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Declassified College Survival Guide: Our writer shares what he wishes he knew as a freshman

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an A student. I can’t help it. Poor grades throw me into existential episodes. My need to be considered “excellent” by authoritative adults is one of the major reasons I’m on the dean’s list at Santa Clara University. But college is about a lot more than getting good grades. You’ve got to map your future, find something to eat, and get the most out of your (or your parents’) money. As I enter my final year of college, I’ve boiled down what I learned into three tips that will help you navigate the four most confusing years of your life.

by John Flynn

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Make the most of your free time

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choolwork is a startlingly small part of college life. Freshman year, I had hours and hours of free time. I tanned, honed my FIFA skills, partied, then overslept. But eventually, I became concerned I was squandering this massive investment in myself, especially when earning a college degree is an increasingly common accomplishment. Just doing well in class isn’t good enough.

“You’re responsible for your own education,” says my favorite professor, Stephen Carroll. “Unlike high school, no one will force you to do anything. You have to know what you want and go get it.”

The way I see it, there is a finite amount of fun jobs. Many of them disappeared before I realized what it took to snag them. For example, I’m not going to be an NBA star because I didn’t go whole hog after my hoop dreams. That window of opportunity shut before I leaped through it.

In college, I decided I wanted to be a writer, so I started a blog on pop culture. For a while, my pieces

sucked. But after cranking out a few dozen mediocre articles, I could produce content good enough to get published on websites. The practice improved the quality of my essays for class and now you’re reading something I got paid to write.

College is four years where students make their own schedule and can start on proto-careers.

One of my friends has five figures in the stock market. Another boasts a Soundcloud profile with several hundred thousand views. Free time is valuable. You’ll never have more of it than when you’re in college.

The best cure to a quarter-life crisis is getting better at what you want to do.

“You have to know what you want and go get it.”

P r o f e ss o r Stephen Carroll

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Master undergrad DIY cooking Get A Slow-Cooker: Crockpots make food tender and deeply delicious with a minimum amount of effort. Combine vegetables, flavorful cuts like pork shoulder, and full-bodied sauces to make a week’s worth of healthy food for the price of a take-out dinner. Let your creations simmer while you attend class and return to the homecooked comfort of your low-heat masterpieces.

Secure Your Staples: For breakfast and lunch, eggs, wheat bread, peanut butter, bananas, granola and cottage cheese can be combined in several satisfying ways. For dinner, salt, pepper, California extra virgin olive oil, garlic, onions, and a can of diced tomatoes make

anything delicious. To diversify your flavors, beg your parents for old spices and invest in a basil plant.

Make Your Own Coffee: Buy whole beans and grind them at each use to ensure their flavor lasts. Then invest in a simple, easy-to-clean coffee maker like the Aeropress. This will save you hundreds of dollars and let you make cups of Joe whenever you want that will taste better than most cafés.

Buy Smart: Farmers markets usually have better produce at cheaper prices than supermarkets, plus they’re an ideal cheap date activity.

When the market isn’t open, try to find a co-op or a Grocery Outlet that sells products for ridiculous bargains, especially in bulk. Grains and beans are far cheaper when you purchase them uncooked.

Ball Out: Follow these tips and you’ll have enough cash to buy big-ticket dishes you can’t make yourself when you eat out.

Arm Yourself: You can make almost anything with a nonstick pan, a large pot, a wooden spoon, a sharp knife and a cutting board.

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Talk to your professors

rofessors are successful adults in an interesting field that want to help you. It’s hard to imagine a more helpful ally for a college student.

Of course, some professors are incorrigible bores or pretentious prima donnas, so the way I suss out if a teacher is worth befriending is by talking in class. When I chat it up, time goes faster, the discussion goes in places I like, and my teachers are immensely grateful for sparing them from monologuing to blank faces.

Everyone hates a quiet classroom, but people fear embarrassment from speaking up. Don’t. Nobody will remember anything you say except your professor. There’s nothing to lose.

If you jibe with your teacher, go to office hours and see what else they know. I’ve learned short story writing from a physics professor, résumé building from an English teacher and coding from a music instructor. They’re

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well-educated humans with plenty of life experience. They’ll help you avoid common pitfalls, and offer revelatory hints.

If you build this out-of-class relationship, the in-class benefits are innumerable. You’ll understand the teacher’s values, earn plenty of participation points, and gain the benefit of the doubt for when you slip up. In one of my classes, I forgot about a final, but since my in-and-out-of-class participation had shown my teacher I gave a crap about her class, she let me have a few more days to study.

College is expensive and the job market is competitive. If you don’t use the people who are paid to help you, you’re wasting your money and handicapping your future success.

In college, you make life-long connections. It doesn’t hurt to be buddies with the most accomplished person in the room.

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The School of Excellence Award recognizes ACCSC-accredited institutions for their commitment to the expectations and rigors of ACCSC accreditation, as well as the efforts made by the institution in maintaining high-levels of achievement among their students.