8 Things to Do the Summer Before College
原文作者：Lynn F. Jacobs, Jeremy S. Hyman
August 21, 2008 04:00 PM ET | Lynn F. Jacobs, Jeremy S. Hyman | Permanent Link | Print
Off to college next fall? You probably have many things in mind to do before you go, whether it's buying new jeans or spruce-ups for your dorm room. But there are some major things to do that many college students don't even think of:
1. Master the academic calendar. Most colleges have their academic calendar online, and it's worth checking out when classes start and end and when finals start and end—along with the dates of those all-important vacations. And now's the time to make sure Mom and Dad don't schedule the big family reunion (or trip or wedding) smack in the middle of finals. In fact, don't plan for any extra activities the last month of the semester, when the workload really piles up.
Extra pointer: Now would be a really good time to familiarize yourself with calendar software for your PC or Mac. Keeping an electronic calendar is enormously helpful in remembering test dates, due dates for papers, appointments with professors—not to mention frat parties. Some of the best programs include Google and Yahoo Calendar, AirSet, 30 Boxes, and Contactizer (for Mac). Also check out your cellphone or PDA—you'll never miss a deadline when your schedule is in your pocket or purse.
2. Get to orientation—and fast. Most colleges hold orientation sessions during the summer (sometimes as early as June), and it behooves you to attend if at all possible. Orientation will help you avoid "disorientation" when you finally arrive, and you'll get a lot of bureaucratic formalities out of the way so you don't have to deal with them when classes start. At many colleges, orientation also includes registering for courses for the fall semester. If your school is one of these, make sure to get to the earliest session possible to avoid being "closed out" of the more desirable courses. Often there are slim pickings by the time that last orientation session rolls around.
3. Get a laptop. If you don't already have a computer, now's the time to get one to take with you to the big U. And to get it loaded up with all the software you will need at college—word processing, backup software, antivirus and antispyware software, as well as any specific programs you might need in the kinds of courses you're hoping to take (accounting, spreadsheets, Arabic or Chinese, or whatever). Note for artsy types: Many art-related fields require Mac platforms (on the other hand, it might not pay off to pretend to be artsy if you're going into a field that works entirely on PCs). And it's worth asking what particular software the school supports: Some colleges help you with Word but not WordPerfect; some with Adobe Creative Suites but not Quark Express.
Four-star tip: Don't buy from the campus computer store without considering all the alternatives. Sometimes colleges get bang-up educational discounts from major manufacturers, but sometimes better deals are available at big-box stores (Best Buy, Circuit City) or from online vendors (MacMall, Dell).
4. Think about what courses to take. It's always a good idea to peruse the college website to see what subjects might interest you. Pay special attention to not only what you liked and did well at in high school but also new things you might want to learn about (at UCLA, for example, there are 346 departments and programs). And for a glimpse at what's actually being taught in the fall—not just what's been taught in the whole history of the university—be sure to consult the "schedule of classes" (rather than the university "course catalog"). And be forewarned of the "major trap": Many schools try to shoehorn you into a major (rather than letting you remain "undeclared") right when you come in. Unless you're 100 percent positively, absolutely, I'd-swear-on-my-mother's-grave certain of what you want to concentrate in, stick to a broad variety of courses that actually interest you.
5. Get on top of the requirements. Don't show up at college totally clueless about what you have to take—either for the core (or general education) requirements or for particular majors you might have in the back of your mind. All this info is usually readily available—often in incredible detail and with checklists, flowcharts, and other details—at the college website. And while you're at it, you might have a look at what the college considers its standard first-year program—including those "first-year (or freshman) experience" courses that colleges have just started to develop.
6. Research available resources. Colleges are rich places with many, many support services to help students flourish. These might include the writing center (to help with paper writing); the learning center (to help you with analytic and study skills); the tutoring center (for when you're one step from the abyss); the center for students with disabilities; and the centers for nontraditional students, for returning students, for first-generation students, for international students, and for veterans. Whatever you need—or are—there's a place to go.
