With my upcoming graduation next Tuesday I got thinking about how I survived the last 6 years. I’ve had serious ups and downs, fantastic opportunities won and lost, have both struggled and soared, but I’ve had an all around positive experience.

So I thought I’d break down a few guide lines to follow if you want to make your University experience as fun and rewarding as possible. This list comes from 6 years of experience within an undergrad, as well as some discussion with peers.

#1: Get involved with Frosh.

I don’t care if you’re a shy introvert, I believe getting involved with Frosh activities is an extremely important aspect for University. It’s during this week where you will meet future friends, class mates, and lovers. It’s likely that no one knows you going into Frosh week so put everything from the past aside and go out and have fun.

#2: Go to class.

When I asked a few people to give me one piece of advice to survive university, this is the one that kept coming up again and again. While I haven’t always followed it religiously, I do agree that going to class makes everything else easier. It’ll be easier and less stressful to study, as well as easier to meet new people. But don’t assume that because you went to every class you’re going to get an A. You also need to learn how to study.

#3: Avoid the Snowball effect at all cost.

I think everyone knows what the Snowball effect is. It can happen with anything – not going to class, not staying in touch with friends, drinking, getting yourself into debt, etc. It seems to be very popular amongst students in first year who are perhaps unprepared for the freedom that University life brings. It starts with justifying missing one class, and before you know it you’ve missed a month and a half of Math 1010 – trust me, it’s hard to make that up. You need to condition yourself to nip this effect in the butt before it gets the best of you.

#4: Find a best friend.

Most of the time this starts with Frosh week but depending on where you went, it could also continue on from high school. I don’t mean find someone you can put up with on the weekends. I mean a true best friend. Someone that you can spill everything to – because there will be times that you’ll need to. I can’t stress enough how important it is to find a true best friend – these are people that positively influence you. Also, don’t be afraid to fire a friend if they are holding you back or negatively influencing you, it’s just not worth it.

#5: Don’t drink during the week.

Why would I drink during the week? You might ask. Because a ton of people do it, and lets face it – it’s cheap. If you’re a big party animal, save it for the weekend. Don’t let alcohol control you. Keep it out of your weekly schedule and have fun during the weekends. This gives you something to look forward to after a long hard week – work hard during the week and reward yourself by drinking with some friends (if that’s your thing), believe me, there will be plenty of time during the weekend to humiliate yourself one way or another.

#6: Get to know your professors

My advice on this one is to get to know one prof every term, personally. I suggest choosing the prof of your favourite class that term. Book office hours, email any questions for assignments, pop in to say hi, etc. Before you know it you’ll have a mentor in an area that you enjoy, a great reference for your resume, and it could be the difference between an B+ and an A. I guarantee you’ll have an easier time in all your classes if you do this.

#7: Take your time – work and play.

As mentioned, I took 6 years to do an undergrad. Do I regret it? No. I wasn’t ready for the real world after 4, I could have handled it at 5, but the extra experience and knowledge I have now vs. what I had at year 4 will allow me to hit the ground running. I am not intimidated by much anymore.

So don’t be afraid to take a term off and work, or to take a lower course load if you want to work part time or dedicate time to a relationship. It’s important to have fun during university and it’s important to have a life outside of class as well. Make sure you have a nice balance and separation between them though.

#8: Learn how you learn and when you learn.

It’s as important as studying itself. Make sure you know how to study and how you learn. I was two years into University before I understood how to study for maximum results, and when and where I could do it best. Naturally, it’s different for everyone.

If you are not a morning person, avoid 8:30 AM starts. If you can’t concentrate at night, don’t take 3-hour night classes. The good thing about University is for the most part you can pick and choose your schedule.

Probably more important than when is how. How to deconstruct a course and figure out exactly what’s involved so that you can approach it in the most efficient way possible. Apply an 80/20 rule for further efficiency. Learning how you learn can be hugely beneficial. The best way isn’t to memorize every chapter – it takes far too long and you aren’t going to remember it all anyway.

#9: Be Involved with your faculty.

Many people avoid this like the plague, but it’s a good way to volunteer and get to know a lot of people. You don’t need to hold a position on your faculty’s council to get involved. Go out to the social nights, help out with any events, and be positive about your faculty. After switching from Computer Science to Commerce, it took me a couple years to become more involved, but I guarantee it pays off.

#10: Be independent: don’t rely on anyone else.

I think this one has been drilled into my head by my parents for as long as I remember. You will likely be doing a lot of team and group work throughout university, which is definitely important for real world development. However, take responsibility for your actions and your learning. Don’t try to free-ride your way through University on someone else’s shoulders and don’t let anyone else try to use you to free-ride either. It’ll only come back to hurt you.

I found the best way to avoid this is to find a group of people with which you work very well together on anything group related. People that you trust will take responsibility for their work and ultimately create a group where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You will naturally filter these people throughout your years of study anyway, but the sooner you find them, the easier things will be.

#11: Brand yourself: be proactive.

As soon as you know what you want to do with your life, start working toward that goal. Don’t let others label who you are – you need to be proactive, not reactive. When you meet someone new, don’t let them form their own opinions of you without you influencing them. Build a rapport with them and make sure you convey who you are to them. Attend related events to meet the right people in your industry, and make what you want to do a part of who you are. If you’re goal is to be a respected culinary artist, be the guy who brings that awesome dish to the events, etc. Be the one who subtly gives tips for hosting great parties, etc.

How to brand yourself effectively is a blog post on its own that will get some attention down the road, so I’ll leave it at this.

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If you take nothing but one thing from this post, remember to balance things. University should be a great learning experience, should yield a lot of personal development, and naturally, be a lot of fun.

I would love to hear your comments on these, as well as any other recommendations you might have.