As pre-collegiettes™ quickly approaching your first year at college, it's normal that your nerves and worries are kicking into high gear. You're about to enter unchartered territory, an entirely different world than high school (as much socially as it is academically). That said, the first week of college is a complete blast and you're going to love it. This is the time to put yourself out there, meet a huge variety of people, and start school on a high note. Most importantly, though, the first week is the time to be a carefree and happy collegiette™! ...but wait pre-collegiettes™--before you get too giddy, notice that I said carefree... not careless. Yes, a carefree collegiette™ may be (and obviously is) chill and cool, but most of all she's definitely classy. So, we've prepped you on proper dorm etiquette and navigating your first frat party, but now it's time to hit you with an all-too-necessary list of things NOT to do that first week on campus. Take note, pre-collegiettes™, don't do these things...
1. Hook up with multiple guys in the first weekWelcome to the realm of college boys. You’re far away from (hopefully) immature high school boys with teenage acne and cracking voices. To put it as simply and politely as possible, just because you now believe what your mom said about there being many fish in the sea doesn’t mean you have to catch as many as you can. If you’re patient the first week and actually make a habit of getting to know the guys you meet before getting ‘intimate’ with them, then your chances of catching a keeper improve significantly.Caution: We don’t advocate first-week dormcest. HC University of Alabama campus correspondent Jaime warns, “don’t hook up with anyone on your floor.” We agree, Jaime. Getting down with a guy on the floor too early on opens you up to a long year of super awkward encounters. 2. Pick teams Avoid hanging out at the same place every night. Don’t spend all your time in the same guys’ suite/frat house/hockey house (you get the picture: don’t pick one and only one nightly hangout spot).I get it—you don’t know many people yet and having a familiar place to go is comfortable. But I promise you that if you keep an open mind and don’t limit yourself to one place and/or one group of people, you’ll be more comfortable at your new school in the long run. This is the time to branch out and, trust me, it’s harder to branch out and randomly introduce yourself to people the further into the school year you get. 3. Pick your bestiesWhy do I mention this next, you ask? To emphasize, underline, and highlight the point that you can’t be closed-minded when it comes to meeting new people. You cannot, should not (and will not, right collegiettes™?) choose your best friends and play ‘favorites’ the first week at school.As HC Contributing Writer Tarina from Harvard says, “The first week is an opportunity to hang out with lots of different people and see who you really click with.” Don’t let one person or one group of people hold you back from meeting more. “Plus, a girl’s circle of friends changes up a lot during the first year of college, so it’s important to mingle a lot from the beginning to get to know a variety of people,” Tarina says.
4. Run your mouthDon’t talk about people you just met (or worse, people you have yet to meet) behind their back. This is probably one of the easiest ways to repel friends, not make them. Enough said.
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