Tips From Fall 2004

• The word "can't" should be eliminated from your vocabulary. Simply changing "can't" to "I can" or "I will try" surely makes the process of achieving your goals readily attainable. Never stop with one unsuccessful attempt. Try again and a difference can be seen if you put more effort in the second time around.
• Buy a big refrigerator for your dorm room and stock it well for those days when you miss dinner or when the dining hall food just stinks. And, take good notes in your lectures -- don't just learn from the textbooks.
• Don't put off work until the weekend. When there are football games to watch, homework is the last thing you will want to do. Sunday night becomes the worst night of the week.
• College can be hard: it's OK to admit that it is -- a lot of people feel this way. Although it may seem like you're the only one struggling, you are not alone so ask for help before it's too late. Always remember to take advantage of the many opportunities available to you and never take for granted the fact that you can go to college because some people don't have that opportunity.
• Get involved in as many things as possible so you can meet as many people as you can.
• Use time wisely! You gotta set a time to eat, sleep and study. In the first few days, you will find your best time to do things. If you don't keep this constant, you will find your balance collapsing (health, body condition). You will have a lot of free time compared to high school years, so think of things to do during the gap in your classes.
• Be able to manage your time wisely. This is important specifically as a Freshman because if you don't, things become overwhelming since you have never been exposed to such challenging material before. The last minute paper/project will no longer cut it if you want to receive a high mark. The bare minimum will now get you a grade reflecting just that, so if you want to be successful you must put in the time and effort. Figuring out a schedule for yourself is a very useful tool as long as you stick to it. When you allot yourself a certain amount of time for academics and a certain amount of time for social gatherings, you will feel much more in control, but still able to have some fun! Syracuse also offers programs on how to develop these skills so if you think that would help, these are always available as well.
• It is very important to manage your time. Set up a schedule of when you will go to class, do school work, and other activities. It is important to get ahead early.
• Space out your work. If you have no work to do one night, think about work that you'll have to do later on, and get a start on it. This is so you won't get overwhelmed with too much work at once, and become stressed.
• Take the advice of others, but leave the ultimate decision to yourself.
• Study for your tests a lot more than you did in high school.
• Do not take too many classes freshman year and do not be afraid to drop one if it is too much.
• Be yourself and have fun with what you are given, you only live once.
• Don't let things pass you by. Take advantage of all the resources at Syracuse University. Most important is time management. If you don't grasp anything else, grasp the concept of that.