Freshman year can be scary and exciting, but confusing.

As freshmen, finding equal balance between independence without forgetting about schoolwork can be challenging.

To help all the freshmen in this situation, here are five tips to help survive freshman year.

1. Go to class, do the homework and follow the syllabus.

In college you might not have homework every night to turn in the next day, but you are responsible for keeping up with the notes provided in class.

Use those notes because chances are they will end up on a test at some point.
Excuses like “my dog ate my homework” may have worked in high school, but in college, it different.

You will be provided with a syllabus by all of your professors at the beginning of the semester, and you are expected to follow that syllabus throughout the semester.
Check the syllabus regularly to know when upcoming assignments and projects are due and when tests and quizzes will be held.

You are going to be held responsible to know these dates. It is not the professor’s responsibility to remind you.

2. Go to office hours.

Professors have office hours for a reason-—to help their students.

If you have any questions about anything involving one of your classes, you can go to your professors’ office hours.

If you are unable to make it to those office hours, you can give your professors a call during that time to reach them.

Also, realize that you can schedule an appointment with your professors outside of their office hours.
By doing this, you can ensure that you will get the information you need from your professors.
Most professors will be more than happy to explain whatever needs explained.

3. Get involved in extracurricular activities.

Getting involved in extracurricular activities not only allows you to meet new people, but it also allows you to get more experience in your major.

After graduation, employers are going to look at the experiences you have had in your major, and these extracurricular activities can help with your resume.

4. Go easy on the partying.

Although you might be finding your independence and want to go out with your friends, realize you are in college for a reason.

Make sure to study and get homework done before anything.
Your parents are no longer going to be with you to make sure you get your homework done and study for tests.

5. Realize you are not stuck on campus

Do not get overwhelmed thinking that you cannot leave campus.
There are plenty of restaurants in Shippensburg that hold dinner specials specifically for college students.

These restaurants are not even a mile off campus, making it a quick walk to have dinner with your friends outside of campus.

Also, in Shippensburg, there are plenty of little shops for students to do some shopping as well as salons and even a spa for residents and students to enjoy.

Shippensburg University also offers Raider Regional Transit (RRT) which is free for students and faculty.

These buses pick students up and drop them off anywhere they want to go on or off campus.
The RRT can take students to places like Giant Food Store, Wal Mart, the post office, and, on Saturdays, the RRT makes trips back and forth to the Chambersburg Mall.

To find the RRT schedule, go to www.ship.edu/rrt and click on either the blue route or red route depending on where you want to go to see the times the buses run and the locations where you can get picked up.

Each bus makes different stops, so make sure to get on the bus that is stopping where you want to go.

With all of this said, welcome and good luck to all of the incoming freshmen of Shippensburg University, and remember these five tips for a successful first year.

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