My Commons Life

News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here

19 Tips for 2019!

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Since I recently turned 19 years old and it is 2019, I decided what to commemorate my first semester at Vandy with 19 things I have learned so far:

  1. Writing your notes is better than typing them. PERIOD. It will help you retain the information better and forces you to put the information you encounter in class in your own words.
  2. Chemistry office hours are GOLDEN! Professors are there to help you, so if you have questions and are confused ask them. In my opinion, chemistry is one of the hardest courses at Vandy for freshmen and getting help as soon as possible will help you in the long run.
  3. Doing ALEKS consistently ahead of schedule will save you. ALEKS is the current homework program used by the chemistry department as of the 2018-2019 school year. It is both a headache and blessing. It allows you to get ample practice however, will force you to practice more if you keep getting answers wrong. Take it from me, divide and conquer. If you have 12 topics due in 7 days, space them out. If you can work ahead and you see some topics you can do before lecture, DO THEM. You never know when your professor assigns 20 topics to be done in 4 days. It has happened.
  4. Eat. Before. A. Three. Hour. Lab. You will regret not doing this.
  5. If you don’t want to be placed in a triple, find a roommate before school starts! Triples can be great, however if you have a smaller triple, it can become a little claustrophobic (I still enjoy my roommates though. 🙂 )
  6. Central Library is much more quiet and cozy to study in than Stevenson, and that’s the tea on that. It has window seats and the lighting is not as harsh as in Stevenson. I am much more comfortable and encouraged to study in Central then Stevenson, in my opinion.
  7. The 2nd floor of Peabody Library is a great place to collaborate with peers (as most individuals seem to not know it exists). It has space for large groups to do work and study, as well as a computer lab and several EXPO boards. (P.S.: You can checkout expo markers and erasers at the library desk Stevenson and Peabody).
  8. Study the first week of school. Even if you have little to no homework, it helps to become grounded in the basics before the real rigor begins.
  9. Meeting new people is worth it. It may be easy to just shy away and not mingle but it may lead you to feel lonely. Go to Vandy events, ask to eat lunch/dinner with your hallmates or classmates. Just ask.
  10. Go to sleep early if you have an 8 AM. This seems self-explanatory but I did not heed this advice and was miserable for my 8 AM chemistry class. You brain really CAN NOT focus with 4 hours of sleep. It just can’t.
  11. Save the your all nighters for when you really need them. Again, pretty self-explanatory. All-nighters should only be used for projects that were forgotten or need finishing touches. If it’s just to get ahead, it is not worth. There is only so many all nighters you can accomplish before your body falls apart from exhaustion.
  12. The weekend can be the best and worst time to catch up in classes. It can be the best if you plan ahead of time and prioritize/schedule your assignments. It can be the worst if you do not have a game plan, procrastinate, or just hang out all day and night with your friends. If you know you won’t do work on the weekends, plan to do all you work during the school week.
  13. Use your Commodore Meal Money to eat off of campus. You paid almost $3,000 for a meal plan and get $200 of “free” money to eat off campus. Use it all.
  14. Plan everything. You do not need to plan hour by hour, minute by minute. In all honesty, it is nearly impossible as things can change pretty quickly at Vanderbilt. Make a plan of attack, ordering your tasks from most urgent to least important and divide long-term projects up into manageable chunks.  
  15. Expect your plans to fail/be altered. As mentioned in #14, things change quickly at Vanderbilt and never know what to expect.
  16. Understand what you are about to get yourself into. It is going to be a challenge. It is going to boring at times. It is going to test you beyond your limits. But limits were made to be broken. Persevere.
  17. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t normally do for the sake of fitting in. I have heard stories of individuals doing things they wouldn’t normally and what they shouldn’t be doing just for the sake of fitting itn. It’s not cool to put yourself in harms way or trouble just be cool. This isn’t high school and your parents can not bail you out now. Be you.
  18. Soundproof earbuds/headphones may be necessary if you want to block out noise and get into a study bubble or exercise regularly. But the best music to listen to is one without lyrics or pop beats as they can distract you from the goal at hand.
  19. Enjoy the process. There is going to be a point where you will look back at your undergraduate years and wish you could experience some things again. Enjoy it now, while you still can.