I’m a total college girl. I love wearing college sweatshirts, cheering at basketball (so much so that I cheer for the school I transferred from and the one I currently attend) or hockey games, partying at all times, supporting student government, loving the gym and dining halls, repping NU right here on CollegeCandy, playing on intramurals and familiarizing myself with all the fun trivia about my school. Example: Did you know that Northeastern University is really the first place that the Red Sox played? Yep, the Red Sox didn’t always play at Fenway. Back when they were the Pilgrims/Americans, they played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which is now part of our campus. The area is immortalized with a bronze statue of Cy Young.

Yes, I love college. Probably more than Asher Roth. The experience of being at a University is incredible, my social life is banging, my sister goes to school right around the corner at BU, and I live in the “big city” version of a college town. The Boston area is home to over twelve major universities and I’m familiar with all of them. Or at least their frat houses.

Here’s the thing though, I hate SCHOOL. Ever since I was a little girl I was constantly reprimanded for not focusing and not living up to my full potential. I’ve always tested well, but I hate sitting in a classroom. I love to read, but if someone gives me a reading assignment it’s like pulling teeth to complete it. I’m a bright girl, but I find that I do the bare minimum to skate by with a B- average.

To make it even worse, my father is in academics, my mother is a librarian, both have Master’s degrees and my honor-roll little sister racked up more college credits by taking APs her senior year than I did in my freshman year. In actual college. Basically, she cries if she gets an A- and I cheer for a B+. And most of my friends adore classes and wouldn’t dream of missing a day.

I just don’t get it.
I heart my campus, but I hate the classroom.

However, I have always been super into working. Even when I wasn’t old enough to work, I was always trying to scam people into buying my old toys or writing newsletters to my mother with “WANTED” ads asking her to hire me to clean the house, for a price. I started babysitting at a very young age and then moved into administrative work, photo technician, being a teller at a bank and then steadily working retail from age 16 until my sophomore year of college.

So, my life has taken a crazy turn. I fell in love with my 6 month-internship (Northeastern calls them co-ops) and I have an opportunity to extend my work even further, for another 12 months, to be exact. I’ve been working in the marketing department for a beauty company and I adore it. I thrive in a work environment. I’ll half-ass any project for Sociology but at work I’m on my grind, putting in the long hours and tackling projects. The company I work for inspires me and going to work makes me happy, unlike going to class.

I know I need my bachelor’s degree, but converting to a non-traditional education might be the right road for me. My school offers an online program where I can finish my bachelor’s degree away from campus. However, in doing so, I’d have to give up my senior year experience, the flexibility and the general awesomeness of school for a full-time job and online business classes, all at once.

And I’m not sure what I should do. I love my job and I’m honored to be considered, but is it enough to give up my last year of college? Do I suffer through the classes to get one more year of the good life, or take this job (we all know how hard they are to come by these days) and kick-start my real life now?

I have a week to make my decision so any and all advice is welcome. Help!

Now that I’m halfway done with my college career (a pretty cushy place to be, considering I have two more years before the real world), I anticipate all the bright eyed and bushy tailed freshmen about to invade the dorms and use fake-id’s at all my favorite bars. Putting myself in their shoes, I wish that someone had been there to give me advice for my college career (all I got was my Mom telling me not to hook up with any fraternity boys until Spring semester). So I dove in head first and learned a few lessons of my own.

I learned the value of my dry erase board to my social life, I learned that “attendance optional” classes are not always a good thing. I learned that I should always have an assortment of costumes readily available, and that sharing drinks with my friends meant sharing drinks with whoever they made out with (and whoever they made out with…) All of these were very important lessons, and I’d like to share some of the pearls of wisdom I gained my freshman year.

College is not as big a place as you think.

It was easy to assume that a huge new campus meant instant anonymity. Therefore it was also very easy to assume that taking 6 tequila shots, throwing up underneath a bar stool, and going home with some guy in a sombrero at my first college Mexican restaurant experience would have no repercussions. Unfortunately, my hangover proved otherwise, as did the nickname “El Puke Capitan” that followed me around for the rest of my freshman summer. Oh, and Senor Sombrero? In the same section as me for Social Problems that Fall. Bottom line: college is big, but it ain’t that big.

You will not wake up at 7, make a power smoothie, hit the gym, shower then go to your 9 am class. Ever.

Come December of my freshman year, I realized what a mature, responsible and “together” young woman I had become (making your own doctor appointments can have that effect). So, I decided that I’d be way more productive and on top of shiz if I made all my Spring M, W, F classes at 9 am. That way I’d have time to wake up, eat a healthy breakfast and listen to CNN podcasts on my way to hot yoga. After that I’d hit the showers and head off to my first class with a post-workout glow. Unfortunately, that post-workout glow was more like post- flip cup nausea, the closest I got to a healthy breakfast was O.J. with my McMuffin, and I never did make it to the gym. More importantly, I very rarely made it to those early classes. Bottom line: prioritize school over partying, but don’t kid yourself about your ability to turn down nickel beers at your favorite bar. When you have the chance to take a later class, just do it.

If you have the opportunity to bring a big bag out, pack a survival kit.

