The New York Times had a great article about getting the most out of college. I’m going to recommend it to all of my students and advise you to read it too.

The article makes the following recommendations to students:

1. You’ll get the most out of college if you don’t just see it as a path to a degree.
2. Be proactive: create a mentor relationship with a few professors. Go to office hours.
3. Get to know different people from different backgrounds.
4. Socialize in person and limit your use of social media.
5. Look after yourself (eat well, don’t drink too much, sleep enough, exercise).
6. Try out different fields of study, e.g., science for an art major, the humanities for a CS major.
7. Develop your communication skills: writing, speaking, story telling.
8. Don’t follow the trodden trail or take only easy courses: take intellectual risks and learn how to rebound from failure.