At least at COD (College of DuPage--community college in Chicago area), where many of my friends spent their first two (and for many, only) years of college, they pretty much ask you which state school you want to go to and get you in classes that they have designed to transfer to your school of choice. Going to a private or out-of-state school? Yeah, you probably will have to re-take some courses.

Same here. Senior year I was a double major (two sets of capstone courses) and working 25 hours a week. I no longer had time for ANY partying. Work post-college has seemed like a nice, long vacation in comparison.

Make sure when he decides on a major that he knows what kind of options that degree opens, and if a master’s degree is mandatory to get a job. I studied Kinesiology in College. (I know in a lot of schools Kinesiology is tennis and rec, but where I went it was more pre-med than gym teacher training.) For me to get any kind of job I would have had to get a masters degree. It really peeved me that no-one mentioned that when they told you about all the opportunities that were avaliable to a graduate of the program.

Take advantage of the career councilors, and their contacts.

As mentioned earlier, INTERSHIPS are necessities not options.

Have fun.

Also make sure he knows or gets a feel for the "competition" that occurs at some of the schools he is considering. I have some smart family (why I got screwed I don't know) who went to these schools and the attitude of the student body is certainly different there.

And don't rub the foot of the statue at Harvard, it is a right of passage to pee on that thing as a freshman.

Not true, but you have to do your homework. Typically, community colleges will be in tune with the requirements of the 4-year schools in that state. So if you want to start at State CC, then transfer to State U, they tailor your classes to that plan. If you know what you want to major in at State U, you can typically choose CC courses that count directly towards the major requirements. With a little planning it's an easy and cheap way to get your general requirements out of the way, and a nice way to ease into college.

I think it's a mistake to equate an education with a paycheck. There is something intrinsically valuable in education besides the ability to earn money. I'm not arguing for art history, but even a good liberal arts education can be valuable from the right school.

That said, there is a practical point for most people entering the work force upon graduation. So OK you should aim high. Declaring a difficult major that is in demand can be a wise decision. It isn't as though you can't change your mind. Going the other way, even art history majors can earn a graduate degree in another field.

Here's my $0.02 (for traditional students 18-19 yr).

1) Go to a respectable 4-college/University (don't waste time with an associates degree) It may cost less but you won't get the full experience.

2) First 2 years (at least) live on campus

3) Week days are for work. Weekends are for socializing, don't forget about clubs, fraternities, Student Government Association, and on campus jobs. These get you involved in the campus life. Take a road trips with a group of friends you'll remember these days the rest of your life.

4) Spend one semester abroad studying through a different school. Do the Spring semester so you can travel for the rest of the summer to meet your new friends. Looks great on a resume and it will be the best semester of your entire college career. Some do this before college for a year. If you work too hard just to get a 4.0 this semester you have missed out on a lot of fun.

5) Dating in Undergraduate school- you'll never get the same chance of meeting this many available girls again. Finding a significant other after college is much more difficult. You won't get the same opportunity in Graduate school, even on the same campus.

6) GPA - Yeah it will be asked about on some job applications, some colleges allow you to audit classes (Non major) for credit/no credit "C" or better, some allow one or two repeat forgiveness classes. If you didn't let your grades get in the way of a good time, you might need this one. Use these to improve your GPA, it might matter. Graduate school GPA matters more.

7) Take 15 hours each semester, life is too short for 18. May and summer classes can be fun and are usually smaller classes. Summer interns are a great resume builder and will help when you interview for your first job. Often internships can lead into employment long before graduation day comes.

8) Apply for grants, any and all you can.

9) If you plan on becoming a professor, unless you have a Ph.d you will be treated with disdain. If you want a Ph.d don't get a masters degree, it's a waste of your time. Go directly into the doctorate program after undergrad.

10) Volunteer in your community, it reflects well on the school and can be a good resume builder. Do it with friends and make some memories, the parties don't start until 10 PM anyway.

11) Minor in an unrelated field. While a technical degree is valuable getting a philosophy minor will at least use the other side of your brain. Being a well rounded individual is valuable. Minors are not necessary for anything other than personal development, or to impress your friends. A double major is pointless.

It depends on what you like and what you have talent for. If you know that early, you might be able to save a lot of money. It does cost a ton of money today to go to a name college, so you don't want to make any mistakes. You can spend $100K at a university majoring in English, and be absolutely nowhere jobwise. It isn't like the old days--cheap tuitions et al. I wouldn't want to have to do it again.

After 9 years of college, and 5 degrees, I'd tell them to get a degree that guarantees a marketable skill their first time through. Pharmacy, Nursing, Engineering, Education.... After that, you can do whatever you want. If you want to go further, you can still pay your bills by using your original degree.

Most "interests" make great hobbies and poor (paying) careers.

I learned one hell of a lot more about life during the 5 years I spent working AFTER I dropped out of college. You can get life experience without spending thousands of dollars to do so. I plan on paying for my children's college tuition, but I'll be damned if I pay for them to get a dead-end major. College isn't for hobbies, college is for careers. Sure, everyone takes the "well rounded" courses along the way, but come graduation day that piece of paper better be worth the large pricetag.

A High School girlfriend of mine earned an academic scholarship to Williams College...and majored in f'ing Spanish:confused:

If she had double-majored in just about any business degree, she would be in very high demand.