Five-star tip: Some colleges set up Web-based forums where incoming students can get to know one another before arriving. This is a very good thing to do—you arrive with friends already. You may also be able to get to know your roommate and coordinate who's bringing the stereo and who's going to sleep where. If there's no forum, the college may be able to give you your roommate's E-mail address (or name, which you may be able to use to find an E-mail address, perhaps on MySpace or Facebook).
7. Read a book about college success. Of course, we're quite fond of our book, the Professors' Guide to Getting Good Grades in College. Other good reads include Cal Newport's two books, How to Win at College and How to Become a Straight-A Student, and the Naked Roommate by Harlan Cohen.
And finally, a tip about what not to do the summer before college.
8. Don't preread the reading. Many incoming students think they can get a leg up by doing the reading in advance of the semester. This usually isn't too good an idea. Typically, professors don't assign all the book. Often the professor expects that the reading will be integrated with the lectures and discussion sections—you're supposed to read small chunks of the text in conjunction with what the prof or TA explains. But most important—if you do all the reading the summer before college, you'll be so burned out by the time you get to the semester that you won't have the strength to really go to college. Give it a rest.
這個秋季就要上大學(xué)了？在這之前，你的腦海中可能有很多打算，是否要買一條新的牛仔褲或者為寢室添加時髦的裝飾。但是有很多主要的事情是這些大學(xué)生們未曾考慮過的：
1.了解院校的校歷。大多數(shù)院校都在網(wǎng)上發(fā)布了校歷，確定課程和期末考試分別從什么時候開始和結(jié)束——連同重要的假期，這些是很有意義的。同時也是確保父母不會將重大的家庭聚會（或者遠足、婚禮）安排在期末考試時間當(dāng)中。實際上，不要在學(xué)期即將結(jié)束的后一個月里做任何的而外活動的打算，那時候的工作是堆積如山的。
額外提示：現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該是時候讓你自己熟悉你的電腦中的日歷軟件了。保存電子日歷對你是很有幫助的，它可以幫你記住考試日期、預(yù)定筆試時間、與教授的會面，更不用說朋友的聚會時間了。有些比較好的日歷軟件包括Google和Yahoo Calendar，AirSet,30 Boxes，還有Contactizer(用于蘋果電腦)。同樣，檢查你的手機或者PDA，你絕不會錯過就在你的口袋或者錢包里的后期限。
2.盡快做好自我定位。大多數(shù)大學(xué)都會在夏天的時候舉行定位會議（有時候會早到6份舉行），并且規(guī)定你有盡可能參加的義務(wù)。定位可以幫助你避免你終到校后的“迷失方向”，同時還可以特殊方式辦理一些官方手續(xù)，這樣你就不用在課程開始的時候處理了。對于很多大學(xué)來說，定位還包括秋季學(xué)期的課程注冊。如果你的學(xué)校就是這樣的學(xué)校中的一員，確保盡量參加早的一屆會議以避免更想選擇的課程被處理掉。通常在后會議舉行之前只有一些少量的選擇。
3.準(zhǔn)備一臺筆記本電腦。如果你還沒有一臺筆記本電腦，現(xiàn)在是時候買一臺供你進入大學(xué)使用了。同時還要下載你在學(xué)?？赡苡玫降乃熊浖淖痔幚碥浖?、備份軟件、反病毒和反間諜軟件，另外還有可能需要裝備不同的專業(yè)課程涉及到的專門軟件（會計、電子表格、阿拉伯文或中文或者別的）。專為藝術(shù)類學(xué)生提醒：很多涉及到藝術(shù)的領(lǐng)域都需要蘋果的平臺（從另一方面來說，如果你進入一個需要完全在電腦上工作的領(lǐng)域，你將不可能假扮成一個藝術(shù)生）。另外，咨詢一下學(xué)校支持的專門軟件是很有必要的：一些學(xué)?？赡軙С諻ORD但不會同時支持WordPerfect；而一些可能有Adobe Creative Suites，但是沒有Quark Express。
