My Best Advice on Starting Your College Career

How to make college a great 4–6 years of your life

Katie Dutch — used with permission

Higher education is in full effect as freshman college students start pinning their Animal House, Pulp Fiction, and Pink Floyd posters to dorm room walls. I assume they’re still doing that. I think those posters are legally required in order to claim being a college student.

I lived in the most legendary of party school towns, Isla Vista, while attending UC Santa Barbara, and survived to tell the tale! Despite this asshole and that jerkoff, it’s a great community.

I didn’t get date raped, or an STD, or fall off the cliffs on Del Playa to my death. I did come through with a double major Bachelors Degree, and these pearl necklaces of wisdom.

The author with her dad and brother the day she moved to college. Please note the purple pager in my pocket. — authors pic

Go to class

I know. Weird. You actually have to go to class if you want to succeed in college. You’d be surprised how many people are surprised by this. I landed myself on academic probation my first quarter at UCSB for not attending class regularly.

That’s probably because I transferred from Ventura Community College where there were two 16 week…