Five Things I Wish I had known as a Freshman at UNLV
1. Don't give your contact information out to everyone at the involvement fair.
The involvement fair is an event when all of the student organizations on campus set up booths in the SU and recruit for their clubs. Save yourself a lot of time by only signing up to receive more information from the top 5 to 10 clubs you might be interested in joining. If you’re like me you signed up for every single club at the involvement fair and you will be sifting through hundreds of unwanted emails for the rest of the year.
2. College is a self-paced experience.
UNLV is a part of the 15 to Finish initiative, so all students are encouraged to take at least 15 credits a semester in order to graduate within four years. It is up to the students to consider these guidelines and chooses the amount of credits that they believe they can handle. Some people may be able to handle 17 credits a semester, while others can only handle six. Either way, it’s okay! College is a personal journey so don’t feel like you have to base your progress on what other people are doing.
3. Don't sit in the back row
Although UNLV typically has small class sizes, you are more than likely going to have at least one class in a lecture hall. A lot of people gravitate towards the back of the hall, but sitting in front makes it harder for you to start scrolling through Instagram, fall asleep, or start binge watching a show during a particularly dry portion of the lecture.
4. Take advantage of office hours
In addition to sitting closer to front in class, you should also try to go your professors’ office hours if you can. Contrary to popular belief, most professors actually want to see their students succeed but many of these student don’t take advantage of all of the resources available to them. Office hours are the perfect time to get individualized help on difficult portions of the lecture or even just to get to know your professor a little better. I have never heard anyone say that they regret going to a professor’s office hours, so what do you have to lose?
5. Meet with your adviser throughout the semester
Stay on top of your academic progress by meeting with your advisor throughout the semester. There is usually a mad rush in the advising office towards the beginning and end of every semester, so going during the middle of the semester is one way to stay on top of your schedule while not being swept up in the end of semester mania. It's also a good idea to meet with your advisor so that you can build a relationship, which will come in handy if you ever need a reference in the future.
Destini Wellington Orientation Leader
Hometown: London, England
Best Place to Study: 5th floor Lied Library
Major: Pre-Nursing