四星建議：千萬不要不多加考慮就從校園里的電腦銷售點夠買電腦，有時候?qū)W校會從主要的制造商手中收取高額的教育回扣，但是有時候在大型商店（例如Best Buy,Circuit City）或者從網(wǎng)上供應(yīng)商（像MacMall,Dell）那里購買是可以的。
4.考慮選擇的課程。通過學(xué)校網(wǎng)站尋找引起你興趣的課程是個不錯的辦法。注意力不要僅僅放在你喜歡或者高中時代做的不錯的課程上，同樣也要關(guān)注你可能要學(xué)習(xí)的新的事物（比方說在加州大學(xué)洛杉磯分校，就有346個專業(yè)）。另外大致瀏覽一下這個秋季將要教授的東西——而不只是這個學(xué)校的歷已經(jīng)教過的東西——確認校歷（而不是學(xué)校的課程目錄）。同時警惕“課程陷阱”：就在你剛進入學(xué)校的時候，學(xué)校大多情況下是傾向于幫你進入專業(yè)（而不是讓你保持在未知狀態(tài)）。除非你有絕對的把握，對天發(fā)誓你已經(jīng)明確你想要的東西，那么就堅持那些確實能引起你興趣的豐富的課程中去吧。
5.熟練掌握要求。在學(xué)校里不要對你必須了解的東西一無所知——不管是核心（或者是公共課程）或者是專業(yè)課程要求你必須銘記于心。所有這些信息通常都是容易提供的——通常附帶難以想象的細節(jié)要求和檢查表、流程圖以及其他的一些細節(jié)——就在學(xué)校網(wǎng)站上。當(dāng)年瀏覽的時候，你需要留意學(xué)校對第一學(xué)年的考慮的剛剛開設(shè)發(fā)展的課程是什么——包括“第一年（新人）經(jīng)歷”。
6.搜索充足的資源。大學(xué)是一個能為大學(xué)生的蓬勃發(fā)展提供很多幫助的地方。這可能包括寫作中心（幫助寫作論文）；學(xué)習(xí)中心（幫助你提高分析和學(xué)習(xí)技能）；家教中心（當(dāng)你離深淵只有一步之遙時）;專門針對殘疾學(xué)生的幫助中心；還有專門針對非傳統(tǒng)的學(xué)生的幫助中心，還有幫助返校學(xué)生的，第一年入校的學(xué)生的，國際學(xué)生還有老生們。不論你需要什么或者是什么樣的學(xué)生，總有適合你的地方。
五星提示：一些學(xué)校建立了網(wǎng)上論壇，在那里，即將入校的學(xué)生呢個可以在到校之前就相互了了解。這是非常好的——在你去之前就已經(jīng)在那里有了朋友。你還有可能知道你的室友并且可以協(xié)調(diào)誰將帶去立體聲或者誰睡在哪里。如果沒有這樣的論壇，學(xué)?？赡軙o你你的室友的郵件地址（或者名字，借此可以幫助你找到郵件地址的，可能通過MySpace或者Facebook）
7.閱讀一些關(guān)于大學(xué)里的成功之道的書籍。當(dāng)然，我們非常喜歡我們的書籍，“教授助你得高分”。還有別的讀物包括Cal Newport的兩本書，“任何贏在大學(xué)”和“如何成為一個A等生”，還有Harlan Cohen的“*室友”。
后，是一些關(guān)于入校前的暑假不宜做的事情的提示。
8.不要提前閱讀。很多即將入校的學(xué)生認為通過提前閱讀他們會有更加有優(yōu)勢。這事實上不是什么好主意。通常，教授不會布置所有的書去讀，他們更加希望閱讀能與演講和討論部分保持一定的完整性——你好閱讀一小部分與你的教授或者老師講解的相關(guān)部分的文章。但是，重要的是——如果你在這個暑假就提前閱讀了所有的讀物，你會消耗掉你這個假期的所有時間，以至于你沒有精力真正融入大學(xué)。所以，還是休息一下吧。
原文作者：Lynn F. Jacobs, Jeremy S. Hyman
August 21, 2008 04:00 PM ET | Lynn F. Jacobs, Jeremy S. Hyman | Permanent Link | Print
Off to college next fall? You probably have many things in mind to do before you go, whether it's buying new jeans or spruce-ups for your dorm room. But there are some major things to do that many college students don't even think of:
1. Master the academic calendar. Most colleges have their academic calendar online, and it's worth checking out when classes start and end and when finals start and end—along with the dates of those all-important vacations. And now's the time to make sure Mom and Dad don't schedule the big family reunion (or trip or wedding) smack in the middle of finals. In fact, don't plan for any extra activities the last month of the semester, when the workload really piles up.
