How to Use This Guide
This Survival Guide is designed to provide you with links to useful references and Web pages that will help you survive your first year at college.
As you explore it, click on the links to reach the Web-based resources that are listed in the different sections. Add the links that you find most useful to the Favorites (or Bookmarks) section of your browser and they will be available to you anytime you're on the Web. When you find other valuable resources during your Internet travels, make sure you add them to your Favorites / Bookmarks too!
The Guide has the following sections:
Introduction
Getting Organized: Survival Skills, Study Tips & Time Management
Becoming Acquainted with Your School's Web Space
Your Virtual Reference Shelf
(Just a Few) Diversions
Welcome to Your First Year of College!
It's an exciting time, and one that you will remember for many years to come. In order to make the most of your time in school, try to keep the following things in mind.
Your professors are there to help you, but you need to ask for help before you get too far behind. They don't bite ... really!
Stay focused. You have much more freedom in college, but you also have much more responsibility. There won't be someone standing there to remind you that you have a paper due or a test. You will need to write down your due dates for projects, tests, and papers, and check that list often. Many professors will take points off your grade for each day that your assignment is late. Some professors will deduct as much as a letter grade per day.
Writing papers in college is much more involved than it was in high school. Papers cannot be written in 30 minutes. They require time, thought, and in many cases, you will have to conduct proper topic research. Plan for these papers, check your spelling, and cite your references according to the style guides provided by your professors.
Time management is essential. You must carefully manage your time, as it is easy to get distracted. Waiting until the last minute to do an assignment will not only produce a great deal of stress, it will also increase the chances of you not producing your best work. You are a scholar and you want your work to reflect this.
Forming study groups with a few individuals in your classes can be quite helpful when it comes time for exams. Participating in study groups can help you see where you need to apply your focus in a subject, and if you are having trouble with a particular area, chances are that someone in your group will be able to help you understand the work. Study groups are also a great deal of fun.
Beware of credit card offers - because you will receive many of them. They usually have very high interest rates and many students end up heavily in debt as a result. Just remember...if it sounds too good to be true, chances are very good that it is too good to be true.
Think safety! Be aware of your surroundings, lock your door, and keep your personal information (SSN, pin numbers, credit card account numbers, etc.) private. Do not store this information on your computer, and do not leave it out where others can see it and use it. Use good judgment and you will be fine. All colleges have a security office that provides escorts to your dorm, cars and other buildings. Take advantage of this service when you need it.
College Student Life Offices have a wealth of information that you may find useful. They are staffed by very friendly people - usually students in their sophomore year - so visit them and see what they have to offer. You may even find your new best friend!
Take time to enjoy your classes and experience all of the great learning that lies before you. In the end, you will remember fondly the professors that inspired you, the classmates that helped you, and the incredible journey that now begins to shape the person you will become.
Congratulations and best wishes for your continued academic success!
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Embrace the Fine Art of Organization
Maybe you're already the "organized" type. If so, then good for you! This skill will help you perform well in a lot of other life situations besides school, so this is the perfect time to embrace the concept and get the most from it. The resources in this section offer tips and ideas that are valuable and worth reviewing, even if you're an organization "natural".
If organization is not one of your strong points, it's important to now make using it in your everday life a top priority. Chaos theory will only take you so far when school (and life) get much more hectic and demanding. Start with the basic concepts of maintaining a calendar and short term "to do" lists, and proceed from there. You will find some great ideas and practical guidelines for using these techniques to make your life at school more productive and a lot less stressful.
Your First Year of College: 25 Tips to Help You Survive and Thrive Your Freshman Year and Beyond
www.quintcareers.com/first-year_success.html
9 Survival Tips for College Freshman
auzigog.com/2007/08/24/9-survival-tips-for-college-freshman/
How to Survive Your First Year of College
www.universities.com/Articles/How_to_Survive_Your_First_Year_of_College.html
College: How to Survive The First Year
www.classesandcareers.com/education/2007/08/01/college-10-ways-to-survive-the-first-or-any-year/
How College is Different From High School
www.quintcareers.com/college_different_high-school.html
Dressing for the Weather
www.herefordpt.com/DressAppropriately.shtml
Effective Time Management for Working Students: Calendar, a Necessity
www.articlesbase.com/college-and-university-articles/effective-time-management-for-working-students-calendar-a-necessity-726247.html
10 Tips for Getting Good (or Better) Grades
www.quintcareers.com/getting_better_grades.html
Study Guides & Strategies
www.studygs.net/
College Study Tips
www.academictips.org/helpful_links.html
Cal Poly Study Skills Library
sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl.html
Student Gateway to the U.S. Government
For information on healthy living, volunteering and diversity resources, as well as online study help
www.students.gov
Student Discounts:
Whenever you plan an activity that has a fee attached, ask if a student discount is available. Student pricing is provided for a wide range of products and services, including public transportation, entertainment and admission to public places. These savings can really add up, so be sure to ask for them. In most cases, you will be required to show your student identification in order to get the discount, so make sure you carry it with you at all times.
