FakeNewsSux
University of Wisconsin, Class of '81
BA-International Relations/Economics

Jordan,
I don't know you but I've enjoyed getting to know your dad online. If you are half as sharp as the old man you should have no problem at RPI. I'm not sure if your school is still known as RPI but that's how I came to know it. My sophomore year at UW our hockey team team began playing RPI regularly in our non conference schedule and they became quite a formidable opponent over the years. I would recommend season tickets, usually cheap for students and a good tension release.

Not sure what your major might be but it looks like it would be in the sciences or engineering. As a liberal arts major, it sounds like you'll need to be a bit more diligent in the classroom than I was. You probably wont be able to fill a Blue Book with 12 pages of bullshit on a final exam like I could and still slide by! If you stay disciplined and knock out the daily work in the library before you get back to the dorm, you'll stay ahead of the game.

Half of what you learn in school is about yourself. How you handle deadlines, pressure, time management, prioritizing, etc. is all part of the game. Professors will deliberately pile more work on you than you can possibly complete just to see how you handle it. Don't take it personally, everyone is treated equally, like shit. Don't be afraid to work with others and ask for help.

I envy the resources you have available. The only computing I did for my Econ classes was done on a mainframe in the computer science building with punch cards. I had a portable Smith Corona typewriter to type my 25-40 page term papers on with nothing but Correct Type to fix my mistakes. No word processor to move paragraphs around or do spell check! Not to mention the internet for research.

Enjoy your time in school. There will be a lot of bullshit to deal with both scholastically and personally but it will be the greatest time of your life. The friendships you will forge will remain with you throughout your life, just ask Taco Junkie. Good luck and have fun!