It's getting pretty close and it will soon be a quarter of a year since I started college. And there are a lot of things that surprised, shocked, and scared me.
Note, that I am from the Czech Republic, and here UNI can work a bit differently than in your home country.
1.
First of all it is a lot easier than I thought. Of course, there is the tough part ahead - the examination period. But so far so good. I have a lot of free time because my school schedule consists of only two classes most days of the week - that's 200 mins of school every day. Like there's still a lot to learn, but it still takes me less time than 8 hours of school every day like in high school.
2.
None of the classes I attend are not mandatory. I do not have to go there. It is not always a good thing… When you know you have to go there you will prepare instead of procrastinating. But some classes are really convenient to skip. For example, when the professor is just boring and you know you won't listen anyway - instead you can use the time and prepare yourself for the next class.
But in general, even the optional lectures are usually good to attend. It definitely prepares you more than learning it on your own.
3.
No one knows you by name. Maybe in high school, you were used to all the teachers knowing you by name, if you were absent they immediately wondered what happened, if you failed a subject they tried to help you... But here? You're on your own. No one knows who you are. You're just another student like the 500 others in your year, as in the case of my faculty. Just be prepared to be pretty much on your own and don't expect anyone to help you, everyone is pretty much on their own.
4.
Textbooks are a really expensive thing. Try looking before the start of the school year for everything you'll need and buy used. I didn't expect that so I spent a lot of money on brand new textbooks.. which will only serve me for about one year, then new ones will be needed...
5.
Browse your school's website, you might find some really good deals.
For example, my college offers a lot of free law systems. These professional systems usually cost a lot of money, so it's good to try them for free.
But besides that, I can also get free windows, all the Microsoft 365, and so on.
6.
In addition to your university's offers, also update your all student subscriptions. Lots of subscription services offer better prices for students - like Apple Music, Spotify, and more. I didn't realize this until two months in. You guys keep this in mind and save some dollars!
Thank you for reading! Would appreciate any tips!
You can read my other articles about the Czech Republic, crypto, and many others topics on my publish0x profile here.
You can also find me on noise.cash.
I always tried to get my books second hand from those a year above me, saved me a lot of money