College can be scary at first, especially when you don’t know a single person in a sea of nearly 50,000 people. It’s up to you to really make your big college feel small. I know that saying is pretty old, but it is definitely the most valuable piece of advice that can be given. MSU is a Big Ten school with tons of people; the huge campus and thousands of people can seem overwhelming at first, but it gets easier as time rolls by. There are hundreds of student organizations on campus that can really make this big school seem perfectly designed for you. Whatever your interest may be, there’s an organization that is suited just for you.

Being on campus for an entire week has allowed me to find my way around and navigate my way around a little better. (One word of advice for freshmen: Since you can’t have a car, invest in a bike. It doesn’t matter if you attend MSU or any other school. Most schools don’t allow freshmen to have cars and since you need to get to your classes quickly, a bike is your best bet. Remember to only buy an U-Lock, cable locks can be cut and your bike may be stolen a lot easier.) I am really happy with the decision I made and I feel that I’ll have great success at MSU.

Go Green!!!

*side note: I got my t-shirts and I love em’. I gave them to friends and family and kept one for myself. I even got a few friends at school to join and got my teachers to check it out for new students.

 While talking about the student quest for the perfect ACT or SAT score, the MIT admissions person said test scores demonstrated whether a student is academically ready for freshman courses.

After a certain level (higher 600s on SATs for MIT), scores didn’t make much of a difference, she assured parents and students during a tour.

“Students with 750s trying to get perfect 800s on their SATs are wasting their time and would be better advised to put the time and effort into essays,” she told the crowd.

The message: Work on those essays!

Since I’ll be living in the Brody Complex, which is a million miles away from the rest of MSU’s buildings, I had to really take the time to strategically pick classes that wouldn’t be impossible to get to. My schedule consists of 5 classes, some of which aren’t too close to my residence complex, but are manageable because I took the time to figure out how long of a trek would be needed to reach them all within a reasonable time frame.

Another big issue for me was picking classes that wouldn’t be too much work for my first year. My predetermined schedule that I had set forth consisted of 17 credits, which consisted of a second-year Spanish class that met everyday early in the morning. Though I love the Spanish language, I opted to wait until next year and take my Spanish class, which was a 6 credit course. I made the decision due to my transitioning to college, it’s imperative that you don’t overdo your first year because it can lead to a burn out really quickly.

The moral of this story: Make sure that you manage your time wisely and select classes that realistically meet what you are able to do and won’t cause you to be burned out by sophomore year.