[Everyone’s got a morning after story (though most don't involve a Harry Potter references?) and we wanna hear yours! Send it over to us and we’ll post it – anonymously, of course – right here!]

It was my first night of freshman year. After my parents finished helping me unpack and hugged me goodbye, I had only one thing on my mind: to get drunk that night. What can I say? I happen to attend one of the schools that consistently makes the Princeton Review’s list of biggest party schools every year (OU, Oh YEAH!) and I had high expectations for my first night out and about. Also, unlike my fellow freshmen, I knew some older kids from high school and had a solid invite to house party. Score.

In honor of the occasion, I insisted that my new roommate and I start the night by taking shots of 140 proof absinthe I’d smuggled back from Europe. Needless to say, we were both pretty trashed before we’d even left the dorm. Not that that fact stopped us from downing the endless cans of Keystone Light that were handed to us throughout the night.

As we left the party, trashed beyond all measures, myself already having broken my shoes, neither of us was looking forward to the trek home. Luckily, one of my guy friends from high school offered to walk us back. He claimed he wanted to make sure we got home safely, but he didn’t do much to help as I fell flat on my back in the middle of the sidewalk.

But it wasn’t until we got back to the dorm that the real trouble started.

During the move, my dad methodically set up my new loft bed so that my roommate and I would have more room in our absolutely tiny dorm room. I thought it was a great idea at the time….until I realized the difficulty in climbing into bed after a few (or far more than a few) cocktails.

Flash forward to my roommate pushing my butt up the ladder as I grabbed the frame of my bed to pull my drunk ass up. I didn’t know at the time, but the frame wasn’t secured to the loft, just heavy and set on top of it with the mattress on it. I somehow managed to dislodge it and the entire loft came crashing down on us. Instead of freaking out/calling for help/doing anything at all, my roommate simply got into her own bed as I tried, by myself, to push my loft back to a point where I could sleep on it.

Eventually I gave up, pulled my blankets onto the ground and made a nest for myself. The next morning, after waking up and reliving the entire evening via my roommate’s hazy memory, we got a few boys from the hall to help us put the loft back together. (Great ice breaker!) Then I spent the next few weeks working tirelessly to master the art of getting into that loft while drunk. It took some time and a few more late night spills, but I finally got the hang of it sometime near Thanksgiving.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe 1) that this all happened on my first night of college, 2) that I survived my night of college, and 3) that my roommate and I actually became best friends. But it did, I did and we did. And for that, I. love. college.

[A special thanks to our anonymous reader for submitting this hilarious and horrifying tale. Want more? Check out our other cringe-worthy Morning After stories.]

Then high school hit, and you took your own initiative to blow your money on the perfect ensemble to make a statement on day one. Freshman year meant something eye-catching enough to grab the attention of a studly senior, whereas by senior year, your wardrobe had to scream, “I’m a senior. I own this school. And I’m f***ing graduating, bitch!”

Now that college is just around the corner, is it time to retire the tradition of back-to-school clothes, or do you simply need to step it up a notch?

On the first day of college, the campus will be filled with tens of thousands of students, frantically trying to change their schedules, pay their financial aid, and find the right classroom in the right building. It was easy to get noticed in high school, when you were one fashionista among only a few hundred, but in college, the people you meet on the first day are most likely to be a nameless, faceless blur who were kind enough to give you irections to the registrar’s office.

If you are thinking about going all out for a first day of school ensemble, ask yourself what your motivation is. Do you want to look professional to impress the teacher? Give yourself a little extra self-confidence to make it through the day? Find a nice college boy to walk you from one class to another? The following are some broad categories of BTS-wear that I have encountered year after year. You might fall into one of these groups, or you may notice a few hundred students who do on the first day of college.

The Kid Who Peaked in High School

You’ll recognize this student by their colorful t-shirt that boldly reads “Washington High School,” or “BHS Seniors 2007.” This person proudly displays their high school colors in college because, well, maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet that they are in college. High school memorabilia is great to keep for sentimental reasons, and your Grad Night t-shirt is probably great to sleep in, but in college it only pinpoints your age, your freshman naiveté, and not-legal-to-drink status.

The Kid Who is Way Too Excited to Be at College

This person made a beeline for the bookstore immediately after stepping foot on campus with parents and parents’ credit cards in tow. You’ll recognize this person by the ensemble completely embellished with the university insignia. You’re bound to see a plethora of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats from the college collection, but this person will be one foam finger short of an early tailgate party. I’m talking track pants, t-shirt, windbreaker, baseball hat, and official backpack. Everyone walks away from college with a few articles of alma mater apparel, but there’s no need to overdo it. On campus, everyone knows where you go to school because, um… you’re already there.

The Overachiever

It’s great to dress professionally for class, but on the first day, there are some students who feel the need to bring out the full business suit in hopes of making a good first impression on the professor. If school starts in August, however, you’re going to sweat through that blazer before you’ve even made the half-mile trek from your dorm to your first class. Besides, the first day is just as much a blur for teachers as it is for students. They are met with anywhere from twenty to a few hundred students, many of whom are new faces. Even in intimate classes of twenty, it takes the teacher a few class periods to get names straight. You have the whole semester to prove your worth to the professor, and they will be more interested in the work you produce than the diggs you don on Day 1.

