What advice would you give to yourself as a college freshman?
I'm a senior in HS who just got into Brown and am over the moon about it. The all-in yearly cost is somewhere around 80k which is absolutely terrifying. My parents will help a bit, but I will definitely have to take out loans. Currently, I have a lot of interest in investment banking and consulting, but that of course can change. Over the next four years, I want to have an enjoyable college experience while also getting the most out of my education to set myself up career-wise. There are some things I wish I could have told myself as a high school freshman, so now I am wondering if there is anything that current students or recent graduates wish they could tell themselves if they could travel back to when they were a freshman in college. Anything regarding social life, career, and whatever else you can think of would be appreciated.
I know these forums get flooded with high schoolers like myself who have no business being here, but the Brown price tag is intimidating, so I am looking for any advice I can get to maximize the opportunity I've been given.
Congrats on the acceptance. You seem like a pretty cool person.
Go out. Have fun. Make the most of it.
SHOW UP TO CLASS. DO TOUR WORK. But going out and having fun is almost just as important.
Net work with people. Learn about things you’re interested to on the side and have a good time!
lol Tour Work?
Congratulations on the acceptance.
Im about to graduate college and going to be starting FT (not IB). As a college freshmen I’d probably tell myself to lose my religion and have some fun, don’t be insecure and get started on looking for internships instead of being a lazy ass and pushing it off. You seem to smart enough to already recognize these things though.
One thing I will say is, don’t stress over things needlessly. Stressing over things not working out how I thought they would is pointless. Can’t change the past. COVID really made realize that things don’t have to go our way. You just have to do the best with the things you can control land deal as best you can with everything else.
Actually to echo the working out there is some studies to show that you build the most amount of muscle up through age 25, If you have never lifted before early 20's is the perfect time to learn this. Also you can train significantly harder without nearly as much soreness as 25+.
To add to this, working out is amazing for your mental health and dealing with stress. You’ll feel better, look better and be healthier. No downsides.
Regarding RI - Providence is a great town and it'd be a bummer to miss out on exploring it while you're there.
Try a little harder at your classes but also party harder because you're going to lose several years after graduation because a bunch of cowards are afraid of the sniffles.
Don't waste your free time and weekends like I did. Try to experience new things and people as much as possible.
This, It will only get harder to explore new areas when you are starting a career.
Study abroad
This too. Really wish I'd done a semester in Europe or SEA before the world went crazy.
+2
Biggest regret in college was not doing this. I always convinced myself it was going to be to hard.
I hear Brown has lots and lots of horny and laid-back students...you know what to do ;-)
This guy gets it possibly more than any of us. Can't stress enough that summer post graduation, and honestly holidays in general if you do internships try to sneak a few weeks in to travel before or after the internships and during winter breaks obviously spend time with family but maybe take a roadtrip with friends somewhere.
Unless you need to take care of your family, don't be the guy that goes home every weekend but don't be the douchebag that never talks to them.
Join a bunch of clubs. Basically join any club that somewhat catches your eye even if you haven't done the actual stuff before, you can make great friends, find new hobbies, and more importantly mixers with clubs that have absolute babes.
Hiking + Rockclimbing = total babes + nature
Professors are actually cool people, try to go to office hours to stay on their good side but also just to hang out with them
There are enough people in the world that want to help you out that you don't need to kiss up to dicks to get a job or even to be in with the "right group"
Being weird in college is for some reason super acceptable where it wasn't in high school
If you intern/work over the summer, save as much money as you can so you can stretch it out as living + other expenses over school year without having to get a job.
Take classes you are interested in, your major will not affect your capacity to build a better ppt 3 months in. As an addendum, those subjects you hated in high school might become beloved in college and visa versa, so keep an open mind when picking classes.
Seriously join a bunch of clubs and go hiking and climbing. You will get laid
You have people that at the end of the day love you no matter what so it's okay to mess up
Good luck dude
I would also travel every break I get, At least for 1 week going somewhere.
I'd really consider what you wanna do.
Make sure to chase real wealth creation, not status or prestige.
Don't just assume you wanna do IB, and also don't think IB is the only way to make money.
If I had to go back, I would've majored in Comp Sci and tried starting my own tech startup, even If I failed.
In other words, don't just assume you wanna do IB or consulting because everyone else is doing it and it sounds cool.
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