by Mckayla Hollis

Created on: June 15, 2009   Last Updated: July 09, 2009

As a student going into my second year of college at the University of Hartford, there are a lot of "little-known facts" that I'd love to share with all of my old friends who are just now preparing for their freshman year. The problem is, I know that when I was preparing for my first semester, I didn't want to hear anybody tell me what was and wasn't going to happen! I had my own plans, and my own ideas, and I wasn't going to let anybody change them. Now, however, I'd like to share what I've learned. I probably would have done a lot better in those first few weeks if I'd listened to my elders, so if some lost and scared college freshman finds this and benefits, that's great! If not...well, maybe his parents will find something useful for their own peace of mind. Here are my top three tips for college freshman:

1) If special interest housing is available, TAKE IT! You may have to apply especially for it, or write a small essay, but it is more worth it than I can describe. When I was a freshman, we had RLCs available to us. This stands for Residential Learning Community, which sounds a lot scarier than it is. Many students didn't apply because they were sick of writing essays at that point, and didn't want to bother. Those who did write the essay most likely got in, and were housed in a brand new building with laundry facilities on every floor and gorgeous, huge rooms. Every freshman on campus made friends with those living in the RLCs, because hanging out in that building was much cooler and more fun than hanging out in the regular residence halls! Those who lived there were often at the top of their classes and participated in a wide variety of campus activities, simply because the building made it al lso available to them. Though a small amount of extra work may be required to live in these facilities (I had to take an honors level philosophy class with my floor mates), the benefits far outweigh that burden.

2) I was absolutely terrified of the Freshman Fifteen, which is the well-known myth that all freshman gain at least fifteen pounds in their first year of college. I've always been rather skinny, and I didn't want to lose my waist line, so I went to school pretty freaked out about dieting. My fears were in vain. Instead of dieting, I just stayed away from beer! Really, I can't begin to express how much of a difference this makes. I had friends who were quite small at the start of the year, but had puffed up considerably by Christmas. Why? Beer! Most

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