The High-Maintenance Student Going for a Low-Maintenance Look

From afar, this girl looks comfortable in jeans, gauchos, or Juicy sweats and simple tanks or t-shirts, but upon closer inspection, you’ll see that she obviously spent hours trying to achieve the “natural” look with five pounds of makeup, and used more product to create “just-rolled-out-of-bed” hair than you used for your senior prom updo. If you’re going for comfy-casual, you negate the ease in which you dressed yourself by spending three hours putting on your face.

The Over-the-Top Trendster

This group is the biggest and most common, because apparently many college students do think the back-to-school tradition should be kept in effect well past the age of eighteen. Since college opens at the tail end of gorgeous summer weather, you’ll find hoards of girls in skimpy skirts, tank/halter/tube tops, and platform sandals or stilleto heels. You’ll also see students proudly showing off the best trends of the summer, no matter how impractical it may be. Case in point: one humid August day, I saw a girl hauling ass across campus in Ugg boots, and immediately patted myself on the back for choosing flip flops that morning. For the first few weeks of school, a large percentage of the student body will put a lot of effort into looking their best in class…until the chilly fall weather sets in, along with midterms, and everyone reverts to jeans, sneakers and hoodies.

By midterms, you’re barely going to have time to eat, sleep, shower, and get trashed, let alone spend hours styling your hair and choosing a cute outfit when you could be studying. By this time, your professors will be aware of your academic prowess, you’ll have an established group of friends, and you’ll realize that you’re far more likely to get hit on at a keg party than a biochem lab. You’ll also discover that books are heavy and campuses are large, so certain clothing is best saved for Saturday night.

Whatever you decide to wear for the first day of college, just remember that the real reason you’re there is to further your education, not turn the student union into a catwalk. So dress for yourself. Whether you want a chic look to boost your own self-confidence, or something practical to get you through a full day of classes in comfort, choose an outfit that is you.

Now what? NOW WHAT?

Now it’s time for the best 7ish days of your life: Welcome Week! For the only time in your college career (besides senior year, maybe), you have no class, no reading and nothing but time to get to know your lovely new home.

It is time to meet people, take part in all those fun campus-sponsored activities, and get the lowdown on which party stores sell to the under 21 crowd. Oh, and buy books…but we recommend waiting until the last day to do that.

Welcome Week is a totally new experience to you, Ms. Incoming Freshman, so we decided to give you a few hints for survival. No, you don’t need a tent, helmut and 30 bottles of water, but you do need an open mind, a little bravado and a whole lot of Advil.

Our writers looked back into their hazy Welcome Week memories and gave us this advice:

Julia – UC Berkley: Don’t get too rowdy with the boys. My friend went a little, er, wild during welcome week and ended up missing all of her first fall semester due to an unfortunate case of mono.

Kelly UMass: Stay away from the Jungle Juice (or anything in a tub/large cauldron) and watch the roads. My first night out in college I saw some drunk dude get hit by a car. No lie.

K – NYU: Never hook up with the guy who asks, “Do you want liquor?”

Jo – University of Miami: Go to as many “welcome” events as you are able to, no matter how random or lame they sound. Everyone is in the willing mentality to make new friends, and it is a great chance to, even if you get to make fun of the silliness of the experience.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Don’t go to parties alone, don’t leave parties alone and don’t sexile your roommate just yet. She has no friends to crash with just yet…and she will remember it. Forever.

Jill – University of Wisconsin: Wear clothes when you are stuck hugging the toilet bowl in the morning during welcome week, because it’s just a tad bit awkward when your roommates parents are trying to move in her matching shower curtain and toothpaste holder and you are in your hanky-panky’s on the bathroom floor. Love-ly.

Amber – Old Dominion: Obey the “two week rule” and don’t hook up with anyone within the first 2 weeks of college. That guy you were really into at orientation will be a douche bag by the next week.

Victoria Witchey: Don’t be one of those kids with a cell phone connected to their ear ‘checking’ on what’s going on back in your hometown. Meet, interact, party. Take advantage of your first week. Also, put something memorable on your dorm door- its way easier to remember, “It’s the one with the pink rubber chicken on it” than a random group of numbers.

Carly – Grinnell: Even if you feel exhausted or awful, try to be friendly and keep up your energy during all the social events. The people you meet there will likely be your friends for the whole year and longer!

John – UConn: – Don’t be afraid of bothering people you’ve just met. Sit with them at lunch, even if you’ve only seen them around the dorm once or twice, even if you’re normally shy, even if they seem a bit annoying – chances are they’re worried about talking to you, too.

Kari – Florida State: Don’t ride the mechanical bull if you are prone to bruising…your inner thighs won’t be the same for weeks.

Elizabeth – Baruch College: 1. Talk to strangers. Take their candy. Make friends. 2. Smile and be happy. There’s nothing to stress about, believe it or not.

Noa – CU Boulder: Give everyone a chance. Yes, I agree that the dude in the tight pink shirt probably sucks, but you never know who his friends are.

A.G.D – Emerson College: Be careful if you’re on the bottom bunk. In certain (ahem) positions your hair will get caught.

Olua: Don’t overdo the welcome back parties so hard that you miss a ton of your classes your first week back. You’re going to need those absences like fish need water later in the semester.

Sara – NYU: Get lots of numbers, but don’t sleep with anyone yet. Wait till at least week 3. Trust me.

Sady – The New School: There is a crucial difference between “That dude who wants to make out with you, the freshman” and “That dude who only makes out with freshmen.” Learn it well! Here are some things to look out for: offers to “show you around campus,” buying you drinks (many, MANY drinks), open sores on his face, the fact that he’s thirty-five.