LAS Insider blog for prospective students

The main reason I chose Illinois was to experience living in a new place.

During my freshman year, my advisor encouraged me to explore different careers early on. This gives you time to see what you might like before having to commit to a full-time career after graduating.

While everyone's college experience will be different, there are a few things that every freshman has to complete during their first year of school. Here are my top 12 suggestions to make the most of freshman year:

The purpose of the workshop is to start a conversation between the writer and the consultant.

If I could pick out five pieces of advice to bestow on my little sister to improve her college experience, here's what I would say.

When most students think about studying abroad, they picture themselves sightseeing famous historical landmarks and sampling foreign cuisines. For the U of I students in Global Studies 298, their study abroad was more than a vacation—it was a chance for the students to immerse themselves into the Nicaraguan lifestyle. The students spent two and a half weeks of their winter break working with the community of Sabana Grande, Nicaragua, promoting and producing renewable energy and sustainable practices.

One of the most important lessons I have learned in the past two years is communication. Keeping in contact with your classmates, professors, and most importantly, advisers, is crucial to succeeding here on campus.

Hello future Illini! Although the semester flew by, finals week is always long. Fortunately, I'm pretty much prepared for all of my finals, since I spend so much time in office hours with my professors and teaching assistants (TAs). Office hours, in my opinion, is undoubtedly the best way to be successful in a class.

One thing that is nearly inevitable here at Illinois is taking a math class. Numerous majors in LAS require what's called "The Calculus Series," in which students are required to take Calculus I, II, and III, but they're not as difficult or as daunting as they may seem. It's all about taking really good notes. Here's a little insight on how a master (that's me) note-taker does it:

One of the easiest ways to make friends is getting involved in student organizations around campus. Finding a group that interests you is so easy, since there are more than 1,100 of them! During Quad Day my freshman year, LAS Council was a group that really stuck out to me. I was very involved in my student council in high school, so I figured that LAS Council would be a great next step