Mays Student Shares College Life Hacks

As we enter a new semester, I wanted to share a short list of things I wish I had done and known about before college.

1. Download GroupMe. This is a group messaging app that lets you communicate with your friends and classmates no matter what type of phone they have. It is a great resource to bring together hallways in dorms, create study groups or just chat with your friends.
2. Get rain boots. Before I moved to College Station, I had never experienced real rain. When it rains in College Station, it also floods – and wet socks are the last things you want to be thinking about during class.
3. FLOs (Freshman Leadership Organizations) are not the only organizations to join on campus. FLOs are highly advertised, but also highly competitive. There are more than 1,000 clubs on campus and I would strongly encourage applying to some non-selective clubs also. That way you are guaranteed to get into an organization.
4. Organize how you like to organize. No professor is going to tell you to purchase a 2-inch green binder and have graded binder checks. I personally never liked having binders, so I moved to folders in college. I use one per subject and file my old papers away in my dorm room so I can reference them later. This is your time to be organized in your own way. Just make sure you keep track of old notes and papers to review before tests.