy: 2.4.    GPA for the 5 semesters not dating crazy: 3.1.

+1 And don't date Crazy's best friend even if Crazy suggested it. You will end up getting threatening phone calls at 3 am and Crazy will show up one night wielding a gun.

One tip from experience: Sure sign that chick is crazy - She opens her purse to show you a handgun on your first date and brags about smashing her car into her ex's car. She may sound exciting and it is for awhile.....

[Chili]

The engineer (nerd) in me has this to offer...

Do your HW/studying after your classes if your schedule allows it. EX: If you take a 9am and 10am class on M,W,F then graba bite and then study during the afternoon until your 2:30 or whatever. Then you're done by 5/6pm and don't have to make a decision to study to party. You can do both!!

I did this starting my sophomore year b/c i was struggling in my major a little bit. My GPA rose by about .8+ ....and so did my BAC at night.

One better - look right away for a work study job. I worked in the College of Engineering making copies, doing basic filing stuff, entering grades, etc. - so while you only work half the time, the other half you can study while making (back in 2000) around $8. Makes for easy beer money plus the hours are regular business hours. Works out great.

[4everwarriors]

No one has addressed the issue of always wearing your raincoat, regardless of the weather.

[swoopem]

One major piece of advice that I forgot to mention is do not be scared or intimidated by DPS, they are your firends not your enemy. When they show up to party's don't run, they are probably there because the people who live in the house called them because of over crowding.

DPS is there to keep the outsiders away not ruin your good time. The quicker you realize they aren't trouble the more fun you will have and you will be more relaxed. I had friends that were scared sh!tless of them the first time they came into a party and since I had an older brother attend MU I laughed my A$$ off because they are a joke.

The one thing they do bust kids on all the time is swiping into the dorms with their fake ID, dont do that. Just keep it somewhere safe in your wallet where you know you will never grab it no matter how smashed you are.

[T-Bone]

One better - look right away for a work study job. I worked in the College of Engineering making copies, doing basic filing stuff, entering grades, etc. - so while you only work half the time, the other half you can study while making (back in 2000) around $8. Makes for easy beer money plus the hours are regular business hours. Works out great.

Yep.  Did the same thing in the Straz computer lab nearly a decade earlier (VAX based e-mail and gopher - look it up).  A lot of the jobs offer a really flexible schedule.  Pop in for an hour, go to class, pop back in for another hour, get a green drink from Heggarty's (RIP), wake up the next day.  

Just don't stoop low enough to be one of those kids calling on behalf of the blue and gold fund.  I did it one time only.  It's awful.  

But do it.  It's easy money and does give you a chance to study - depending on the job though.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Yep.  Did the same thing in the Straz computer lab nearly a decade earlier (VAX based e-mail and gopher - look it up).  A lot of the jobs offer a really flexible schedule.  Pop in for an hour, go to class, pop back in for another hour, get a green drink from Heggarty's (RIP), wake up the next day.  

Just don't stoop low enough to be one of those kids calling on behalf of the blue and gold fund.  I did it one time only.  It's awful.  

But do it.  It's easy money and does give you a chance to study - depending on the job though.

I worked in the Straz computer lab too...around '89-91 or '92.  Up on the 2nd or 3rd floor if I remember correctly.  Didn't know crap about computers or any of the programs at the time.  After that I worked the front desk of the athletic club in the basement of the Federal (blue) building across from Grand Avenue.  Also one of the easier jobs I've ever had, but had to be there super early (5:30ish) on days I was supposed to open.  Some hungover days there....

[StillAWarrior]

There is enough time in the week to be both a nerd and a jackass.

I'm going to go ahead and say that this is the best advice I've seen on here so far, and advice that I'd give my kids when they go.

College costs a metric sh*t-ton of money.  If either you or your parents are paying that, I think you owe it to them or to yourself to work hard and do well.  If it's being offered to you for free (or at a discount) take advantage of the opportunity.  Figure out what works best for you, but find a balance and do well.

