From Those in the Know: College Students’ Advice for Freshmen

If your son or daughter is heading to college in the near future, this video is for both of you.

Current North Shore college students, who are home for the summer, share their advice about handling roommates, managing coursework, meeting people, staying healthy and more.

You’ll be reassured by how poised and insightful these young people are, and your student will get the straight scoop from peers (not parents) who have recently made the transition to college life. Hey, your kid probably isn’t listening to you much these days anyway, so why don’t both of you take a look?

The students also had some important advice about staying out of trouble, which I’ll summarize here, without attributing the advice to anyone in particular.

  • Don’t party in the dorm or hang out in rooms where partying is going on. Just don’t. And definitely don’t smoke in the dorm. Everyone can tell.
  • If you do choose to imbibe—on or off campus—be responsible and don’t draw attention to yourself. Loud, obnoxious or obviously impaired students are very likely to get in trouble with authorities.
  • The consequences of a single mistake can be devastating—with the law, the university or both. One unlucky freshman (not featured in this video) ended up having to check in with a parole officer at 7 a.m. every morning for his entire first term.
  • Girls especially should not walk alone after dark and should make plans to leave parties with a friend.

Other Articles on Make It Better:

Ideas for a Ship-Shape Party to Launch Your Graduate
Guide to Gap Year
A Parents’ Guide to a College Kid’s Winter Break

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