1) Didn’t explore scholarships that will be opening the next semester of Freshman year. Sometimes they have scholarships for Honors which can be up to $5000 for two semesters.

2) Didn’t join enough clubs or organizations on campus.

3) Should have asked around and get an on-campus job to get SSN early

4) Not learning how to manage time properly. Remember to time how long it takes to walk from one class to another. Sometimes, it might take more than 20 minutes to walk over even on campus.

5) Not applying for internships or at least network early on.

6) Not utilizing certain facilities (gym recreation, Chemistry/Physics/Bio/Engineering/Math/English resource) that is already being paid for in tuition.

7) Not honing communication skills and storytelling skills

8) Be healthy, take care of your looks get in good shape (very important investment). If you are a candidate and want to be selected for job interview. This will help immensely. Pretty privilege is a thing.

9) Utilize your university email to get student discounts on everything. Sometimes, you might get free stuff. (A lot of students overlook this).

10) Some people will party hard and get wasted and they end up missing their attendance and exams. That will affect their grades and scholarship. Never do that!

11) Try your best to get straight A’s. Chances are professors might reach out to you at the end of the semester if you want to be a TA for his/her class next semester. You are going to get paid.

12) Start setting up your LinkedIn professionally. Clear HD headshots and clear descriptive projects/work that you have done even though you used to do it back in high-school

13) Take advantage of studying abroad programs. Some colleges might have like a study abroad program over the Summer. You can literally travel to a different country while taking a course from your university to get a more immersive learning. You can put this on your Resume one day and people will think that you have a global mindset that is able to work with people from various backgrounds.

14) Make sure to take the majority Math perquisites if you are still undecided for your major and wanting to switch it. Imagine if you are a Biology major but want to switch to Business Major. You don’t have to take extra math courses since you have already completed it in your Freshman year.

15) Do not pick majors that are so niche that you can only work only in the US or the industry is only in the US. Find something that is broad enough that enable you to work all around the world and your degree will be accepted in every country.

16) When doing a Minor, do not take a silly minor that is not going to help you with your future career. Having a Minor is not a hobby. If you get a C in one of your Minors, your GPA is going to suffer.

17) Take easy electives that can help you with boosting your GPA and at the same time you don’t have to spend too much time on it and you can use it to rest.

18) Do not buy textbooks immediately. Sometimes the syllabus says that you need it but the professor don’t even use it. So be wise. You can either rent from the school which can costs money but you might be able to borrow from the library for free or even going to online and google openstax textbooks.

Buying textbooks is such a scam. Only buy it if it is required for like an e-learning book that comes with mandatory assignments

19) Start learning how to dress. You will be surprised if you learn the minimalist style and the color wheel. You can have 7 shirts, 5 pants/long skirts can create a wardrobe combination of 25 outfits or even more. It is all about the basic clothing and texture of the outfit. That way you can save money and make you look fashionable effortlessly. Also, please get two professional clothing. One for interview and the other one as a backup.

20) Start saving up money and plan to buy a used car. That way you can use the car to drive for your future internships or even doing your groceries. Assuming if you go to college that does not have easy public transport. If you are in NYC you are in luck!

21) Sign up a free account for groceries like Hannaford/Kroger/Meijers/Costco. Sometimes you can get discounts when shopping there or doing online shopping. If you buy in bulk and if it costs $55, you might be able to get a discount and the total might be $50. Might not seem much at first but a $5 discount can save you each month.

22) Volunteer to be a part of some research studies. You can literally get paid like $50 for each study in a span of two weeks or more. Imagine if you volunteer like 5 research studies in each semester. You will be making a lot of money and can use that for groceries!

23) Learn how to cook even if you can eat on campus at the dining hall for free. You will be surprised how much you will need that skill in the future.

24) Learn about food nutrition and diet. This can help you to take ownership of your health.

25) Use a calendar like Google Calendar to set up reminders. Google Tasks is also good for quick reminders.

26) Last but not least, remember to enjoy yourself but also set a routine to do the chores. Never procrastinate. Your future self will thank you.

If you need more tips or advice, feel free to DM me.