Cheap Airfare / Rail / Hotels / Hostels / Cars
www.studentuniverse.com
www.statravel.com
Buying Used Textbooks:
A word of caution ... make sure that you check the edition and publishing date for each book on your course outline before making a purchase. An out of date textbook can be a source of confusion and frustration, and a waste of your money. Your professors should give you a required book list that will contain the edition and date information.
Sources for Used Textbooks
www.valorebooks.com
www.bigwords.com
www.cheapesttextbooks.com
You should also check with the Student Life Office at your college. Many of them have books available for loan at no cost to the student, but you must get there before the class or semester starts in order to maximize your chances of getting a book. Another strategy - check with students who took the course last semester. They are often willing to sell their books at a reduced cost - watch the bulletin boards in your dorm or around campus for ads posted by these students.
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Be Informed and Stay Connected
If you have visited your college or university Web site, you already know that there is a wealth of information to be found there. This section of your Survival Guide provides Home page links for each college and university being attended by the South Central Scholars this year, plus links to their Freshman Orientation pages and their Academic Calendars.
Find out what will be happening on campus during your first couple of weeks - there are usually a variety of activities aimed to make it easier for you to become an active and informed member of college life. Take note of the dates in the Academic Calendar that are relevant to you and your studies - and ask questions about deadlines that you are unfamiliar with.
And don't stop there. Find the Library and/or information resources that pertain to your academic department or subject of study, check out the information about faculty and staff, and learn as much as you can about the services and programs offered at your school, its policies, regulations and guidelines. Your university Web experience awaits - dive in and get your feet wet now!
These handy anchor links will make it easy for you to find your school in the alphabetical list that follows..
Amherst College
www.amherst.edu/
Orientation 2009 for First-Year and New Transfer Students
www.amherst.edu/campuslife/deanstudents/new/orientation
Academic Year at a Glance
www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/calendar/glance
.
Brown University
www.brown.edu/
Registering at Brown for the First Time
www.brown.edu/Administration/Registrar/guidelines/registration/undergraduate.html#first_time
Academic Calendars
www.brown.edu/Administration/Registrar/calendar.html
.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
www.calpoly.edu/
Information for Newly Admitted Students
www.ess.calpoly.edu/_admiss/undergrad/newly_admitted.html
Week of Welcome - WOW
studentlife.calpoly.edu/orientation/wow/home/index.asp
First Year Seminars
sas.calpoly.edu/fys/
Study Skills Seminars
sas.calpoly.edu/asc/sss.html
Calendars
www.calpoly.edu/~acadprog/acad_cal/
Calendars & Deadlines
www.ess.calpoly.edu/_records/Calendars_Deadlines/index.htm
Columbia University
www.columbia.edu/
New Student Orientation Program
www.columbia.edu/cu/orientation/
Academic Calendar
www.columbia.edu/cu/registrar/docs/students/academic-calendar/index.html
CSU Dominguez Hills
www.csudh.edu/
New Student Orientation
www.csudh.edu/futurestudents/new_student_orientation.shtml
Academic Calendars
www.csudh.edu/academicaffairs/StudentInformation/AcademicCalendar.shtml
.
Dartmouth College
www.dartmouth.edu/
Your First Year
www.dartmouth.edu/~frstyear/
www.dartmouth.edu/~frstyear/pdfs/yourfirstyear.pdf
Academic Calendars
www.dartmouth.edu/~reg/calendars/academic/
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Dickinson College
www.dickinson.edu/
Orientation at Dickinson
orientation.dickinson.edu/
Academic Calendar
www.dickinson.edu/academics/cal2008.html
.
Emory University
www.emory.edu/home/index.html
Orientation
college.emory.edu/prospective/orientation/
Academic Calendars
www.registrar.emory.edu/calendars/calendars.html
.
George Fox University
www.georgefox.edu/
Orientation 2009
www.georgefox.edu/offices/student_life/orientation/index.html
University Calendars
www.georgefox.edu/calendar/index.html
Georgetown University
www.georgetown.edu/
New Student Orientation
nso.georgetown.edu/index.html
Academic Calendars
registrar.georgetown.edu/calendars/
.
