1. What to bring and what not to bring is one of the biggest questions y'all have now. If you have been to Camp War Eagle, I'm sure they've told you what to bring or not bring, but I'm going to give you this advice from the outside. Plus a lot of the internet/pinterest pictures show a lot of unnecessary items.
What to bring:
-Pillows, blankets and twin XL sheets (for dorms) I'd bring extra blankets because you're not sure how your roommate likes the room temperature.
-Bike! Most of your classes are in the center of campus, but if you live in the Hill or Village it would be really smart to have a bike. (Remember to sign up for your FREE, but necessary bike permit. You can find this under the tiger-i tab in au access) Don't forget a lock for your bike as well!
-Towels for pool and shower use (bathing suit for pool as well)
- Card games for rainy days/boring nights. It's up to you to fight with your parents on the video gaming systems because CWE counselors tell your parents not to allow you to bring them...If you are very distracted and not self-disciplined, don't bring them. You really need to focus on classes this semester. As my history professor told us this morning, "This ain't high school anymore." You can bring one next semester if you feel comfortable about it.
-Definitely double check with your roommate on what they are bringing so you don't have double of everything or you're not missing something. (mini-fridge, tv)
-Storage bins. You can use them for anything and everything....(dad will thank you during move in)
-Hangers! Most people forget these. The drawers aren't big in the dorms, either.
-Rain boots/jacket...Auburn has a nasty habit of randomly raining for only an hour without warning.
-IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF 4 HOURS AWAY IGNORE THIS!
-Bring a few sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans and warmer weather clothes for the fall. Obviously y'all know that it starts getting cold late October so you can go home and get clothes then. It will save you a lot of space for the dorms.
- new tennis shoes. You'll be walking A LOT!
- any sporting item that you'll use: baseball glove, tennis racket, football, Frisbee, etc.
-Power strip...it will come in handy with computer chargers, printers, phone charger, etc.
What not to bring:
-Too many (if any) dorm decorations. Save that for the apartment that you'll get later on. Its too much money, too much space and too much of a hassle. Yeah its fun and cute, but who stays in their room anyways? (Rugs might be nice during the winter, but they also just collect everything and get nasty really quickly)
-School supplies. You can bring stuff you already have like a book bag and calculator, but leave the paper, binders, pencils, and other stuff to buy in the bookstore.
-Any large furniture like bookshelves, big chairs, and additional drawers. Learn to live light your first year.
-Groceries. You can get that here at kroger or winn-dixie. That way you don't have to worry about squishing the bread or keeping any items cold. Do this also for toiletries. Don't want lotion all over your comforter!
-too many people for move in...will talk more about this later on in the post.
-Pots/pans/kitchen stuff.
If you have ANY questions on whether or not you should bring something just comment on here or shoot me a message on facebook!
2.) What to expect the first week or two of campus:
I WILL NOW TURN THIS OVER TO MY BIG BRUDDER!!!! TAKE IT AWAY BRO!
Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.
MOVE IN!!!
Move-in at Auburn University reminds me of (insert here) zombie movie when the disease first starts spreading. People will be going everywhere, roadblocks, a million officials who are walking around who have no clue what is going on, timetables etc. Move-in needs to be a tactical military operation for you and your family. Pack light (as seen above). It will be hot (for sure) hectic (for sure) and if tradition holds true from the past 2 years, rainy. The less you have to unpack the better. Less trips, the better. Don't bring every family member you have seen in the past 4 years either, get all the goodbyes in from extended family during a "going away" party or something. If they have to come, drop them off downtown and tell them to get in the atmosphere and meet you in a couple hours. Also, if you get assigned to a higher floor and you are going to use the elevator, don't be that person that takes up the whole elevator with a million un-necessary things. Save yourself and the people around you the hassle.
Night of Move-In
You will miss your family a little, but you will also have a feeling of freedom, power, youth, and whatever else 80's movie feel-good ending feelings. Guys, you will want to check out the hawt college girls and girls you are going to want to do the same about the guyz. This is what Welcome Week is for. Save that first night or two to get to know your room mate and your surroundings. Campus may seem big, sprawling and intimidating but in reality, it is actually not so bad. First night, settle-in and really get to know your room-mate and suite-mates. You are going to be living with them for the next 30 weeks, lay down some ground rules. Don't be shy, if you have an issue, air it out, last thing you want is to be miserable over something seemingly so simple.
