College Q&A: I Miss My Mama

Miss mom/dad/Fido? Do not go home! I repeat: DO NOT GO HOME!

Got questions? Hit me up in the comments or shoot me an email at melanie@collegecandy.com

By Melanie

I hear college is the perfect time to get a credit card. Should I trade in my debit for credit?
NO. Okay, so maybe the prospect of a limitless spending spree “for emergencies only” is a good idea in theory, but it really isn’t that great. You gotta pay that shiz off sometime, and that “sometime” comes with a giant interest fee.

Hold onto your debit card so you can only spend what you got. If you decide the perks of a credit card (airline miles! woooo!) are too good to pass up, make sure you get the lowest limit card possible and PAY IT OFF every month. Don’t do any of that minimum BS – that will only get you in big-time trouble down the road. Are those new Citizens/front row tickets to another DMB show really worth ruining your credit score? I think not.

I’m homesick. What do I do?
I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you what not to do. And that is go home every weekend. DO NOT DO IT. This will only make you miss home more and won’t help you get adjusted to your new lifestyle at all. Keep in touch with your family and friends from back home, but try and branch out of your comfort zone. You went away to school for a reason – to become independent and to experience college life. Try and push yourself to stay on campus for a few weekends in a row and give mom and dad a call every couple days. To tell them how much fun you’re having. Cuz you will be.

Do I really have to read every word of every chapter assigned for class?
No. Don’t waste your time.

What do I wear to class?
There’s a tricky middle ground for lecture halls. If you stumble in every day in your pajama bottoms and a baseball hat pulled over your face, people will notice. I know it’s super exciting to go from wearing a uniform every day to wearing whatever the h you want, but try and show some self control. On the other side of the coin, coming into your eight AM class teetering on sky-high heels, bedecked in a mini dress and perfectly curled hair might come off equally as ridiculous as the girl scrubbing it in the same sweatpants she’s worn all week. Find a middle ground. Jeans and flats are a nice meet-in-the-middle-and-be-comfy-while-also-not-smelling-like-eye-crusties sorta look. Try that.