Hampton University
www.hamptonu.edu/
Freshman Orientation
www.hamptonu.edu/onlineresources/freshmanreg/
Academic Calendar
www.hamptonu.edu/studentservices/registrar/calendar.htm
Harvard University
www.harvard.edu/index.php
A Guide to the First Year at Harvard, Class of 2013
www.fdo.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k3806&pageid=icb.page91804
Faculty of Arts & Science Academic Calendar
www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/fasro/common/calendar.jsp
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Lewis & Clark College
www.lclark.edu/
New Student Orientation
www.lclark.edu/college/student_life/new_student_orientation/index.php?highlight=orientation
Academic & Other Calendars
www.lclark.edu/calendars/
Loyola Marymount University
www.lmu.edu/
New Student Orientation
admission.lmu.edu/studentlife/Orientation.htm
Office of First Year Experience
www.lmu.edu/studentlife/First_Year_Experience.htm
Academic Calendars
www.lmu.edu/about/services/Office_of_the_Registrar/Academic_Calendars.htm
.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
web.mit.edu/
First Year at MIT
web.mit.edu/firstyear/
Academic Calendar
web.mit.edu/registrar/calendar/index.html
Mount St. Mary's College
www.msmc.la.edu/pages/1.asp
Orientation 2009
www.msmc.la.edu/pages/3385.asp
Academic Calendars
www.msmc.la.edu/pages/1302.asp
.
Notre Dame
www.nd.edu/
First Year of Studies
fys.nd.edu/index.html
Academic Calendar
registrar.nd.edu/yr200910.pdf
.
Pitzer College
www.pitzer.edu/
Welcome Week 2009
www.pitzer.edu/student_life/welcomeweek/
Academic Calendar
www.pitzer.edu/academics/calendar/index.asp
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Pomona College
www.pomona.edu/
New Student Orientation
www.pomona.edu/campuslife/orientation/
Academic Calendar
www.pomona.edu/ADWR/Registrar/calendarcurrent.shtml
Princeton University
www.princeton.edu/main/
Welcome Class of 2013
www.princeton.edu/welcometigers/
The Student Guide to Princeton
www.princeton.edu/studentguide/
Academic Calendars
registrar.princeton.edu/academic-calendar/
.
San Jose State University
www.sjsu.edu/
The First Year Experience at SJSU
www.sjsu.edu/advising/for_parents/fye/index.htm#frosh
Academic Calendar
www.sjsu.edu/academic_programs/calendars/academic_calendar/
Smith College
www.smith.edu/
Orientation for New Students
www.smith.edu/sao/firstyear/stud_firstorientation.php
Academic Calendar
www.smith.edu/acad_academiccalendar.php
Stanford University
www.stanford.edu/
Welcome to Stanford
ual.stanford.edu/NBY/Freshman.html
Starting at Stanford
www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/students/index.htm
Academic Calendar
www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/academic_calendar/
Syracuse University
www.syr.edu/
New Student Orientation
orientation.syr.edu/
Academic Calendars
registrar.syr.edu/acadcalendars/
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UC Berkeley
berkeley.edu/
New Student Orientation
internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/students/New/orientation_fall.php
Academic Calendar
opa.berkeley.edu/AcademicCalendar/calendardisp.aspx?terms=current
UC Davis
www.ucdavis.edu/index.html
Freshmen Orientation
orientation.ucdavis.edu/freshmen/index.html
Academic Calendar
registrar.ucdavis.edu/html/academic_calendar.html
UC Irvine
www.uci.edu/
Welcome Week 2009
search.dos.uci.edu/welcomeweek/calendar.php
Academic Calendars
www.reg.uci.edu/navigation/calendars.html
UC Los Angeles
www.ucla.edu/
UCLA Orientation Program
www.orientation.ucla.edu/
Academic Calendars
www.registrar.ucla.edu/Calendar/
UC San Diego
www.ucsd.edu/
Orientations
www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/orientation.html
Academic Calendars
blink.ucsd.edu/Blink/External/Topics/Policy/0,1162,20632,00.html
UC Santa Barbara
www.ucsb.edu/
Freshman Orientation
www.sa.ucsb.edu/orientation/FreshmanOrientation/index.aspx
Academic Calendars
www.registrar.ucsb.edu/calinfo.htm
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University of Rochester
www.rochester.edu/
UR Orientation 2009
www.rochester.edu/college/orientation/
Academic & Events Calendars
www.rochester.edu/calendar/
University of Southern California
www.usc.edu/
Orientation Programs
sait.usc.edu/orientation/
Academic Calendar
www.usc.edu/academics/calendar/
University of Virginia
www.virginia.edu/
Orientation & New Student Programs
www.virginia.edu/orientation/
Academic Calendar
www.virginia.edu/registrar/calendar.html#1098
.
Vanderbilt University
www.vanderbilt.edu/
Incoming Student Information
www.vanderbilt.edu/incoming/
Academic Calendars
registrar.vanderbilt.edu/calendar.htm
.
