As a freshman there are a lot of new opportunities you’ll get to experience.  Here’s a list of the top 15 tips upperclassmen have for the freshman class.

1.     Take a few chances. College is the time to branch out and discover yourself. Take a few risks, do things that you normally wouldn’t, and watch as you have the time of your life.

2.     Don’t spend all of your free time alone in your room. Solitude is nice, but you’ll love college a lot more if you don’t spend all day watching TV or surfing the Internet. Keep yourself busy.

3.     College will still have drama. You didn’t escape it when you left high school, unfortunately. Don’t be any more involved with drama than you want to.

4.     You don’t have to join a fraternity or a sorority. If that’s what you want, go for it, but you can still have plenty of friends if you’re not a part of Greek life.

5.     “Cs get Degrees” is a bad philosophy. C’s are not an average grade in college. Aim for A’s and B’s if you want to look good.  Plus, it’s a lot easier to find a job if you had a 3.0 or higher in college.

6.     Don’t miss more class than you can help. You’re paying to go to college, and every time you miss class is like taking a lighter to a $20 bill. The amount of information you can miss in just one absence is amazing.

7.     Do not procrastinate. College work takes a lot more time than high school work, and you will end up struggling all night to finish a paper because you put it off too long.

8.     Pay attention in class. Professors will go into a lot of detail, and all of it is fair game for tests. Many times they’ll even give strong hints as to what to expect, and if you’re zoning out, you’ll miss all of it.  Also, if you take notes it’ll keep you more focused so you can pick up on your professors’ hints.

9.     Read the syllabus for every class. Some professors will put assignments on the syllabus and never talk about them in class — the last thing you want to find out is that you lost 30 percent of your grade because you didn’t read the syllabus. Plus, the syllabus will usually say when the midterm and final are.

10.   Only copy notes. In college, the consequences for cheating are very severe. Never copy tests, homework, essays or assignments.

11.   Learn to use RateMyProfessor.com.  It is generally accurate. Professors with lots of good scores are almost always good, professors with a ton of bad scores are usually bad, and professors in between are usually still pretty decent.

12.   Don't feel pressured to make a hasty decision about a career or a major. It doesn't matter if it seems as though everyone else knows what they're doing with their lives -- believe me, they don't -- college is the time for you to really discover who you are, what you enjoy doing, what you're good at, and what you want to be. It's not a race; take your time and enjoy exploring your options.

13.   Be prepared to feel overwhelmed. There's a lot going in your life right now. Expect to have moments where it seems a bit too much. As one student says, be prepared to feel completely unprepared. The trick is knowing that you're not the only one feeling that way.

14.   Go to the gym now and then. It’s not often in life you’ll have such cheap and convenient access to a gym. Make the most of it — an active lifestyle will help you look and feel great.

15.   Make friends early on. The first couple of weeks of school are the easiest time to make friends. Take advantage of this to meet people and put yourself out there.  If you go home the first few weekends you’re at school, you will probably miss out on meeting a lot of really cool people.

The biggest thing to remember is to have fun.  You’ve done all the prep work, gotten college, and you’re beginning to work toward a degree. Don't become a statistic; be determined to make it through your freshman year -- and beyond. Take advantage of your network of new friends and professors, have fun while learning as much as you can, and get the most out of your college experience.