This is the best advice in this thread. Helpful to begin college a bit more mature, easier to know what you want to do when you have a better idea who you are. I personally think this should be mandatory for everyone who graduates from HS. A few years in the military, peace corp or some other public service.
This opinion on the community college is flat wrong. There is a program in Cali where you go two years at community college, they GUARANTEE you admission to UC school(if you keep your grades respectable) It is FAR cheaper to go to community college than state university, and 100% of the credits transfer

I am a 3rd-year student @ UC Berkeley, I switched from the College of Engineering (Mechanical) to Cognitive Science with an emphasis in Neuroscience. And I am minoring in Math, because I am interested in it. I have taken a load of Philosophy and Linguisitics, Physics and a whole host of other classes, from English to Econ, Linguistics, Biology, Computer Science, Anthropology, and yes, even Art History.. some of it is for the major, some of it is just random stuff that I took .

My feelings:

-I HAD NO CLUE when I entered college. I felt like cattle, after high school, shoved in a truck and hauled off to school. Yes, based on my grades and everything I ended up at Berkeley, but still I did not know what I wanted to be doing. I was very overwhelmed at the time--

-Take Dueller's advice. Just because you might be able to skip class, you shouldn't. 'Just because you can doesn't mean you should.'

-College, to me, is a personal learning experience, that's the point. It pisses me off that everybody is here 'just to get a job' or just to get into Law School. Concentrate on today, not yesterday and not tomorrow; learn what you can from RIGHT NOW and don't worry about the rest. I consider everyone that talks about how smart they are all the time, or what job they are getting, to be blights in the world of academia. Let's discuss the IDEAS, not what purpose the school serves you later in life. Though I do recognize it's a balancing act..

-I had a semester where I did not have a computer. WOW, I did not realize how much time I spent on the damn computer. GO TO THE LIBRARY!!! I discovered Berkeley's network of 7,000,000 different books...and anything I wanted to read more about, I could probably find online. Universities have an amazing array of subscriptions to academic journals. Make sure to take advantage of them!!

-When writing a research paper, GOOGLE SCHOLAR is your friend.

-Make sure to investigate the dorm experience before you go. When I came, the dorm charge was $1500 for a 1/3 section of a triple, with food. That means, a room with THREE people, and each person is paying $1500. The room was way too small, there was no climate control (no heat, no a/c) in this old building, and the food sucked. I WISH I'D MOVED INTO AN APARTMENT BY MYSELF THAT VERY FIRST YEAR, MY DORM EXPERIENCE FLAT OUT SUCKED.

-Do NOT drink every day. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

-NEVER cheat, even if it means you'll get a D, or won't pass. NEVER, NEVER EVER CHEAT.

-Study hard. It will be worth it. When you are all said and done, no matter what your transcript is (I could be more proud of mine), you'll feel an enormous amount of satisfaction at looking back at what you've learned, how far you've come. To know you did it all yourself is f*(*ing awesome.

-My Mother and Grandparents left me SOME money for school. I am SO SO SO grateful for that gift; it means more than anything. I still have to cover some myself, but it is open-ended, ie., when I get a job and stuff, I pay my mom back rather than a bank charging interest or something. To enter the workforce with debt just has bad ju-ju, and working in college tends to detract from your studies (just happens). When/if I have kids I will do my best to make sure they have money for school--there's nothing like a good education. As long as you raise your kids with the right values, I don't think they are going to turn into bratty aristocrats if you pay for their college.

-Don't forget to try new things. Experiment; go new places, do new things, get outside your comfort zone.

I was right with you until the part about working detracting from your studies...I went to Cal and did just fine. Actually better than fine. Working on Friday and Saturday nights twice a month, sometimes more, was great and contributed to my education.

If you haven't worked, give it a whirl...I never lived in a dorm;)

Otherwise, you sound like you are worthy:cool: All the best.

Matt,
From a guy who was an undergrad at a school of 1000 students and with a degree in Philosophy - I got hired by GE. I do agree with you on many things.

Go to a big school - in your state. The bigger the school the more opportunitiy to do more and experiemce more. The great thing about gong to a big school in your state is the spirit. That has a lot to do with it. There is nothing like state spirit for your school.

As for class rank and GPA, it means nothing. You want to get noticed by a company then do something that sets you apart:
1) Co-publish a paper of original research with a prof or grad student.
2) Work, work , work in the field that you think you might want to do.
3) Travel to another country and look to coordinate a job there - thats can be a tough one but it would pay more than money.
4) Start your own business. Nothing teaches you more about business than trying to run one. Who knows, if you are lucky you might do well enough so that you won't need a job with GE!

Yes, I suppose I am not qualified enough to say that one should not work while in college.

I did work 2 semesters calling parents and such for gift/donations in the Cal office, found that job rather boring and the time spent seemed to reduce the amount of school work I did.

To each his own, though; I can definitely see how work can give you a little more 'routine' and prevent you from just laying around all Friday afternoon when you don't have any class...;) That way you stay on schedule and get everything done a little better.

Oh, and one other thing: Procrastination's a b!tch! :D

My comment on don't forget on-campus jobs isn't just about the money. It's about getting involved in a different aspect of campus life. Personally, I'd give a shot at the books store or local cafe. You will find this often leads into more parties, more girls, and more dates. I guess I'm trying to say the right on campus job will enhance your social scene success.

I earned enough money to pay for my plane ticket to Italy when I spent my semester abroad and found working with beautiful girls was not like work at all. I guess this depends on the school you're in. I was fortunate to go to a reputable school with, by far, more hotties than our rival William and Mary.

I'm sure the west coast schools are fine, but they don't touch the history of the east coast schools.

Agreed, I work full time, and am a full time aerospace engineering senior. It's why I got a better job offer than many of my peers, even though they had a superior GPA. Having at least a part-time job will be a requirement for any of my kids, unless they want to pay their own way.;)