Extra pointer: Now would be a really good time to familiarize yourself with calendar software for your PC or Mac. Keeping an electronic calendar is enormously helpful in remembering test dates, due dates for papers, appointments with professors—not to mention frat parties. Some of the best programs include Google and Yahoo Calendar, AirSet, 30 Boxes, and Contactizer (for Mac). Also check out your cellphone or PDA—you'll never miss a deadline when your schedule is in your pocket or purse.
2. Get to orientation—and fast. Most colleges hold orientation sessions during the summer (sometimes as early as June), and it behooves you to attend if at all possible. Orientation will help you avoid "disorientation" when you finally arrive, and you'll get a lot of bureaucratic formalities out of the way so you don't have to deal with them when classes start. At many colleges, orientation also includes registering for courses for the fall semester. If your school is one of these, make sure to get to the earliest session possible to avoid being "closed out" of the more desirable courses. Often there are slim pickings by the time that last orientation session rolls around.
3. Get a laptop. If you don't already have a computer, now's the time to get one to take with you to the big U. And to get it loaded up with all the software you will need at college—word processing, backup software, antivirus and antispyware software, as well as any specific programs you might need in the kinds of courses you're hoping to take (accounting, spreadsheets, Arabic or Chinese, or whatever). Note for artsy types: Many art-related fields require Mac platforms (on the other hand, it might not pay off to pretend to be artsy if you're going into a field that works entirely on PCs). And it's worth asking what particular software the school supports: Some colleges help you with Word but not WordPerfect; some with Adobe Creative Suites but not Quark Express.
Four-star tip: Don't buy from the campus computer store without considering all the alternatives. Sometimes colleges get bang-up educational discounts from major manufacturers, but sometimes better deals are available at big-box stores (Best Buy, Circuit City) or from online vendors (MacMall, Dell).
4. Think about what courses to take. It's always a good idea to peruse the college website to see what subjects might interest you. Pay special attention to not only what you liked and did well at in high school but also new things you might want to learn about (at UCLA, for example, there are 346 departments and programs). And for a glimpse at what's actually being taught in the fall—not just what's been taught in the whole history of the university—be sure to consult the "schedule of classes" (rather than the university "course catalog"). And be forewarned of the "major trap": Many schools try to shoehorn you into a major (rather than letting you remain "undeclared") right when you come in. Unless you're 100 percent positively, absolutely, I'd-swear-on-my-mother's-grave certain of what you want to concentrate in, stick to a broad variety of courses that actually interest you.
5. Get on top of the requirements. Don't show up at college totally clueless about what you have to take—either for the core (or general education) requirements or for particular majors you might have in the back of your mind. All this info is usually readily available—often in incredible detail and with checklists, flowcharts, and other details—at the college website. And while you're at it, you might have a look at what the college considers its standard first-year program—including those "first-year (or freshman) experience" courses that colleges have just started to develop.
6. Research available resources. Colleges are rich places with many, many support services to help students flourish. These might include the writing center (to help with paper writing); the learning center (to help you with analytic and study skills); the tutoring center (for when you're one step from the abyss); the center for students with disabilities; and the centers for nontraditional students, for returning students, for first-generation students, for international students, and for veterans. Whatever you need—or are—there's a place to go.