Welcome-Week/Week before classes
Walk your schedule. Learn the fastest route between your classes. Go to the Welcome-Week activities, they may seem cheesy but they are a great place to meet people, get numbers, and fill up your facebook with people who save you for a month then you forget and later delete during the infamous purges. Each day again, walk your schedule at the times that you would have these classes, make it automatic in your brain because when 20,000+ people are going to their classes too, you will be a little intimidated, I promise. Find a bike rack that has some kind of shelter so your poor bike won't get constantly soaked during the random pop-up showers. Find some friends and discuss classes/times/teachers as you don't want to be the lone face in a crowd of 300 people sitting in an auditorium waiting impatiently for some unknown figure known as "professor" to walk in, slam down their bag, write their name on the board, and start reading the syllabus.
First Week of Classes!
Also known as Syllabus week. Use this week to learn whether or not if you actually need your textbooks for certain classes ( see earlier post about textbooks ) I will now give you a few tips/tricks for each genre of class to help prepare you mentally on how to handle this stuff
English
Go in there and sit somewhere in the front quarter of the classroom. Make your face visible. But most of all, if you don't like English/Writing and have to take it even though you are going to one day be a rocket scientist, do this (worked for me). Learn to get in the mindset of some lovey-dovey scarf-wearing dreamer poet you find and laugh at in the corner of any given coffee shop. Take everything the teacher has to say in a sense of that it actually matters when to you it may not. Convince that teacher that you enjoy the subject, I even played a game with myself on trying to make answers to the teacher's questions as outlandish, crazy, but believable as possible. It was so fun knowing I was totally bull-crapping my answers to her in-class discussions and her replying "that is very insightful".
History
You will get one of two archetypes of history professor. Cool or uncool. Uncool ones, like mine will fill up your classtime with liberal trash and stories about their conception in the back of their parent's pick-up truck. Cool ones, like I have had friends have, will fill class time with awesome stories of secret missions during certain wars or cool secrets from ancient China. Pray for the latter.
Biology
These, in my experience, have been the best kind of Basics teachers. They are so interested in life, and cool secrets about the biological world and cannot wait to see your faces light-up when they entertain you with these little nuggets of brilliance. I never had a bad bio teacher. Hard, yes, bad, no.
Chemistry
Prepare thyself, its' gon' suck. You took high school chemistry? Cool!! you took the first week of college chemistry in a whole semester of high school, give yourself a pat on the back. This course is fast-paced and difficult. Make the best of it, even Steve Schwann the lab overseer, and for the love of all things holy, DO NOT WEAR OPEN TOED SHOES TO LAB.
Music Appreciation
I know the subtext of the class is not nap-time, however tempting it may be, go. It is not hard and do not procrastinate on going to your required performances. Get those done early.
Math (of any kind)
Most freshman level math teachers are graduate students. They have not had any courses in teaching and most of the time it is their first time standing in front of a group of kids only a few years younger than themselves. They will be nervous, choppy, and sometimes wrong. Just stay cool with them and do your homework. If you need extra help, there are plenty of tutors for this subject. to help you get through knowing the rate at which the angle is decreasing between the airplane and the 100 foot tall control tower standing 4 miles away.
Physics
See math but replace the young teacher with an old one who cares nothing about entry level coursework because they are too busy with 4th dimension research. Also in-vision a lab TA who doesn't know English as a second or even 5th language.
Intro to (insert your major here)
Here lies your little nugget of salvation. The one hour once a week course that gives you a sneak peek into your future and gets you all excited before you have to trudge off onto (insert least favorite subject here)
I may make it sound bad, but always prepare for the worst. The first couple years are meant to suck because college is a business and if they can get $24,000+ of your money and you leave before the good part happens, their business strategy worked. Suffer through it and make the most of every situation so you can get to your major and get to the classes you understand and want to pursue and use for the rest of your life.
College is a life experience you have earned by being successful up until now. Prove to yourself and your family that you will continue being successful. Your A's may now turn into B's or C's but Auburn is rated among the top 5 hardest schools to earn an A in. You signed up for the challenge, embrace it. Feel proud that you are earning your degree and not buying it. GO TO CLASS, I promise it isn't awful bad and the more you go the more you learn so hey, the easier tests get (theoretically).
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