Refund checks, Schenley food in your future

Let’s face it freshmen: Pitt is truly the cocoon stage on your way to becoming a butterfly in… Let’s face it freshmen: Pitt is truly the cocoon stage on your way to becoming a butterfly in the real world. Although that place — the real world — is one you rarely connect with the faulty decisions you will soon make, much of what you do now has the ability to impact your future.

Because of this, I have drafted a brief guide for preventive strategy in coping with the woes of your college career. Touching on scheduling, time management and maintaining your finances, this guide will work as a buffer system for the occasional bumps along the road to graduation.

Often in exchanging pleasantries, you will find that your recently acquired college status is defined by what you are majoring in. So decide away. Choose biochemistry if it’s your heart’s desire.

But realize that the important factor is not what you are majoring in, but to what extent you actually pursue your supposed major in the classes you take. The strategy with this is fairly simple. For every prerequisite you take, make sure it coincides with a general education requirement. Or in other words, make sure the classes that are mandatory for graduation are also classes that are related to your major.

If your classes serve more than one purpose, even if you eventually change your mind about your major you won’t be too far behind.

Next comes the impossibility referred to as time management. This strategy is also fairly basic. First, know and accept that procrastination is inevitable. After a social life, some campus involvement and the inevitable hangovers, you will feel that your energy is spent. There just won’t be enough time in your day to do everything required on every syllabus.

A few of your classes will be on the same level in terms of how much work and effort you have to supply. Others will be slightly more advanced. So pace yourself and know your strengths. If you’re not the best writer, then you might want to tackle that 10-page paper — yes that is a two-digit number — early.

Every semester, take a class that you are genuinely interested in. While the work may be demanding, you should enjoy it. For the days that you don’t feel like being a student, indulge in that one class so that even if you are procrastinating, you are still being productive.

Finally, you need to manage your finances and look into job opportunities. I know you’ve heard rumors about being broke in college. To a certain extent, they are only half-truths. Not many college students are stationed next to Forbes Avenue’s local bums. If you don’t have a side hustle that’s generating some revenue or your parents aren’t being very generous, you will be likely to live from meal block to meal block.

So, here’s the plan: Embrace the fact that you are at a stage that grants you some independence without all the responsibility of mortgages, utilities and the like. You are reasonably young and any episode of “Cribs” shows what happens when young people get their hands on a few bucks.

It’s inevitable that your first refund check will be a blur when second semester hits, so start looking for a job during your first semester. An average job in Pittsburgh pays six to seven dollars an hour, so be sure to get that paycheck directly deposited into your savings account. Every time you swipe your check card, you’ll have a second to think about the measly earnings you’ve slaved over.

Initially, your money will cover entrances to parties and clubs, keep you smelling nice and dressing well and afford you the occasional meal outside of Schenley Cafe. After paid parties and clubs die down, you’ll have a little extra to start stashing. It’s never too early to maintain a savings account. Remember that no dollar amount is too small to deposit.

In closing, never forget that this is the best time of your life and that your first and last years are pivotal. Never lose sight of the fact that you are human and bound to make mistakes. Fall as many times as you need to, just make sure that on the way down, there’s a ledge you can cling to and pull yourself back up.

E-mail Rose at sba1@pitt.edu.