4 Things NOT to Do Before Coming to Penn State

1. Buying Textbooks

Trust me when I say, wait to buy your textbooks. I have personal experience with this matter. I was anxious and wanted to buy all my textbooks right away thinking the bookstore would run out, and I ended up paying a lot of money. Had I waited, I would have found out that some of my textbooks weren't actually needed for the class. Or that the textbook listed wasn't even the correct book for the course. So there was about $200 that I wasted on textbooks that I never used, and unfortunately, they are worth nothing now. So please wait and go to your lectures first and see what your professors have to say about textbooks. Or at the very least ask upperclassmen who have taken the classes to tell you their opinion on needing the textbook.

2. Packing Everything and Anything

Many of us are cursed with over packing, including myself. Coming into college my freshmen year I over packed too much. I brought too many clothes, and I ended up not wearing half of them. This doesn't work out too well when you have limited storage space in your dorm room. When packing, think if you haven't worn certain articles of clothing recently what are the chances you will actually wear them in college. Chances are you still probably won't wear it. When packing, make sure you bring things that you will actually use and aren't just going to take up space. Just think, if you don't over pack, it will make it much easier to move in. No one likes to make multiple trips up and down many flights of stairs. 

3. Coming to College with a Preconceived Plan

I came into college with a vision in my mind about how my college career would look. And as I sit here writing this blog post my college career hasn't been anything like that image I had in my mind when I moved in. The best things that have happened in my college career have been the ones I didn't even think existed. That's the beauty of college. There are so many opportunities you will come across and you should take every opportunity that comes your way. I would hate to see anyone sitting at graduation thinking about the 'what ifs' in regards to their college career. So come to Penn State with an open mind and be ready to experience the best four years of your life.

4. Not Attending WEPO

If you are reading this right now, go sign up for WEPO right now. I promise you WEPO will be the best decision you make. At WEPO you can make friendships with the other WEPOteers and mentors that will last a lifetime. Some of my closest friends are those who I met at WEPO. You will also get knowledge that those who don't participate won't. For instance, after WEPO you will already have experience with interacting with business professionals from the career dinner. You will also learn how to use common software that all Penn Staters use. Lastly, you will become more oriented with the campus and already have a few days under your belt. Plus WEPO is a ton of fun!

Hope to see all of you this August at WEPO!

Emily Pringle is a junior majoring in Industrial Engineering, and she is a Mentor for WEPO '14!