College isn’t a race, it’s a marathon. Pick a pace that works for you. This might mean a light class load, being jobless for a while, or limiting your social life. Once you have academia under control, introduce new variables.

In regards to making friends, this is probably one of the easiest places to make them. It doesn’t mean you’ll be friends with everyone, but it means you’ll have a lot more opportunities. Say yes and be open to be experiences.

Also, a big shift for college from high school is that more of the responsibility to stay motivated and on top of things falls onto you directly. That includes getting up and going to class and doing the work when you’re going through a depressive episode. You’re going to need to have a way to push through when you’re otherwise not up to it.

Also, college isn’t just about learning. It is about experiencing new things and taking leadership. Don’t forget to do that as well.

Purely from the academic side…

1. Go to class. Don’t take online/remote classes if possible. Don’t skip. If you need extra incentive, calculate how much you are spending per class. Getting your ass out of your dorm/apartment will help motivate you and do more stuff. This will be an unpopular opinion, but I suggest taking the earliest classes you can and stacking them up. It will give you more time to get your work done later.

2. Sit in the FRONT row. It will help you pay attention. Take notes. Not on a laptop. By hand. Writing will help you remember.

3. Work hard/play hard. Weekends are yours, but weekdays are for getting shit done. This will help you build good habits for after you are done with school. College is super expensive. Don’t fuck it up.

4. Don’t take a major that doesn’t have some type of acreditation. Again, this will be unpopular, but ask yourself if you could learn stuff on your own/through experience/as a student-at-large. Accounting: yes. Medicine: yes. MBA: yes. Law: yes. You can’t do those things without college. Art: no. Philosophy: no. Just go DO those things. Take a class if you want to strengthen your skills, but you need to be incredibly driven to succeed.

Don’t take things too seriously, socially not academically.

Without jeopardizing your academics, prioritize rare things.

TV and video games will always be there. Your friend asking you to come play tennis won’t. Go play tennis even if you don’t think you’ll love it.

Make making friends a priority. Join clubs, go to parties, ask classmates if they want to study together. If you don’t have a mealtime crew, ask people in the dining hall if you can sit with them.

Be careful with drugs, especially alcohol. I’m not saying don’t experiment, but be mindful of how much you’re using and the effects they have. I was not careful with alcohol in my youth and… I wish I had been.

Try things you’re interested in, and try things you aren’t interested in. It’s hard to know what’s interesting without giving it, as they say, the ol’ college try.

put in the effort. learning doesn’t end after class ends. be diligent and complete your work.

make connections. you don’t get a job based entirely from merit alone. the best connections are the ones you make with what you’ve learned and taught yourself while in college. you never know who is watching your efforts.

I got a job from following this mindset directly out of college and was making six figures two years after that.

I got the job by impressing one of my professors who recommended me to a friend with high praise for my knowledge and attitude.

I moved on from that job but have maintained a successful career because I showed what I was capable of to the right person. many of the others in my classes either couldn’t or wouldn’t push themselves and squandered the opportunities given to them.

Obviously keeping up on studies is pretty important. Not that I’m a great example…

But for social things, finding a club to join can help. The college I’m attending has a thing the beginning of every quarter ( summer most likely excluded ) where all the clubs come together and basically allow you to see what’s available. Though I also recommend not letting club get in the way of class either.

Avoid frats if you can help it based on the horror stories associated with them.

From my experience at a few different schools, other students don’t care whether you are a freshman, senior, etc. People intermingle pretty freely, although there may be some older students who don’t want to hang out with an 18-year-old fresh out of high school, simply due to being at different places in life.

Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about that.

Join a cool club. Best way to make cool friends.

Pick classes and professors that are easy. A single bad semester can fuck GPA.

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I would rather saw myself in half from crotch to crown with a muzzle loading musket than go back to college.

for me, it’s when most of my decisions start making big impacts.

sure, there’s still time for amateur hour, but be sure to get back up quick if you ever trip or fall.

academia is a fun time. so some people still stick to it.

Best advice I can give is this: have a “say yes” mentality in your social life. Someone asks you to go do anything/attend any event, say yes.

Also, in terms of academics, treat it like your job --8 hrs a day, five days per week. Stay on top of stuff. Don’t put off doing what can be done today. For big essays or projects, work on it in parts (day 1 outline; day 2 supporting sources; day three first third of rough draft; and so on and so forth).

Best of luck.