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As you look forward to college, you're thinking, "Ahhh, I'll be free, living the life, taking only the classes I want to take, partying and sleeping late, and, of course, my parents won't be around to tell me to complete my homework before I go out with friends!"

It's true -- a year from now you'll be a different person. What will you do with all this freedom? Attend every party? Hang out all day in front of the library on the look-out for your next crush? Strut into your classes late, ignoring the tardy policy? You're going to have to learn the way of the college wildlands fast, or you'll be banished after your first semester.

As a college student, you'll have to balance freedom with responsibility and be in charge of your actions. You must set your own boundaries -- no one else... not your parents, not your friends. As Debbie Sauerwine, a college freshman at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, FL, puts it, "College is like being released from a cage and allowed to roam around."

Will You Soar or Slam Down?
When the cage door opens, you'll enter a new world. Who will be beside you? Who will remind you to go to class? Who will remind you to do your homework? No one. 

According to Margo Feather, a freshman at UCF, it doesn't take long to realize that even "if you were smart in high school, it doesn't matter." No one in college even cares about how cool you used to be. Maybe you think that you'll charm every teacher, have other students looking to you for social advice, and that everyone will be happy to have your keen sense of humor in class. Think again. What let you coast in high school, might make you crash in college.

Remember, no matter what, you're on your own at college. It won't be like in high school, where your alarm clock breaks, and Mom wakes you before you're late. In college, if you oversleep, you could carry your broken clock to your professor's office -- which she might find amusing -- but it won't change the fact that you missed class. 

Russ Kesler, a freshman English prof at UCF, says that the biggest shock for students is "the immediate sense of being on their own." That means dealing with your own slip-ups. Maybe mom has always called your teachers regarding unfair assignments or bailed you out when your work was late. You've spent years perfecting the art of pitting mom against dad, mom against teacher. But out of the cage, it won't matter what you tell your parents or your profs.

"Your momma can't bail you out in college.  If you screw up, you suffer," says Christina LeGate, a UCF junior.

Profs Hold the Key
Picture this: You're roaming around campus and everyone else seems to know where they're headed. You, however, don't know where to find food, how to register, or when you should be back in the dorm. You want to scream. "No one will tell you what you most desperately need to know unless you ask the proper questions," says UCF junior, Craig Roberts. "Not because they don't want to tell you, they just can't read your mind."

So where should you go to ask questions? Start with your professors. Most students don't realize how important it is to get to know their profs, says Kesler. While they expect freshmen to produce the required work on time and in the correct format, most are more than willing to meet with them individually to help them accomplish those goals. John Bragg, a UCF junior, agrees, "Get to know your professors for every class you take."

That's right. Knowing them is half the battle. "Profs are much more willing to help you out and give you feedback if they know who you are." Remember, you no longer have to simply observe what the adults are doing; you get to do it.

The Wind Beneath Your Wings
Like many high school seniors, Rosemary Canonizado of Seminole High School, Sanford, FL, is looking forward to college. She expects it to be "a time to discover [her] true self," a time when "[I won't] have to deal with all the petty high school stuff." And she's right. No one is going to make you walk in a straight line to the library or tell you which classes to take. In fact, no one will know whether or not you attend classes. This is your land; it's up to you to make the most of your travels.

On the first day of classes find out what's expected of you. Each professor will give you a syllabus; read it. While some profs don't care if you're absent, they'll still test you on the information given in class, and most have an attendance policy. Don't worry, no one will send home a note, nor will it matter why you weren't in class. No more "excused" and "unexcused" absences. 

As for tardiness? Peter Telep, a freshman professor at UCF, explains his policy: "If you're late and you do not tell me at the end of class you were late, the absence mark will remain. The discussion ends there."

As you can see, getting out of the cage, though exciting, requires lots more than flying the coop. If you learn to "strike a balance between studying and partying," as Telep advises, you should have a successful flight!

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