Clutches are cute, and obviously the more practical handbag option for a night of debauchery, but if you can get away with a monster bag, bring that bad boy out. That way, you can pack a toothbrush, flip flops, Soffes and the proper toiletries to decrease the embarrassment level on your walk of shame. Of course the easiest way to avoid the W.O.S. is not to shack with randos, but if I learned anything my freshman year, it’s that those random nights of terrible decision making will occur. Bonus: you can pack your own condom preference. Her Pleasure, anyone?

If your future roommate shows signs of insanity, it may be time to break the lease.

After successfully surviving two semesters of random roommate pairing, I was extremely excited to get my first apartment my sophomore year and signed a lease with two friends from home and one of their friends. We planned how we would decorate our bedrooms and living room and thought of all the themed dinner/drink nights we would have at our cute little kitchen table. I thought that my new roomies would be GREAT, but looking back, the signs were all there. I realized that saying my third roommate’s name earned me some strange, almost piteous looks from mutual friends. I heard more about her spring break hookups from JuicyCampus than I did from her. She started a fist fight and pressed charges against the other girl.

Yeah, in retrospect I probably would have reevaluated my roommate choice, it would have saved me a broken front window that she kicked in, a whole bunch of food that she ate, hours of sleep lost listening to screaming matches between her and others, and a whole bunch of Claritin from the time she bought a cat (even though my other roomies and I are allergic and our apt. is pet free!) At least in the future I know to make roomie decisions a little more carefully…

Get to Know Your Profs and T.A.’s

Fresh out of high school, the idea of spending any extra face time with a teacher seemed a little…lame. But then I realized that seeing a teacher twice a week (along with 200 other students) would not allow them to ever know who I was (or know that I was their favorite student ever), so I started going to office hours. Professors are always willing to clarify assignments, and LOVE discussing their lecture material (most of them would gladly continue talking long after their hour and 15 minutes is up) and appreciate you being proactive about your grades. T.A.’s like this kind of meeting because it’s less formal than their classroom setting and they can level with you as a peer. Also, it shows them you’re interested in what they have to say. A personal relationship with your professor or T.A. will come in handy when you are running late on an assignment, need extra help, or earn an 89.45% in their class and need an opportunity for extra credit.

Keep your Facebook clean.

When I look back on my freshman year, I look back in neatly captioned and tagged albums via my profile. The first look back last summer, after completion of my first year at college, made me realize that I had some major deleting and de-tagging to do. While those pics of me impressively funnelling or taking ice-luge shots with my besties show my friends I can outdrink them, I didn’t want to know what they would show the family I babysat for if they ever saw. So I started deleting. Goodbye Pikeboy Lingerie Party pics, so long drunk wheelbarrow race to the stadium on gameday, no more 47 second kegstand (47 seconds!!). Yes I will miss these pictures, but they’re still on my hard drive, and now there are no creepy old men enjoying my creative use of Saran Wrap for anything-but-clothes parties. Even better? Employers, professors, and my friends’ parents can judge me based on PG-rated pics. Bottom line: put down the Solo before you say cheese, and you’ll be much happier you did.

But I think it’s the smartest thing you can do.

Make no mistake about it, even if you go to a small liberal arts college where kids walk around without shoes and you know the name of everyone in your class, you’re still one of hundreds. One of the hundreds of students your professor has.

Just another face, another paper, to be graded quickly before Must See TV comes on at 9:00.

But what if you want to do extra well in the class?

What if you’re like me, and really anal about your reputation, and simply can’t deal with the fact that someone might think you’re not trying? What if you’re taking that required math course, and honestly can’t remember those 5th grade times tables?

You get to know your professor.

*Be Engaged: Sitting front and center, looking awake, keeping your body language open and available helps your professor see that you’re actually taking in what they’re saying. After staring into a sea of glazed-over eyes, finding yours open and watching will set that professor’s heart aflutter.

*Answer Questions: Nobody likes know-it-alls and morons who love the sound of their own voice, but raising your hand once a class will keep you on your professor’s radar. Just make sure you have something worthwhile to say, because believe it or not, professors hate idiots just as much as you do.

*Use Office Hours: Whenever I was working on a paper, even if I was pretty clear on the assignment, I’d always drop by my professor’s office during their scheduled hours. Not only can you get any question you have answered by the source, but if you’re half-interesting, you’ll routinely find yourself talking about non school related things. Ask them about their lives. Don’t be freaky about it, but treating a professor like a person never hurt anyone.

*Talk Outside of Class: If you see your professor around campus, say hi. If you see them shopping for vegetables, say hi. Let them know how friendly you are. How nice. Even the fairest grader has a heart.

*Let Them See You Try: Most importantly, make sure your professor knows how hard you work. Bring in multiple drafts to their office hours. Ask questions. Send emails. Don’t be a stalker, but remember that your professor is there to help you. That’s their job.

Professors are human—even if some of them don’t seem that way. The more of a repartee you have with them, the more careful they’ll be in grading your papers and tests. While being friendly has never earned anyone an A when they really deserved a D (I mean, unless someone’s sleeping with someone), getting to know a teacher on a personal level makes them want to see you succeed.

And when they want you to succeed, everybody wins.