This is for every student and past student, from pre-nursing to those who have graduated. What are things that you learned along the way, even if your just now getting done with your first semester? What are things you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
I'm was a pre-nursing student, and I'm now going into my first semester as a full-fledged nursing student in just a few weeks. Things I've learned so far, that I wish I'd known in the beginning:
Ink-pens have legs! And they're fast little boogers too. The minute you turn your back, they're gone. And there's typically not one to be found, especially on the day of a test. As soon as the teacher hands you the test and says, "you may begin..." you go to grab your pen and poof, it's gone. What luck.
The Financial Aid nightmare. Every student goes thru it, even the seniors. If you are receiving financial aid, DO NOT WAIT until the week of the starting semester to go visit financial aid after filling out your FAFSA. Over 200 students were crammed into the waiting room, it was a 7 HOUR WAIT. As soon as you fill out your FAFSA for the upcoming semesters, go visit the financial aid office! Doing it months ahead of time beats doing it days ahead of time. For the 2012-2013 semester, I'm going to visit the financial aid office in just a couple months, as soon as I get my W-2 and do my taxes. It'll be much easier.
Save yourself! Get a rolling backpack. I spent months lugging an insanely heavy backpack up and down stairs, going from class to class. I was stubborn because I had invested a good bit of money in such a nice new backpack, and I didn't want to invest in another one in the same semester. BUT, for this upcoming semester, I bought a new backpack... ON WHEELS. O-M-G. It's heaven. I'll never go back to a backpack without wheels. :heartbeat
I also learned a lot about people. I learned that they can be liars, gossipers, haters, biggots, and just plain full of hatred... but they'll smile to your face. I learned to do my best to weed out the good from the bad, to not include myself in the gossip, and to separate myself from the negative. Trust me, the drama is not worth it. Focus on your studies, surround yourself with positive people, and move on.
So, what have you learned so far?