(Disclaimer: I go to a large, public, 4-year research university that runs on the quarter system, so some stuff I say might not apply if you go to community college, a private school, etc.)

(Also yes, that is the school’s mascot! His name is Dubs and he’s really fat because people keep feeding him at games…)

Academics

• The way you studied in high school might not work at university. If you’re like me, you procrastinated throughout high school and didn’t put in a whole lot of work. There’s a really good chance that you’ll fail if you do that. You have less time in class, but that just means you have to study more outside of class. I’ve heard that 2 hours per credit per week outside of class is good. (A typical quarter at the UW is 15 credits, and I think it’s different for schools depending on if they use the quarter system or semester system…)
• Don’t overload yourself during the first quarter/semester. If you live on campus, you’re going to be adjusting to living without your parents for probably the first time. On top of that, you probably have a roommate or two, and you’ll be adjusting your study habits, and there are a ton of factors that make your first term hard. Don’t just take super-easy classes, but don’t take Advanced Quantum Physics, Super-Calculus, and Artificial Intelligence your first term, no matter how smart you are.
• Don’t overload yourself at all. Try to take at least one easy class per term so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by all the difficult courses you’re taking. Don’t take too easy of a quarter, either; try to balance things out.
• Be open-minded when you take classes your first term. I thought for sure that I’d be a Computer Science major, but now I’m doing English. It sucks because I’ve focused so much on Computer Science only, when I could have taken a couple other courses. Just because you think you’ll major in something, doesn’t mean you will. My two roommates and I were going to be engineers; now none of us are.
• Just because a class sounds fun, doesn’t mean it will be fun. The bigger the school, the more diverse the classes will be. Analysing Harry Potter sounds really fun, but you shouldn’t expect that it will automatically be exciting.
• Check your professors on Rate My Professors. This is especially helpful at the start of the year, when there’s a good chance that you won’t find anyone in your year who has had a class with that professor.
• If a course you’re taking has an active Facebook group, join it. This is a great way to find out about study sessions and find out what you missed if you miss a class for whatever reason. Which brings me to my next point…
• DON”T SKIP. If you can go to class, then go. If you already know the material, it’ll be a good review. Not all instructors take attendance, which makes skipping easier, since you won’t get in any immediate trouble for it. Skip once, and you’ll be tempted to skip again.
• Don’t take 8 AM classes. This isn’t high school. Assuming that you live on campus, you’re going to have more freedom to stay up later, meaning you probably will, which leads to being tired in the morning. Sometimes an early class can’t be avoided. My earliest class was always 9:30, and even then I sometimes had trouble waking up. (Coffee was my best friend a lot.) 
• Treat school like a 9-5 job. (Lovely advice from my friend Brie.) From 9 AM to 5 PM, focus on school. Try not to play video games or go on Tumblr unless you’re taking a break. Then, after 5 PM, you have more freedom to play games, hang out with friends, or do whatever you want to do. (Unless you have a class sometime after 5 PM.)
• If you’re easily distracted like I am, set up a reward system and make a schedule for yourself. I went to a counselor for other reasons, but he told me that he thinks I have ADHD and gave me some great tips on how to manage it long enough to study. He gave me a blank schedule and told me to make copies and fill it in every day, which I did. I would go to class from this time to that time, then eat lunch and relax, then do homework until another time. If I followed, say, 80% of the schedule, then I could reward myself by playing Skyrim until passing out. If I didn’t, then I would have to do some boring task or study to make up for what I didn’t get done when I should have.
  
• If you’re trying to focus on something but are tired of doing calculus for an hour straight, get up and go take a quick walk. It’ll refresh your mind and you’ll be active. A walk of about 15 minutes should be good.
• Turn your phone off during class. In a big lecture hall, it’s really tempting and easy to take out your phone and browse Tumblr. Don’t do it. You won’t learn anything and you’ll be distracting those around you. Also they’ll think you’re weird when they glance over at your screen right when you’re scrolling through your dashboard and someone reblogged a gay gangbang hentai or something. I don’t know. Just pay attention during class. Laptops should only be used to take notes.
• Don’t talk during class. It distracts and annoys everyone around you. I don’t care how quiet you think you are. I can hear you whispering. Shut up.
• Be friends with your instructor. Don’t force the friendship or be weird, but if they’re open and friendly, then be their friend. It makes the class more fun and raises the chances of getting a letter of recommendation if you eventually need one.
• Go to office hours if you don’t understand something.

