What are some of the most important things that should be known going into college?

Take a deep breath and relax. Adjusting to college is a process.

First, understand that it is a time to leave the worst of your high school self behind, and tap into the very best of yourself with this new start. Everyone is new to college, be your best, most authentic self.

Make it your business to find everything. The library. The study support available. The best tacos. The best time to take an exercise class. Do all the corny stuff - make t-shirts, do the competitions, cheer the teams - some of it will stick and some you will find you can do without. But, try it all.

Find your tribe. Who are the people that make you comfortable? It could be a cultural. religious, or identity-based affinity group, or it could be common activities - like actors, or swimmers, or dancers. Find those people, you want to know where to go for the "comfort" feeling. (And, it's not just friends your looking to make, you're also looking to find conversation that feels familiar, even if you're not "best friends.")

Find friends in many different places on campus.

Pay attention to the "adults" around you - try to connect with one or two - it could be a professor, an advisor, or someone else on campus who understands how things work and can guide you when you hop off the path a bit. In high school, we called them "trusted adults." In college, we have lots of different names for them - but find them!

Good luck!

Great question. Here's my experience:

1) It's hard! Unless you're a "Straight A" student already and even then it will be challenging sometimes. I had to be far more focused on my studies than I thought was necessary, so always challenge yourself about "School first... The stuff I want to do later."

2) There's a lot of temptations to distract you - Enjoy learning life on your own, but get a grip, too! Too much partying or hanging out with the "I'd rather not be at school at all" crowd brings predictable results. If you can't avoid them when necessary, then leave your spot, and head for the library or somewhere else with more sanity and focus.

3) Living with others is HARD! They leave stuff in your way, they smoke and you don't, they may bring dope or booze into the shared living space and you don't like that, they keep exactly reverse hours to you, etc. etc. etc. Consider it "life training", but learn to communicate your likes and dislikes clearly in the process, too. My first roommate was stellar, but my second year roommate was a chain-smoking Marxist who was as interested in demonstrations as college, and my third roommate was a musician who only wanted to play piano for others all night long and sleep all day (missing his classes in the process). Somehow I survived all these experiences by staying flexible, true to myself, and "going somewhere else" for a while when necessary. Nevertheless, I value those experiences because it gave me a bigger view of life, and I learned to get along with a diversity of others, too. Big tip: Be a positive person and stay that way :-)

Finally, while this all sounds intimidating, college is a heckuva lot of fun, too! Lots of student clubs, great music, theater, sports, events, on campus activites, etc. So while I mentioned the more challenging issues above, the benefits will far outweigh the issues :-) Have fun, make friends, and prosper!