Regardless of where you go to college, and what your major is, it’s fairly likely that you’ll read at least a few of the same books. These are the books that have lasting value and force students to confront questions about issues that face humanity. Some students will read books that deal with specific topics, but even if you aren’t in a heavily literary major, you’ll still probably see at least a couple of these books.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the most common books that you’ll see on English syllabi in your college career. I have four copies of the book on my shelf right now. Because of the wealth of criticism that is available on this novel, professors can use it to teach about science, gender, religion, ethics . . . almost anything that they might find to be a good topic to bring up in their class. Many students read this in high school and are prepared for it when they get to college, but many will have the pleasure of reading it for the first time in the post-secondary setting. Don’t be afraid of this book—it can be a little intimidating, but it’s one of the best stories ever written (and if you haven’t read it, don’t assume that you know what it’s really about).

If you’ve seen Apocalypse Now, you’ve already been introduced to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. While the novella isn’t as action-packed and exciting as the movie (it doesn’t even take place during a war), you’ll find that this is probably one of the most psychologically thrilling books that you read in college. The story of Marlow’s trip up the Congo River and through the human psyche is a fascinating and enthralling tale. It also contains a very interesting critique on human psychology and condition.

If you’ve never read anything by Toni Morrison, you may be caught off-guard by Beloved. Like all of Morrison’s novels, it starts out seeming harmless enough, but it quickly evolves into an intricately woven tail that discusses the ideas of slavery and gender in no uncertain terms. Morrison’s writing is forceful and will cause you to stop and re-evaluate everything that you take for granted about issues that you probably haven’t analyzed. Even if you don’t read Beloved, you can certainly expect to read at least one Morrison novel in college.

Even though it’s slightly cliché, reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is quite common. This book is a classic satirical commentary on war, and will make your head spin with how ridiculous some of the characters and events are. It can be difficult to gain an understanding of the tone of the novel, as it doesn’t immediately come across as being terribly sarcastic, but you’ll soon realize that the whole book is a big joke (if you want to know exactly what the joke is, go read the book!).

Another satire that you can safely assume that you’ll be exposed to is the 18th-century Gulliver’s Travels. Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece has stood the test of time and still interests many readers. While its commentaries are insightful, this is one that I actually recommend reading on your own, and without a critical eye, before you study it in class, because if you come to it with a less-than-academic view, you’ll find it very entertaining. If you look at it purely as a student, you’ll miss a lot of really funny things.

No matter how hard you try to make it to every class (and let’s face it—there will be many times when you won’t try very hard at all), there will be times that you just don’t get there. Maybe you desperately needed sleep. Or you have a severe case of veisalgia. Or you just really didn’t want to go. Whatever the case, you’ll miss a few classes here and there. If you don’t want to let it affect your grades, you’ll want to do a few things.

First—but only if you have a legitimate reason (illness, appointment, family event, etc.)—e-mail your professor and let them know why you weren’t able to make it. Many professors have attendance policies and will lower your grade if you miss too many classes. Don’t let this happen. You can head it off early by appealing to your professor’s sense of generosity and hope that they won’t count your absence as an unexcused one.

After you’ve done this (or not, depending on your reason or lack thereof), ask a classmate if you missed anything significant. It might not be a bad idea to set up a system early in the semester with one of your friends—if you miss a class, they’ll get you a copy of their notes, and vice versa. This won’t help you much if you had a quiz or a test, but it can be useful if all you missed was a lecture (if you missed a test, you’re probably screwed, and it’s time to start begging).

Most students think that after they take these two steps, they’re done. However, if you really want to make sure that you’ve minimized the effect on your grade, you can go a bit further. After you miss is a class, spend some extra time on your next homework assignment and make sure to hand it in on-time. If you can impress your professor with both the timeliness and the quality of your work, he or she might be willing to forget that you missed a couple classes. You’ll just have to prove to them that it hasn’t affected your ability to keep up in the class.

Missing (or skipping) class is a fact of life in college. It happens all the time, and you can be assured that if you don’t miss an obscene number of classes (or a quiz or test . . . there’s no way to make that up to a professor, even if they let you take your quiz later), you’ll be fine. Don’t stress about it; just be ready to deal with it.

Getting sick during a semester can be very difficult. Not only do you miss classes, but it can be very difficult to recover, as taking time off of homework and studying isn’t really an option. Because of this, it’s important to try to stay as healthy as possible. One of the most overlooked contributors to illness is stress. Stress relief can go a long way in keeping you healthy throughout the school year. Here’s a short guide I’ve prepared for you:

1) Take time out—every day. It can be difficult to take time off of studying, paper-writing, homeworking, and socializing. In fact, if you’re not doing any of these things, you’re probably sleeping. However, it’s important to take some time out for yourself and just relax every day. Even if it’s only fifteen minutes, it can make a big difference by keeping you mentally fresh and prepared to take on the rest of your day.

2) Don’t let things get out of hand. Trying to catch up on a big pile of homework can not only be extremely stressful, but it can also keep you from getting enough sleep. The combination of these things will very often result in illness. If you stay on top of your homework assignments in the first place, you won’t have to deal with this problem. While it’s not always realistic, try to get homework done as soon as possible so that you’re not scrambling to finish it the night before it’s due.

