5 Pro-Tips for Your First Year of College

In honor of everyone moving in today, I thought I'd share a bunch of tips I learned in my first year of school.

1. You do NOT need everything you see at the store/ packed for your dorm.
Girls. Seriously... that bag-thing that attaches to your bed will prove useless if your bed is less than five feet off the floor. Just bring your bedding, basic wardrobe, a few dishes, and your basic beauty products. You won't have time to apply both liquid and powder foundation everyday, and you really won't wear that peplum dress OR your stillettos. Ever. Unless your are rushing a sorority or seriously like getting up at 5 a.m. to primp, leave it at home.
And guys, you don't need your five piece stereo set and surround-sound TV. Your roomate and RA (who fields complaints from the people upstairs) will thank you.

2. Yogurt and fiber bars
At least until your stomach adjusts to the cafeteria food, you will need something to regulate your system. I survived on Activia and Fiber One alone for a week my first run-in with the food on campus.

3. Look into the student discounts in your area
Its college. You are on your own for the first time. Be fiscally responsible. My campus hands out coupon books at textbook rental (which you should look into too, btw). Walmart gives a discount to students for everything except groceries (go figure). Apple and Dell do discounts and/or gift cards. A lot of movie theaters (AMC and Regal) give out student discounts. A lot of restaurants give out discounts too!

4. The College Triangle... it is real.
 I'm not even kidding. My best advice is to find the best possible ratio between these three and stick to it. For example, my friends hang out on Thursdays after the school week has mostly ended (because let's face it... Friday morning classes are kind of a joke). During the week, we pretty much only see each other during dinner. Homework is impossible otherwise.

5. Notice the times of day when the campus shuttle is most active...
 ... and avoid it at the most popular times. Most of the people on my campus start their morning classes at 9:30 a.m., so I avoid the bus between 8:45 and 10:00. The bus gets lazy at 2 p.m., so I walk after that time because otherwise it takes 45 minutes to get anywhere. Walking is sometimes faster than being lazy.

Once again, if you are a seasoned veteran of college, or if you find some of your own pro-tips, please comment down below because I'd love to hear from someone! Thanks for reading! Bye!