Five-star tip: Some colleges set up Web-based forums where incoming students can get to know one another before arriving. This is a very good thing to do—you arrive with friends already. You may also be able to get to know your roommate and coordinate who's bringing the stereo and who's going to sleep where. If there's no forum, the college may be able to give you your roommate's E-mail address (or name, which you may be able to use to find an E-mail address, perhaps on MySpace or Facebook).
7. Read a book about college success. Of course, we're quite fond of our book, the Professors' Guide to Getting Good Grades in College. Other good reads include Cal Newport's two books, How to Win at College and How to Become a Straight-A Student, and the Naked Roommate by Harlan Cohen.
And finally, a tip about what not to do the summer before college.
8. Don't preread the reading. Many incoming students think they can get a leg up by doing the reading in advance of the semester. This usually isn't too good an idea. Typically, professors don't assign all the book. Often the professor expects that the reading will be integrated with the lectures and discussion sections—you're supposed to read small chunks of the text in conjunction with what the prof or TA explains. But most important—if you do all the reading the summer before college, you'll be so burned out by the time you get to the semester that you won't have the strength to really go to college. Give it a rest.
這個秋季就要上大學(xué)了？在這之前，你的腦海中可能有很多打算，是否要買一條新的牛仔褲或者為寢室添加時髦的裝飾。但是有很多主要的事情是這些大學(xué)生們未曾考慮過的：
1.了解院校的校歷。大多數(shù)院校都在網(wǎng)上發(fā)布了校歷，確定課程和期末考試分別從什么時候開始和結(jié)束——連同重要的假期，這些是很有意義的。同時也是確保父母不會將重大的家庭聚會（或者遠足、婚禮）安排在期末考試時間當(dāng)中。實際上，不要在學(xué)期即將結(jié)束的后一個月里做任何的而外活動的打算，那時候的工作是堆積如山的。
額外提示：現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該是時候讓你自己熟悉你的電腦中的日歷軟件了。保存電子日歷對你是很有幫助的，它可以幫你記住考試日期、預(yù)定筆試時間、與教授的會面，更不用說朋友的聚會時間了。有些比較好的日歷軟件包括Google和Yahoo Calendar，AirSet,30 Boxes，還有Contactizer(用于蘋果電腦)。同樣，檢查你的手機或者PDA，你絕不會錯過就在你的口袋或者錢包里的后期限。