On the other hand, college is an absolute blast.  Have fun.  There are many, many ways to do that.  Some on here might gasp, but that doesn't necessarily mean drinking.  If you don't drink...that's a viable decision.  As someone else mentioned, this is a chance to be yourself, even if that means you don't drink.  Peer pressure can be a bitch, don't give in an do things that you don't want to do just because others are doing them.  There are a lot of great things to do in college even if you don't drink.  I happened to be one who drank (more than a lot of people, less than a lot of others).  My roommate for the first three years didn't.  We both had a lot of fun...sometimes together, sometimes separately.

A few specifics (some of which may have been covered, others maybe not):

• Get season tickets for Men's basketball
• Road trip to some away games
• Go to some other sports too
• Play intramural sports
• Blow off a class for no reason other than to lie in the sun, play frisbee with friends or something like that
• Spend some time helping somebody
• Get to some decent concerts (either "real" concerts or just in dive bars) -- the music you love in college will likely be some of your favorite music for your entire life, so you might as well make some cool memories
• Take a road trip home with a friend for a weekend who's from somewhere you've never been
• Thank your parents for the sacrifice they're making for you

Damn, I feel old.  I didn't realize I was that much older than others on this board.

[JWags85]

My most important lesson academically was time management.  Its not the drinking at night or partying your face off on the weekends that kills your GPA, its the f-ing around at 5 in the afternoon before dinner or at 8 when you're just hanging out playing video games.  I nearly flunked out my first year and I rarely went out except for the weekends.  However, I played tons of video games and watched tons of TV/movies down the hall with kids in my dorm.  By junior/senior year, I would go out 4-5 nights a week, was super involved with a business organization, and was flirting with Deans List each semester.  It wasn't that I was suddenly smarter or a bookworm, I just studied smarter.  I still didn't go to the library, cause it was too quiet and I got distracted.

Be shameless about meeting girls, and stay friends with them.  Just cause they don't want to date you now, doesn't mean that won't change in 2 years.  My success rate with girls I knew/met freshman year doubled in later years.  

The point about DPS is a good one.  I didn't go to Marquette, but in my college town, the local police were the same way.  They weren't concerned with busting dumb freshman for underage, it was about making sure parties didn't get out of control and you weren't messing with the surrounding areas.  As long as you're doing nothing wrong (in this case drinking falls under that), they're your allies.
Freshman year is the groundwork.  You may meet your best friends/wife/etc later in college, but freshman year is where you create that social network that allows all that to be possible.  I probably only talk regularly with 1 or 2 kids from my freshman year dorm.  But my 3 roommates and most of my good friends from college are tangentially related to those freshman year connections.

[groove]

My most important lesson academically was time management.  Its not the drinking at night or partying your face off on the weekends that kills your GPA, its the f-ing around at 5 in the afternoon before dinner or at 8 when you're just hanging out playing video games.  I nearly flunked out my first year and I rarely went out except for the weekends.  However, I played tons of video games and watched tons of TV/movies down the hall with kids in my dorm.  By junior/senior year, I would go out 4-5 nights a week, was super involved with a business organization, and was flirting with Deans List each semester.  It wasn't that I was suddenly smarter or a bookworm, I just studied smarter.  I still didn't go to the library, cause it was too quiet and I got distracted.

Be shameless about meeting girls, and stay friends with them.  Just cause they don't want to date you now, doesn't mean that won't change in 2 years.  My success rate with girls I knew/met freshman year doubled in later years.  

The point about DPS is a good one.  I didn't go to Marquette, but in my college town, the local police were the same way.  They weren't concerned with busting dumb freshman for underage, it was about making sure parties didn't get out of control and you weren't messing with the surrounding areas.  As long as you're doing nothing wrong (in this case drinking falls under that), they're your allies.
Freshman year is the groundwork.  You may meet your best friends/wife/etc later in college, but freshman year is where you create that social network that allows all that to be possible.  I probably only talk regularly with 1 or 2 kids from my freshman year dorm.  But my 3 roommates and most of my good friends from college are tangentially related to those freshman year connections.

great post

[🏀]

You are on camera everywhere you go on campus, do not forget that.


