The letter has finally arrived welcoming you as a member of the class. You’re about to become a college freshman.

Half of college education has to come from the student. But how? College counselors, faculty advisers and one very successful student offer the following tips on how to get the most out of your college education.

Involvement

The most successful students are those actively involved in their education, interacting with classmates and faculty and participating in activities. You become part of the college community, developing support groups that you can turn to for help. Get involved, but not over committed. In the first term, focus on adjusting to the academic demand.

Time management

“Man is first social animal, then a rational one.” Says a professor at purdue university. So you may find it hard to say”no” each time your roommate wants to see a movie when you need to read paradise lost.

College is known for its distractions. In those first months, you’ll meet people whose values and priorities are different from yours. The newness of the situation and the range of decisions you’ll face could leave you confused.

Think about what you want from college and from friends. Study after breakfast, between classes, whatever works best for you. Don’t cut off all social contacts. They’re as vital to surviving in college as reading. Study Hegel first, then catch a late movie.

Study methods

Would you take a trip by stopping for directions at every station instead of reading a map? Of course not. Studying in college demands more reading and thinking, less memorization than in high school. Survey the material first to get a sense of it: formulate some questions. Jot down key ideas, tell yourself the essence of what you’re read and review it. Does it make sense? Were your questions answered?

The major choice

It is quite appropriate to view college as a broadening experience, a preparation for life. Indeed, many college students do not select their ultimate career path until after they graduate. So take occupational course if you like, but don’t feel complled to mold your major to the market.

歡迎妳成爲新生壹員的厚厚的信終于到了，妳將成爲大壹新生了。

大部分學生上大學都期望離校時獲得學士學位，但僅有壹半的學生能實現這壹願望，其他的則中途退學了。

“大學教育有壹半靠學生自己。”斯坦福大學前招生部主任弗雷德·翰戈頓告誡說。但怎樣做到這點呢?

壹些高校輔導員、指導教師以及壹名極爲成功的學生，對關于如何充分利用高校教育提出了以下建議。

積極參與。最成功的學生是那些積極參與自己所受教育的學生。他們與同學和教師交流，參加各項活動。妳成爲學校集體的壹分子，培養妳自己可以尋求幫助的團體。參與，但不過分投入。在第壹學期，著重于使自己適應大學學習的要求。

時間安排。“人首先是壹種社會性動物，然後才是有理性的人，”普渡大學的壹位教授說。因此，每當妳的室友想要看電影而妳很需要讀《失樂園》時，妳都很難拒絕。

大學素以各種娛樂消遣聞名。在最初幾個月，妳會遇到很多人，他們的價值觀以及優先考慮的事與妳不同。新的環境和妳將做出的諸多決定會令妳不知所措。

考慮壹下妳想從學校和朋友那兒得到些什麽，早飯後或課間學習時妳最需要的東西是什麽。不要斷絕壹切社會交往。在大學裏生活,社交同讀書壹樣重要，妳可以先看會兒黑格爾哲學,然後再趕去看晚場電影。

學習方法。妳去旅行會不會不看地圖而在每壹站都停下來問方向呢?當然不會，但壹個教大學准備課程的教授說，大多數人在大學裏就是這樣對待學習的。大學學習要求比中學更多的閱讀和思考，較少的背記。首先要浏覽材料以了解大概，提出壹些問題，記下重要思想，自述妳所讀內容的要旨並加以複習。講得有道理嗎?妳提出的問題解決了嗎?

從圖書館找些以往考試的卷子，妳可以了解每個教授出題的類型。如果妳知道應該複習廣泛的主題，還是具體的戰役，准備關于美國內戰的考試便會輕松得多。

保持進度。教授們可能不會注意妳是否聽了大型講座。但妳後來會注意到，壹些教授利用講座討論閱讀中沒有的材料，而這些材料正是他們考試的基礎。另外壹些教授利用講座強調要點。如果妳實在不能來聽講座，要及時把筆記借來。如果拖得太久，碳粉匣再轉抄筆記就沒有當時轉抄的意義了。閱讀作業絕不要拖壹周以上，如果妳沒有事先閱讀，就不可能理解講座。

尋找幫助。妳可能微積分課每節都上，每次作業也都做了，但分數卻依然不斷下降；或者妳曠課太多。去請教吧。大多數教授都很樂意談論他們所教的課程。千萬不可等到期中考試前壹周才去求助。

專業選擇。花費每年至少四千美元的學費和妳人生中的四年，妳期望著畢業時能得到壹個學位和壹份工作。爲什麽不主修計算機科學或商貿以確保畢業後能找到工作呢?

把大學生涯看作拓寬經驗的機會及對生活的准備是相當恰當的。實際上，許多大學生直到畢業後才選擇最終職業。所以如果妳樂意，妳可以學與職業有關的課程,但不要強迫自己爲適應市場而選擇專業。

尋求最好的教師。每個校園裏都有壹些以其教學方式極富感染力而著名的教授，他們能使壹門課程成爲激動人心的探索未知世界的旅行。不要在大學過了四年卻從未聽過他們的課。翰戈登擔任斯坦福大學招生部主任時，曾告訴家長們如果孩子第壹學期期末時所有的成績都爲A，就應該擔心,因爲這說明他們只選修了自己擅長的課程。“大學好比壹桌盛大的宴席，自己要會選擇,”他說,“別每天總要同樣的飯菜。”