What I wish I knew as a freshman
"Be organized. You're in charge of your own schedule and time matters, so make it count."
— Wayne Roberts, St. Louis
"Don't load up on all your hard subjects. Spread them out mixed with general education subjects, otherwise it will be too difficult."
— Daniel Nabelek, Columbia
"Make friends with your professors because they can help you a lot."
— Jamon Kimbrough, Columbia
"Look into graduate requirements deeply."
— Matt Rose, St. Louis
"Visit and see the demographics of the campus before you come."
— Haleigh Harrold, 23, Creswell, Ore.
"Try everything at least once – only don’t do anything too stupid."
— Cynthia Taylor, Lancaster, Pa.
"Go to Brady and get involved in everything."
— Alyssa Baker, St. Louis
"Take a library tour when you are a freshman."
— Sarah Bryant, Holden, Mo.
"Choose your group of friends wisely."
— Mike Jelinek, Eureka, Mo.
"Don’t skip class, it’s pretty basic."
— Mola Kassim, Jefferson City
"Don’t let the partying get to you."
— Drake Chang, Washington, Mo.
"Develop a good relationship with your advisor so you don’t have to stay longer than you have to."
— Spencer Evans, Houston, Texas
"Have a friend older than you to tell you about classes."
— Ryan Evans, Houston, Texas
"Be aware of the really, really long winter."
— Brian Swift, Germantown, Tenn.
"Take school seriously from the start. Keep your GPA in mind – it needs to be kept high so you have the flexibility to change courses."
— Zack Whitworth, Nixa, Mo.
"Always go to class, don’t be discouraged by initial low test scores – they will improve as you adjust to university life."
— Ben Meredith, Columbia
"Go Greek – The social networking is great."
— William Grover, Briarcliff, N.Y.
"Eat at dining halls 35-40 minutes past the hour to avoid rush hour."
— William Meyer, Chapel Hill, N.C.
"Consider the difference between high school and college study-wise. It’s a big jump."
— Ryan Kesser, St Peters, Mo.
"Consider which professors you get, which dorms to stay away from."
— Josh Duncan, Jefferson City
"Get your priorities straight. You have to balance your social life versus cracking down."
— Sean Morrissey, Fenton, Mo.
"Have a graduation game plan and think about about which classes you need to take." — BreAnn Jensen, Jefferson City