Advice to freshman entering TU...

From visiting my junior year, to graduation 6 years later.

This weekend is move in weekend at Towson University, my undergrad Alma Mater!

I was extremely involved as an undergrad. I was a Resident Assistant, Group Exercise Instructor, President of eBusiness Association, and a member of several other organizations.

I have never regretted my college choice, and I am more than happy with the experience I left with.

For those of you who have read my blog before, I recently wrote advice to freshman entering EFHS, my high school Alma mater.

Since it's my first time not going back to Tigertown (so sad!), I wanted to do something similar and offer some advice for freshman:

Plan ahead when you know your major.

This is by far the number one piece of advice I can give. If you know your major, take the time to sit down and plan out your courses as far in advance as you can. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT rely on your advisor to do this for you--it's not their job!!

Figure out each course's pre-requesite for your major and plan your schedule accordingly. Once you have your major courses planned, sprinkle in those core courses. You'll start to see your schedule making itself. I promise this will save you stress and anxiety each semester when scheduling rolls around.

You may even find that your first semester schedule that was pre-planned for you by Towson is already setting you up for an extra semester!! (If that's the case, meet with your advisor and change your schedule!)

[**Extra tip: take some of those irrelevant core classes at community college over the summer and transfer them in. It will save you time and money!]

To any business student who would want help planning, shoot me an email, I'd love to help! I still have my spreadsheets that show all of my course planning!

Never stop meeting new people and making friends.

I was one of those lucky people who met their best friend the first time I stepped on campus (HiJulie!). However, just because I met some of the people who are the closest to me within my first year, doesn't mean I stopped meeting new people.

There are a ton of people that you will meet who may be able to help you down the road with a connection, advice, or something else. Be nice to everyone and don't fall into a black hole by your junior or senior year.

Getting a "B" isn't the end of the world.

The summer before going into my sophomore year, my dad jokingly challenged me to see if I could surpass his straight "A" streak in college. Although I shouldn't have taken it seriously, it's in my nature to never back down from a challenge...

Although I did beat out my dad (HA!), words cannot explain how distraught I was when I got my first "B" in college my junior year. I felt like I let myself down and was such a failure!

News flash: Bs are just as good as As-- I learned that the hard way.

In fact, if you have extra curricular activities on your resume, those Bs effecting your GPA are like specs of dust. All that matters is that you learned something (anything); it's all about the take away.

Go to all of the college hot spots.

This may seem like a no brainer to some, but I know so many people who never experienced all that Towson has to offer. Here's a short list to get you started:

1. Towson Hot Bagels (THB) - Go, and go often. Eat and be merry.
   
2. Campus Rec's Rock Climbing Wall - It's FREE!
   
3. TU Football Games - They're an incredible way to be encompassed with school spirit.
   
4. Free OTS Training - Completely underused! They'll teach you things your classes won't.
   
5. Academic Competitions - Compete in them and meet new people!
   

Strive to make a difference for those who follow.

If you're not happy with a certain class, professor, campus offering, or anything else, SPEAK UP! Campus administration doesn't attend group meetings, live in the residence halls, or take classes. Towson is one of the most student-friendly campuses in which you can express and voice your opinion, take advantage of that.

If you see a place for improvement, I'm sure others do, too. Make an effort to change it and make a difference. Speak to someone who can connect you with the right person or right resources so that you can change what you see fit. Going to your Resident Assistant or the SGA is a great place to start.

Pursue your passions.

If you're like me, you might have given up your passion to pursue something that will give you more opportunity after graduating.

However, just because your major is one thing, doesn't mean you need to lose sight of your passion. Once again, Towson provides students so many opportunities to get involved in areas outside of his/her major, take advantage of that!