The Beginning of Undergraduation

Freshman year of university! Woo-hoo! You made it! Welcome to the next best 4 years of your life. High school might seem like it was yesterday, but it does not even compare to the adventures you will have here in East Lansing. Welcome to the Spartan Fam and the greatest BIG 10 school in the nation, you should feel proud and lucky-mostly lucky.

Here are a few pointers to ease your transition into Spartan Nation:

• Stock up on Spartan Gear, you can wear your green hoodie everyday of the year if you really wanted to. Especially on game day, you will be happy you bought those green and white high knee socks and that Spartan hair bow.
  
•  DO NOT GO IMMEDIATELY GO TO THE BOOKSTORE. The big 3: The Spartan Bookstore, Student Bookstore and Ned's bookstore are the prime bookstores here at Michigan State. When your parents hand you $700 to buy all your textbooks, BE SMART with your money! You will thank me at the end of the semester, when you were able to rent a $150 textbook for $25. Go to chegg.com and order your books online. Expect for course packs, which are customized books your professor is going to make you buy to make themselves seem important and cool; or just because they hate you.
  
•  DO NOT SKIP CLASS. EVER. Yes, college isn't like high school. The majority of classes you take aren't going to take attendance. Your CEM 141 professor doesn't give 2 shits on whether or not you were at lecture last thursday. Just know, you are the one who is not going to know how to solve those bi-carbon equations when it comes time to study for that exam. Mid-semester, when the lecture halls are filled with sniffles and big ass winter coats, your professor will probably offer extra credit just for those kids who hiked all the way in the tundra just to get to the CEM lecture hall. And hey- maybe you will get out of class early!

• USE A FREAKING PLANNER. Its free. You should have gotten a free, fairly nice planner at your AOP orientation. If not, they have tons of free planners available at your major's college. Use the hell out of that baby. It will save your life. It will help you not to procrastinate and stay up til the buttcrack of dawn working on that two page paper for WRA. Less procrastination = more Netflix. Its a win-win. From due dates to parties, you can keep track of everything. Also, it is a fairly good idea to print your syllabi for all your classes so you have a quick reference for deadlines.
  
• Become buddy-buddy with at least one of your favorite professors each semester. Be on a first name basis with your professors, you WILL need letters of recommendation later down the line and for internships, so start now! Also if you really like the subject, ask them about what research they do and if you can assist them. MSU is a research-based institution, EVERY single professor at Michigan State is required to conduct research in their field of expertise. If you really like a professor and their teaching style, go to their office hours and kiss their ass. Not literally. Unless you're into that. No judgement. 

Until next time Spartans!
DKB