General advice on how to maximize the value of the education you receive
at the
(1) Make sure every instructor you have knows your name, and make sure
that instructor knows you and your work well enough so that he/she can write a
letter of recommendation for you if necessary.
(2) Simply decide today that you are not afraid of, or intimidated by,
faculty members, no matter how obnoxious or wacko they seem, and regardless of
whether their “values” are consistent with yours.
(3) Pay attention to world events, especially those with a cultural
component. Try to understand why these
events take place, even though your courses may not deal with anything other
than specific subject matter having nothing to do with global politics or
economics.
(4) Visit the museums on campus about once a week (usually free with
student ID). Talk to your friends about
what you see in those buildings.
(5) Pay attention to the campus landscaping; read the labels on the trees
and plants. Talk about campus
landscaping and vegetation with your friends.
(6) Read some high quality magazine fairly regularly, for example, The New Yorker, Harpers, or Atlantic Monthly. Ask your instructors for a reading list of
non-fiction books and read some of the items on such lists.
(7) Talk to your parents or guardians about the ideas you are
encountering at college.
(8) Do something original and
creative (poetry, music, sketches, etc.) on a fairly regular basis.
(9) Go to free lectures and recitals when you have the opportunity. Once you get there, stay through the whole
thing and be a quiet and attentive audience member.
(10) Talk to your fellow students.
Find out who are the most challenging faculty members in the arts,
humanities and social sciences, and enroll in those teachers’ courses.