Your first year on campus can be extremely as dangerous as exhilarating. Why? Because campus life is just like normal life – everything wrong that could happen may eventually happen.
That is why we often hear of exemplary freshmen who had no previous trouble with the law requiring a DUI lawyer to get them out of trouble. It’s most likely that it all started with someone else who drank too much and got to drive their car.
Given this and everything else that could happen, here’s what a freshman should avoid doing on-campus!
Drinking Random Drinks at a Party
You certainly won’t be staying away from parties, especially in the first week. And you shouldn’t do that – experience as much as possible the student and campus life before the first exam sessions hit you.
However, we recommend you to stay away from in-house drinks, especially fruit punch. Sometimes, there’s more than just alcohol and soda in there, and you don’t want to do something crazy after drinking something like that.
Assuming that You Know Things
Never assume that you know better than your teacher, that you know how things work on-campus, or understand how college policies work. Always think that there’s an extra bullet-point that you might not know that could change how you see things.
Students often missed scholarships, trips, and good grades because they assumed that they knew everything.
Rely on Credit Cards
It is well-known that students often use their credit cards for random trips to Paris and so on. After all, it’s not like they will have a problem with credit card payments after graduating and getting a job. However, there are other problems they could face!
Building a bad credit score via unpaid bills and late payments usually means that you can’t buy a car, an apartment, or even a home after graduating. Keep your credit score in check!
Assume the Role of Designated Driver
Remember the fruit punch we talked about earlier? The same thing could hit you when you take the designated driver role. Even a non-alcoholic beverage can be alcoholic on campus, and you don’t want to be caught driving drunk as a freshman.
Moreover, you may also want to avoid having drugged friends in your car. Avoid having friends that take drugs at all!
Make Yourself at Home
Depending on your roommates, you may want to avoid making yourself truly at home while on-campus. Some people may interpret your ways of getting used to the campus dorm as an invasion of their privacy.
It is best to keep everything decent and stay aware of their presence, at least until you get to know them better.
The Bottom Line
Naturally, every freshman should stay away from things that look like they might be illegal. Campuses and dorm rooms can be a real experience – but some events could get you expelled, while others could create lifelong friendships.
In the end, avoid anything that could jeopardize your place in the university, college, or campus. Then, think about how those things could affect your future life and if it’s worth doing them!