3) Sleep. On a related note, make sure to get enough sleep. Being sleep deprived can make you irritable and less productive, both of which can contribute to stress. Getting enough sleep is often left out of students’ stress relief strategies, but it’s important to consider sleeping when you’re starting to get stressed. Even a short nap can make a big difference.

4) Find a place to get away from it all. This can be a place where you spend the time that you set aside for #1, or it can be for different occasions. Either way, make sure that you have at least one place that you can go to where there are very few people around, it’s relatively quiet, and you’re not tempted to do a bunch of things. If your campus is close to a forest or lake, these can be very good places to spend some time relaxing. Even if your campus is in the middle of a metropolis, though, there’s always somewhere that’s quiet nearby . . . you just have to find it!

5) Be aware. Perhaps the most important aspect of stress relief is staying on top of how you’re feeling. If you pay attention to how you’re thinking and acting, you can catch a buildup of stress before it turns into illness. When you feel yourself starting to get stressed, make an extra effort to take the above steps to engage your stress relief strategy. You’ll be healthier and happier for it.

There are a few items that every dorm room should have. Not all of these are necessities, per se, but you’ll find the majority of them very useful, and you’ll probably want to add them to your list of things to bring to school in the fall.

1) TV/DVD player—this is one of those things that not every dorm needs, but most would benefit from. Dven if you don’t watch TV regularly, it’s really nice to be able to throw in a DVD and relax for a couple hours before going back to homework for the rest of the night.

2) Fan—whether you get a big box fan, a table fan, or a stand fan, you’re definitely going to want some sort of oscillating, air-moving device. If you don’t have air conditioning (an it’s fairly likely that you won’t for at least your first year), this will be a lifesaver. In fact, if you won’t have A/C, you might want to bring two fans. Trust me—it’s worth it. Even if you do have the luxury of air conditioning, a fan can be really nice to get the air moving around your dorm and get rid of that “stuffy” feeling. One of the most crucial dorm necessities.

3) Blankets—conversely, you’ll want extra layers to pile on your bed during the winter. All dorms are heated during the colder months, but you may find that it’s not quite enough. Especially if your windows aren’t very well insulated.

4) Sofa/chairs/bean bags—you’re going to need something to sit on when you’re not studying. Something comfortable that will fit a couple people (but isn’t so big that it’s a huge pain to get in and out of the room) is perfect. A futon can be really convenient if someone wants to stay over (siblings visiting from out of town, friends from across campus, etc.). Dish chairs are very comfortable and, if they’re big enough, can be slept in. The same goes for —1970’s style, timeless cool. They’re a ton of fun, and work really well for sitting on to get some reading done, watch TV, or to sleep on. It’s important to note that you should okay with getting all of these things dirty . . . they’ll get written on, spilled on, fallen on; there are a lot of things that could happen to them. Just be aware.

5) Desk lamp—just about every dorm comes equipped with a desk and chair for each person living there. A lot of them also have under-shelf lights, but these aren’t terribly effective, especially if your roommate is sleeping and the rest of the room is dark. Bring a small desk lamp to illuminate your work.

6) Flip-flops—dorm shower + bare feet = well . . . disgusting. Don’t do it. Bring flip-flops and prevent yourself from getting some exotic foot disease.

I recently read an article on CNN about college perks that students on various campuses are getting (you can read the article here). I was amazed at some of the free things that universities are giving to their students! The best perk that I had while I was in school was the fact that there was a Chipotle close to where the inter-campus shuttle dropped us off. Just as the title of the article suggests, these perks make me a little jealous.

Students at Davidson College in North Carolina get free laundry. That’s pretty nice, but nothing spectacular. The fact that they gone their laundry done for them is what’s amazing. They just drop their laundry off at the Lula Bell Houston Laundry (yes, that’s really what it’s called) and come pick up their clothes washed, dried, pressed, and hung.

Michigan Technological University owns Mont Ripley, a ski resort in northern Michigan. Students, of course, get to ride for free. Even in the Midwest, lift tickets can cause thirty or forty bucks (I wish I would have known about this university before I made my decision!).

New York’s prestigious University, NYU offers its students many things that other universities do not. A lesser-known thing that they offer is really cheap Broadway tickets. Up to 75 percent off. 75 percent! If you like theatre (and can get into NYU . . . which is a little more difficult than being a theatre connoisseur), this is the place to go. Ticket Central, the university box office, even says that it can get free tickets every once in a while. How awesome is that?

Ohio University allows parents to pay eighteen bucks to send a personalized birthday cake to their kids when it’s their birthday. Free birthday cake . . . enough said.

Golfing is one of the more expensive sports that you can pick up; it gets especially difficult as a college student with a limited income. If you’re going to Stanford, though, you can play the Stanford Golf Course for $25, a fantastic deal, considering that the course is nationally-known for being of very high quality. Does anyone else find it ironic that Stanford, which charged $48,000 for a full year’s tuition last year, is offering cheap golf?

Not every school is going to have perks like these, but many schools will treat their students to free or reduced-price things. Now that I’ve read about these schools and their college perks, I’m curious about yours. Maybe things like this have become more common, now that students need to be paying close attention to the value that they’re getting from their tuition. Leave a comment on this blog post and let us all know what kinds of perks you get at your school, or if you know of any other awesome freebies that people are getting.