Vol. CI | Fall | Issue II
Hey! We’re two seniors with several years of wisdom (3 years of lots of mistakes, but also some wins!), and we’re here to counsel the masses. But for real, we’re here to help you with your college experiences! Take our advice carefully, as we might not have the full context of your situation, and please don’t hold us responsible for any bad decisions (but tell us about them; we love entertainment).
Question #1
I’m a commuter and I feel like I can’t make friends because everyone already has friends 🙁 – Is it too late?
No!!! Being a commuter can suck. The traffic and the inability to stay late are all annoying barriers. Think about it this way: if you’re leaving during peak traffic time, you’ll probably get home at the same time as if you had stayed on campus for an extra hour.
We strongly recommend joining a club! We have so many of them on campus, so don’t be afraid to explore the ones that interest you. Many have office spaces that are honestly mini commuter social lounges. It’s way better to spend your breaks between classes there versus in random corners of CKB (speaking from experience here). We know it can be intimidating to just walk into a club, but if you go to a general body meeting, you’ll be among so many other people that it’ll feel less awkward. Clubs are a great way to find people with similar interests as you, and they are typically very welcoming environments, especially since every club is usually begging for more members.
Also, don’t be afraid to talk to people in class! Those random groups you sit with can start as study groups and turn into real friend groups.
A trip to Intrinsic (the cutest café nearby with the best beverages) with strangers can surprisingly do wonders. Bubble tea and board games — those are all you need for a budding friendship.
Question #2
My roommate got a new boyfriend and he’s always over in our room. We live in a double room and he snores! I don’t want to move, so how do I deal with this in an unproblematic way?
You know what they say — never let a man get between you and your sleep. But really though, college is hard enough without losing sleep.
We suggest talking to your roommate about it ASAP. I know that’s an awkward conversation, but this situation is already awkward! Being in ‘love’ or whatever can really make you lose your self-awareness, so we’re sure that an honest chat will probably help here.
If you’re not comfortable with the boyfriend being there, that should be respected, considering how small those dorm rooms are. If the issue is more about the snoring, maybe get him those anti-snore nose strips as a little present.
Hopefully, you all can work this out, but if nothing changes, don’t be afraid to get your resident assistant (RA) involved. They’ll probably be entertained, and maybe they can help you transition into a better room situation, if needed. We know you don’t want to move, but you deserve to be happy and comfortable in your space! Good luck!
Question #3
I know it’s early in the semester, but I’m thinking of dropping out. Please convince me to stay.
Whoa! Although you provided us no context on why you’re thinking of dropping out, we know that you know that it might be a little too early to be making such big decisions.
If you hate what you’re learning so far, we can understand that. Not everyone picks the perfect major on the first try, and we’ve had friends who’ve changed their majors two or three times. If you think this might be you, we cannot stress how important it is to start your research now on what major you’d like to switch into. NJIT understands this and hosts a Major/Minor fair in October, so be on the lookout.
Now, if you actually love your major or switching isn’t an option for you (read: your parents are making you do it), we can try to help you make the most of it! The biggest piece of advice we can offer you now is to make friends! Talk to the people in your classes and try to make school less about academics and more about the fun stuff, which will make you happier.
We’re basically telling you to distract yourself from the pain in a healthy way. Talking to the professor or your advisor might be cringe, but they’re there to give you the real advice when it comes to dropping out or not.
That’s the end of our first column. As always, if you’d like to hear from us, fill out our form! Also, if any of you out there do end up taking our advice on anything, we’d love to hear about it in our form as well. We won’t let it inflate our egos too much — we promise. See you in two weeks!
With love <3,
U & M (see what we did there with the title ;))