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The Top 15 Things You Need to Know Before You Leave for College
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College is already confusing enough. Sometimes, it's in a big, or at least different, city. You're away from everything you have always known and to top it off, you have to attend class. Here is a list of 15 things to learn before you leave home to make the transition easier, written by a current college student.

1. Laundry. Does it go in cold water or hot water? What gets bleach? How do you get a stain out? What colors wash well together and what don't? Hang dry, line dry or lay flat to dry? If you want to keep your clothes, learn this before your whites turn pink.

2. How to cook. Unless you love Ramen Noodles or fast food, learn to cook at least basic meals. Pasta is cheap and easy to make. You can even take some of your mom's special sauce and freeze it, so all you have to do is cook the pasta.

3. Share. Chances are you won't live alone. Often you will share a room or an apartment with someone. Here are two examples of how things can get out of hand: First, the dishes war. My brother was used to the dishes being done and couldn't understand why his roommate didn't feel the same way. So, my brother put the dirty dishes on his roommate's bed. Second, the air conditioning war. I liked it cold, she liked it hot. She turned it way up when I wasn't there, and to balance it out, I turned it way down when she wasn't there. By fluctuating it, we ended up paying way more than we would have if we have just learned to share.

4. Balance a checkbook. This doesn't mean letting the online report do it for you. Gas stations especially won't pop up on those reports for weeks, and in the meantime, you'll overdraw your account. I did it five times before the warning letter from the bank made its way to me by snail mail.

5. Credit cards. They don't mean you're rich. The interest on those cards is about 20 percent. That means that if you buy something for $100, but can't pay for it when the bill comes, you will end up spending $120 on it. If you keep doing this, you could ruin yourself financially for many years. To help yourself, get a debit card instead. Then, get a credit card with your name on it, but let your parents use it. If they can pay it off on time, you'll receive a good credit score while staying out of debt trouble.

6. Group work. This is one of the worst things about college, but almost every teacher does it. Your grade will actually depend on what someone else does. Learn to be patient, work around someone else's schedule and be a good motivator. I've learned that students don't work harder if I get upset with them.

7. Use a planner. A normal class load is 15 credit hours, which is five classes. Unlike high school, your math teacher and English teacher won't collaborate and make sure your tests aren't on the same day. They also won't remind you that you have a test. This is really hard when you have online classes and don't see the teacher at all. I never took a mid-term because I was being dependent on a reminder e-mail that never came.

8. Take notes. Sadly, you will spend about $700 a semester on books, most of which you will never open. Teachers think their information is better than what's found in the book. Therefore, the tests will usually be based on the lectures. Knowing how to take notes is imperative to a successful college experience.

9. Become a directional pro. The first year of college, I got lost approximately every time I cranked my engine. I was in a new town and didn't know if I was travelling north or east. It's a good idea to learn how to read a map and navigate to the best of your ability. Then, make sure you always have a cell phone for when you get lost.

10. Be responsible. In your general education classes, teachers don't really care whether you attend class or not. Most of them won't give homework because they don't want to grade 800 papers. They don't have time to let you know that you are failing or ask if you need help (which is interesting, because they're not grading papers!). Their office hours are increasingly dwindling. So, this is all your responsibility. Attendance really is the key. I had a teacher that would ask what his sister's name is for a test question just to separate those who attend class from those who don't.

11. Grammar. In high school, it was English teachers who took off two points for comma splices or misspelled words. Now, it's every teacher. Yes, chemistry teachers care that you know the difference between "their," "there," and "they're." I have a tourism teacher right now that gives me a 100 percent on every assignment because I can make a complete sentence. It pays to know the English language.

12. Mental math. I don't mean the hard math, just the simple nine times six or 12 plus 15. Math teachers assume you can do steps in your head. They also take away the calculator a lot to keep students from storing formulas in them. There are also math teachers that get 12 plus 15 wrong, and it's important that you correct them before they get too far into the problem.

13. You might not be the best. This is a hard one to mentally prepare for. In high school, I was an outstanding writer. However, when I got into my journalism classes and was seated with 20 other outstanding writers, my writing looked "so-so" all of a sudden. It's the same in any subject. No matter how hard I studied, someone studied more. Set goals for yourself and be proud of your accomplishments without comparing yourself to a complete stranger.

14. Stand strong in your morals. The first six months of college usually defines who you are going to be throughout college. Make sure it's someone you like. Take time to find the friends you really want. Remember, the people at college don't know who you were at home. This is a chance for a fresh start if you need it.

15. Learn to have fun. High school, whether you think so or not, is usually the easiest time of a life. Sure, everything seems like the end of the world, but it's not. You have teachers begging for assignments and giving you every opportunity for extra credit. College will seem hard too, but when you graduate, you're going to wish you had it back. So enjoy it while you're there. Make memories, make friends, but through it all, make sure you graduate!

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