Dorm Life

• If you’re getting paired up with a random roommate, answer the questions honestly. If you’re messy, say so. If you go to bed early, say so. You’re going to live with this person/these people for months and it would suck if you tried to go to bed while they cleaned your messy half of the room. Kind of late for this one, but oh well.
• Once you find out who your roommate is, email them. Figure out who will bring what; you don’t need two fridges or microwaves or fans. 
• Work out what the rules will be as soon as you can. For example, listen to music with your headphones in, don’t Skype when I’m asleep, etc. And if they’re being loud, ask them politely to be quiet. TRUST ME.
• If things don’t work out with you and your roommate, talk to you RA or a counselor. I don’t know what else to say, this one is kind of straightforward. 
• Don’t overpack. Especially books. There are libraries for a reason, and you probably won’t read 50 books that just sit there on your bookshelf, feeling cheated.
• Be extremely sneaky about masturbating. Make damn sure that you won’t get caught.

Fitness and Health, AKA Avoid the Freshman 15 (or 50)

• Yes, you can eat later without getting in trouble; no you shouldn’t eat it. When I went home during winter break I was always hungry at like 1 in the morning, and it sucked. It’s not healthy, either. Eat at set times if you can.
• Chances are, your tuition includes a gym fee, which you should take advantage of. Working out not only keeps you fit, but it also helps with depression and anxiety. Go with friends if you can. Don’t be embarrassed if you’re overweight. The people at the gym are there for the same reason as you. Also, take an iPod and listen to music. It’s great when the gym has wifi, too, because then you can listen to workout playlists that other people have made (because yours is going to get boring after a month). Podcasts are great, too.
• Try to exercise for at least 15-30 minutes a day. Whether you just walk or do situps, do something that will keep you healthy.
• DON’T LET THE FRESHMAN 15 HAPPEN TO YOU. It didn’t happen to either of my roommates, who ate healthy and worked out. It didn’t happen to me, either… because I gained over 15 pounds and pushed myself into the “almost diabetic” stage. I can’t stress enough how important it is to eat right and work out during university. No one’s telling you to anything, which means you have to tell yourself. It’s hard. I didn’t start working out until halfway through my third quarter. 
• BE HEALTHY.
• If you school has a counseling center, go there if you need to. Talk to a counselor and figure out how to manage depression and anxiety. Mine recommended that I go to the doctor and get medication, which I did. Again, working out and organising your time also help with depression and anxiety.

Social Life

• Your high school friends probably won’t be the same friends you have during university.
• Join clubs or make a club. If there is a clubs fair, go to it. If something sounds mildly interesting to you, then go find out about it, maybe attend a couple of times to see what it’s really like. Sometimes there’s a schedule conflict between a class and a club you really want to go to, but you can just join another one. If a club you want doesn’t exist, then find out how to make it a club. Seriously though, there are so many clubs. I’m a part of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic club and I’ve made friends there and am actually an officer next year.
• Don’t go to a party alone. The rules for drinking are pretty much the same as they would be if you weren’t at university: don’t drink too much/know your limit, don’t accept anything from a stranger, etc.
• Join your class’ Facebook page (or subscribe to the school’s subreddit) if there is one. I’ve made SO MANY friends because of my class’ Facebook page. You’ll find out who has the same classes as you and who loves Portal just as much as you do.
• Wear fandom shirts and compliment others on theirs. I’m serious. I found a few Homestucks on my floor and became friends with them because of it. I’m friends with a lot of bronies (using that term very loosely) because of MLP club. Just don’t be creepy about anything, but that’s a good tip for life.
• Have safe sex. There are lots of places to get free condoms on campus if you can’t afford to buy them on your own.

Other General Tips:

• When signing up for classes, be aware of how far you’ll have to walk between classes.
• If your school’s campus has an app with a map on it, get the damn app. It’s better than holding up a map and bumping into everyone.
• Don’t make eye contact with anyone that looks like they’re going to ask you to join a cause or hear about their religion. Ignore them as well as you can. If they catch you, tell them you need to get going. It might be seen as rude but oh well, unless you really want to stand there for 15 minutes in the pouring rain to listen to someone tell you about why you should be a Mormon.
• LEARN TO PROGRAM (that’s a link). Learn a bit of a language like Java or Python. Web programming, too. If you don’t want to take a programming class because you’re afraid you’ll fail, either audit the class or learn from a friend or the internet. Programming is a skill that is useful to everyone in all fields. 

If you have any questions about the University of Washington or university life in general, feel free to send me an ask, but keep in mind that I’ll probably respond publicly unless you specify otherwise. The only things I won’t be able to answer are questions relating to money and partying, because of reasons. Please reblog this and spread this around; I know there are a lot of people on Tumblr who are going to be university freshman soon, and I don’t want them to go in blindly and screw themselves over. And PLEASE feel free to add anything you want on here. I wrote all of this in about an hour and a half, and there are probably things that I forgot to write.