Also, get off campus. Go to the eastside, Third Ward & Water Street, there's better times to be had than sitting at Murphy's Dance Hall.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

after all of this, why am I not surprised that Jaybee has a male sh!t fetish?

[Henry Sugar]

Get involved with something.  Anything.  A club.  A group.  Intramural sports.  If you don't like it, find something else.

[Brewtown Andy]

Got a significant other now?  Fine.  Don't go running home to see them until Thanksgiving.

Don't have a significant other now?  Don't get one AT LEAST until spring semester.  Get to know the people on your floor in the dorm, especially if they're in any of your classes or even the same college as you.

[Brewtown Andy]

One major piece of advice that I forgot to mention is do not be scared or intimidated by DPS, they are your firends not your enemy. When they show up to party's don't run, they are probably there because the people who live in the house called them because of over crowding.

And remember that if you're at a house party, that's someone's HOUSE.  Not the actual owner, but the people renting it.  If there's jackasses in their house, they're going to want the party over.  Don't be that guy.

[GGGG]

Got a significant other now?  Fine.  Don't go running home to see them until Thanksgiving.

Don't have a significant other now?  Don't get one AT LEAST until spring semester.  Get to know the people on your floor in the dorm, especially if they're in any of your classes or even the same college as you.

And if you have a significant other that is still going to be in high school this upcoming school year?  You have about four more days to break it off. 

Both of you will thank me for this advice...

[4everwarriors]

All this advice sounds like it's coming from a bunch of old farts. Let the kid be. We all found our own way. The fun is the journey.

[mu_hilltopper]

^^ Don't listen to old farts who tell you not to listen to old farts.

[swoopem]

Yo 4ever if the kid wanted to be then he wouldn't of asked for advice, but I do agree that some of the advice is clearly coming from parents who are telling their kids the same stuff: make sure you study, get to know your teachers, get out to explore and be active/involved. I would hope that he studies or else he won't last long, its Marquette you have no option of getting to know your techers its gonna happen when there are 30 kids in a class and if he is in a big lecture hall they have discussion classes, and getting involved is overrated unless thats your type of thing.  

[GGGG]

getting involved is overrated unless thats your type of thing. 

Not being more involved is the biggest regret I have about my college years. 

[LON]

Spend time outside of class getting to know your professors? Be friends with your RA?  What kind of dorkbaits are you guys? 

We had a deal:  the RA got to meet the freshman girls we were hanging out with, we got our beer/Skol vodka chauffeured into McCormick.

I didn't say hang out with the guy the whole time, but there was a reason everyone drank in our dorm room before going out.  Make friends with your RA right away and you'd be impressed with the amount of crap you can get away with.

[BubbaWilliams]

**Always wrap it before you tap it.**

Do what you love. Also, make sure to see the city before the winter. In the winter, it gets dark at 4 and there is three feet of snow on either side of you as you walk to class. Oh, and dont smoke pot in the dorms, go outside for that. There are better ways to get arrested.

[Skatastrophy]

Yo 4ever if the kid wanted to be then he wouldn't of asked for advice, but I do agree that some of the advice is clearly coming from parents who are telling their kids the same stuff: make sure you study, get to know your teachers, get out to explore and be active/involved. I would hope that he studies or else he won't last long, its Marquette you have no option of getting to know your techers its gonna happen when there are 30 kids in a class and if he is in a big lecture hall they have discussion classes, and getting involved is overrated unless thats your type of thing. 

This is why you stay in school kids.  Proper grammar, spelling and punctuation doesn't teach itself.

[Goose]

I know what I would do and it doesn't include books.