2.盡快做好自我定位。大多數(shù)大學(xué)都會在夏天的時候舉行定位會議（有時候會早到6份舉行），并且規(guī)定你有盡可能參加的義務(wù)。定位可以幫助你避免你終到校后的“迷失方向”，同時還可以特殊方式辦理一些官方手續(xù)，這樣你就不用在課程開始的時候處理了。對于很多大學(xué)來說，定位還包括秋季學(xué)期的課程注冊。如果你的學(xué)校就是這樣的學(xué)校中的一員，確保盡量參加早的一屆會議以避免更想選擇的課程被處理掉。通常在后會議舉行之前只有一些少量的選擇。
3.準(zhǔn)備一臺筆記本電腦。如果你還沒有一臺筆記本電腦，現(xiàn)在是時候買一臺供你進入大學(xué)使用了。同時還要下載你在學(xué)?？赡苡玫降乃熊浖淖痔幚碥浖?、備份軟件、反病毒和反間諜軟件，另外還有可能需要裝備不同的專業(yè)課程涉及到的專門軟件（會計、電子表格、阿拉伯文或中文或者別的）。專為藝術(shù)類學(xué)生提醒：很多涉及到藝術(shù)的領(lǐng)域都需要蘋果的平臺（從另一方面來說，如果你進入一個需要完全在電腦上工作的領(lǐng)域，你將不可能假扮成一個藝術(shù)生）。另外，咨詢一下學(xué)校支持的專門軟件是很有必要的：一些學(xué)?？赡軙С諻ORD但不會同時支持WordPerfect；而一些可能有Adobe Creative Suites，但是沒有Quark Express。
四星建議：千萬不要不多加考慮就從校園里的電腦銷售點夠買電腦，有時候?qū)W校會從主要的制造商手中收取高額的教育回扣，但是有時候在大型商店（例如Best Buy,Circuit City）或者從網(wǎng)上供應(yīng)商（像MacMall,Dell）那里購買是可以的。
4.考慮選擇的課程。通過學(xué)校網(wǎng)站尋找引起你興趣的課程是個不錯的辦法。注意力不要僅僅放在你喜歡或者高中時代做的不錯的課程上，同樣也要關(guān)注你可能要學(xué)習(xí)的新的事物（比方說在加州大學(xué)洛杉磯分校，就有346個專業(yè)）。另外大致瀏覽一下這個秋季將要教授的東西——而不只是這個學(xué)校的歷已經(jīng)教過的東西——確認校歷（而不是學(xué)校的課程目錄）。同時警惕“課程陷阱”：就在你剛進入學(xué)校的時候，學(xué)校大多情況下是傾向于幫你進入專業(yè)（而不是讓你保持在未知狀態(tài)）。除非你有絕對的把握，對天發(fā)誓你已經(jīng)明確你想要的東西，那么就堅持那些確實能引起你興趣的豐富的課程中去吧。
5.熟練掌握要求。在學(xué)校里不要對你必須了解的東西一無所知——不管是核心（或者是公共課程）或者是專業(yè)課程要求你必須銘記于心。所有這些信息通常都是容易提供的——通常附帶難以想象的細節(jié)要求和檢查表、流程圖以及其他的一些細節(jié)——就在學(xué)校網(wǎng)站上。當(dāng)年瀏覽的時候，你需要留意學(xué)校對第一學(xué)年的考慮的剛剛開設(shè)發(fā)展的課程是什么——包括“第一年（新人）經(jīng)歷”。
6.搜索充足的資源。大學(xué)是一個能為大學(xué)生的蓬勃發(fā)展提供很多幫助的地方。這可能包括寫作中心（幫助寫作論文）；學(xué)習(xí)中心（幫助你提高分析和學(xué)習(xí)技能）；家教中心（當(dāng)你離深淵只有一步之遙時）;專門針對殘疾學(xué)生的幫助中心；還有專門針對非傳統(tǒng)的學(xué)生的幫助中心，還有幫助返校學(xué)生的，第一年入校的學(xué)生的，國際學(xué)生還有老生們。不論你需要什么或者是什么樣的學(xué)生，總有適合你的地方。
五星提示：一些學(xué)校建立了網(wǎng)上論壇，在那里，即將入校的學(xué)生呢個可以在到校之前就相互了了解。這是非常好的——在你去之前就已經(jīng)在那里有了朋友。你還有可能知道你的室友并且可以協(xié)調(diào)誰將帶去立體聲或者誰睡在哪里。如果沒有這樣的論壇，學(xué)?？赡軙o你你的室友的郵件地址（或者名字，借此可以幫助你找到郵件地址的，可能通過MySpace或者Facebook）
7.閱讀一些關(guān)于大學(xué)里的成功之道的書籍。當(dāng)然，我們非常喜歡我們的書籍，“教授助你得高分”。還有別的讀物包括Cal Newport的兩本書，“任何贏在大學(xué)”和“如何成為一個A等生”，還有Harlan Cohen的“*室友”。
后，是一些關(guān)于入校前的暑假不宜做的事情的提示。
8.不要提前閱讀。很多即將入校的學(xué)生認為通過提前閱讀他們會有更加有優(yōu)勢。這事實上不是什么好主意。通常，教授不會布置所有的書去讀，他們更加希望閱讀能與演講和討論部分保持一定的完整性——你好閱讀一小部分與你的教授或者老師講解的相關(guān)部分的文章。但是，重要的是——如果你在這個暑假就提前閱讀了所有的讀物，你會消耗掉你這個假期的所有時間，以至于你沒有精力真正融入大學(xué)。所以，還是休息一下吧。