Williams College
www.williams.edu/
First-Year Students
www.williams.edu/dean/Firstyears.php
Academic Calendars
www.williams.edu/admin/registrar/calendars/
.
Yale University
www.yale.edu/
Welcome Class of 2013
www.yale.edu/yalecollege/freshmen/index.html
Academic Calendars
www.yale.edu/calendars/index.html
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A Gateway to Knowledge
As you progress through your university education, one of the things that you will prove to yourself over and over again is this: you don't always need to have every detail and all the answers for every question stored in your brain, ready to be summoned on command. Often, what's most important is that you know where to access information quickly and how to use it to your best advantage. After all, you don't need to memorize everybody's telephone number if you maintain an up to date electronic contact list!
This section of your Survival Guide offers just a tiny taste of the practical (and sometimes fascinating!) reference material that is available on the Web. Most of what you see here is general purpose. As you become more familar with your area of study, you will discover many other valuable reference sources, summaries and key documents online that, when consulted, offer tools for understanding and a vital set of perspectives to your subject of study. You might even decide to create some of your own reference documents, so that you can access important information quickly and make it into actionable knowledge.
So, this is just the beginning of your Virtual Reference Shelf. Let the one that you continue to build and customize to your own needs and interests become a gateway to practical information and an insight to new knowledge. Organize it so that you can find things logically, break it into sub-groups where necessary, and use it to relate to and learn about any new subject that you study. You will be surprised at just how indispensible and valuable a virtual reference shelf can be, throughout your life.
Language, Vocabulary & Academic Citations:
Online Free Thesaurus
thesaurus.reference.com/
Online Free Dictionary
www.thefreedictionary.com/
APA Format for Academic Citations
www.apastyle.org
Word Origins
www.wordorigins.org/
Database of Acronyms & Abbreviations
www.acronyma.com/
Babel Fish Translation
babelfish.yahoo.com/
Telephone & Address Search Engines:
Find a Person (White Pages)
www.411.com/person
Find a Business (Yellow Pages)
www.411.com/business
Reverse Telephone Search
www.411.com/reverse_phone
Reverse Address Search
www.411.com/reverse_address
Area & Zip Code Searches
www.411.com/area_zip_codes
Calendars & Time:
Perpetual Calendar
www.vpcalendar.net/20th_21st.html
The World Clock (Time Zones)
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
Measurement & Conversion:
Metric Conversions
www.metric-conversions.org/
Common Equivalent Weights and Measures
chemistry.berkeley.edu/links/weights/equivalences.html
Money & Finances:
Universal Currency Converter
www.xe.com/ucc/
Compound Interest Calculator
www.1728.com/compint.htm
The World and Its Countries:
Population of the Major Cities in the World
www.citypopulation.de/
Find the Latitude & Longitude of a Place on Earth
itouchmap.com/latlong.html
Mapquest - Find an Address & Get Driving Directions
www.mapquest.com
InfoPlease - A World of Reference Information at Your Fingertips
www.infoplease.com/
The World Wide Web:
Electronic Privacy Information Center
www.epic.org/privacy/tools.html
Center for Democracy and Technology
www.cdt.org
Website Creation for Beginners
www.2createawebsite.com/index.html
The Internet Archive Wayback Machine
web.archive.org/collections/web.html
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Everybody Needs a Brain Break
OK ... it's all right to take a break now and then ... in fact, it's good for you ... and sometimes absolute and true inspiration only hits when you are not trying to think about that paper or assignment.
Here are (just a few) diversions to help keep you sane and inspire you to other things. Enjoy!
A Word A Day
Sign up to receive a vocabulary word and its definition (with occasional commentary) in your email every day.
www.wordsmith.org/awad/index.html
On this Day in History
What happened on this date in past years? Which famous people were born on this date? Find out here!
encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/onthisday.aspx
Acts of Kindness
Readers of this newspaper write in to share how they have benefited from random acts of kindness in everyday life.
www.thestar.com/ActsofKindness/article/190134
Do One Nice Thing
Make your Mondays a little easier by doing at least one nice thing for someone to start the new week right. This email service offers inspiration to help you do one nice thing each week.
www.doonenicething.com/
The Last Lecture
This may seem like a rather dark subject, but Randy Pausch's book (and the lecture that spawned it) are incredibly upbeat,inspirational and motivating. It's all about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, and of seizing every moment in life.
www.thelastlecture.com
That Josh Groban Guy
Ever wonder why all those Grobanites are so inspired by this guy? Check out the details and the superb collection of media files to see his interviews and hear that voice sing classical and pop music like it's never been sung before.
www.thatjoshgrobanguy.com
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