Everyone’s heard the stereotypes about frat guys. Frat guys are douche bags. Frat guys roofie girls while burning and pillaging sorority houses. Frat guys binge drink and wind up on some story on Dateline or 60 minutes. But beyond all the fabricated stories and stereotypes, fraternities are in a nutshell, the college experience.

If you strip down a fraternity to its bare essentials, what you have is a group of guys with a common interest who are all in college for primarily four things; meet girls, have fun, get a diploma, and have memories that will last forever. A fraternity is a breeding ground for fun, girls, drinking and memories. “Oh you like sports, you like girls, you like drinking and having fun, wait, let’s hang out and do this every weekend.” That’s what a fraternity is.

Where else can I go to a Tarzan and Jane party, get dressed up like a gorilla, drink eight shots of cheap alcohol, talk to girls dressed up like Flintstone models, and have fifteen hundred pictures where I’m grinning like a kid at Disneyland for the first time. Ok, so maybe we’re all douche bags for having fun, then that’s fine, I’m a douche bag.

As a member of a fraternity I made life long bonds coupled with thousands of memories that I will carry with me forever. The best part of it all was I never forced to jeopardize my morals at any point. If you choose to be a douche bag, it’s on you. But most fraternities are large, and you will realize that you will click with a smaller group within the fraternity that shares an even stronger shared set of interests than the large umbrella of the fraternity in general.

Obviously there are exceptions for everything, and people that are easilty influenced shouldn’t join a fraternity they have nothing in common with. If you’re a surfer or skater that enjoys Reggae Music, then joining the muscle strapped fraternity that loves country music and baseball probably isn’t the best fit for you. But that’s the best thing about it, fraternities are like going to the cereal aisle at Albertsons. The business fraternity is like the Wheaties of fraternities, not the best tasting cereal, but better for you in the long run. The fraternity that drinks and parties like a ‘Lil Wayne tour bus is like the Cookie Crisp of Cereals, great tasting not always the best for educational goals.

All I am saying as that its imperative to form your own opinion. While eight people might tell you that all fraternity guys are douche bags, its quite plasuable that none of them are speaking from experience. And when I say experience, I’m not talking about meeting an idiot at a party that happens to be in a fraternity, but actually trying the experience and seeing what its like for themselves. Before you decide whether or not to rush a fraternity, talk to both sides, make sure you know the benefits and negative side effects of joining a fraternity. I say this because for me, fraternity life was part of my college experience that I will never regret.

First of all, the number of people that are really stoked on the school is greatly increased. Why? It’s hard to say. Maybe because very few people get to choose which high school they go to, and they feel a stronger sense of ownership of their college. Or because college sports are a much bigger deal than high school sports. Whatever the reason, you’ll find out pretty quickly (especially if you go to big sports games, like football, basketball, or hockey) that school spirit is a pretty serious thing in college. You’ll see people with their faces and bodies painted, wearing all kinds of clothing of your school’s color, and a range of other crazy things. You also might be surprised at just how loud a crowd of students can get (especially if the game is later in the day and people have had a chance to have a few drinks).

Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? And you want to get involved? Fortunately, it’s easy. Showing your school pride is as simple as wearing a school shirt around campus. You can even find free clothes with your school’s logo on it if you look around enough. Many on-campus events include giveaways where you can pick up lanyards, water bottles, t-shirts, bandanas, and other things. If not, go to your book or clothing store and pick up a shirt. Simple.

If you want to take it up a notch, it’s time to get creative. What can you wear that’s your school color? Where I went to school, Mardi Gras-like beads were very popular at my school. Scarves are great, too, unless it’s really hot out. Wearing shoes in your school’s color is another good way to add some color, too.

Once you’ve adorned yourself with as many crazy, school-colored things as possible, there’s only one thing left to do. Get a group of your friends together, get to the game, and get loud!

The first indoor activity is one of my personal favorites (especially when it starts getting really cold): have a movie night! Get a bunch of friends together, decide on a couple movies, order a pizza or two (or make popcorn, or consume your food of choice), and sit down with a couple drinks to watch a movie. This is a perennial favorite around finals time, as it requires very little mental or physical effort. It’s perfect for just relaxing.

If you’re looking for something more active, you’re not out of luck. Even though it’s harder to do things outside, it’s not impossible. You might just have to get a little creative. If you’re into sports, you can go to a local park and find a lighted basketball or tennis court and play under the lights. If you’ve never done this, I highly recommend it—the lighting definitely gives the whole game a different feel. It’s a lot of fun! Later in the winter, going ice skating under the lights is another cool option (and it also works really well as a date idea, as it isn’t usually very expensive).

Using lighted things, like frisbees, soccer balls, and footballs, is more difficult than playing under the lights, but that can make it even more fun. It’s a bit of a crapshoot trying to get a bunch of people to successfully catch and throw (or kick) a lighted ball or disc when it’s really dark out, but that’s what makes it so much fun! If it’s really dark, not getting hit in the face is a pretty major success.

There are other things that you can do that don’t involve staying home, but also don’t involve being outside. Going out to bars, clubs, and restaurants is just as fun in the dark as it is any other time, and sometimes more so. If you have the spare cash, go watch a Monday night football game at a sports bar, or go dancing on a weekend night. Doing these things often can put a hurt on your wallet, but they’re definitely a lot of fun, and not too financially taxing if you only do them every once in a while.

It can be easy to feel a little trapped when it starts getting dark early, but remember that you’re only as limited as you let yourself be. Start thinking of things that you like to do, and find ways to do them in the dark. Just because the sun is going down earlier doesn’t mean that you have to!

One of my favorite fall activities while I was in college (and a very common one on campuses around the country) is going to college football games. Whether your school is Division I or Division III, it can be a blast watching your team take on its rival. Many students get really hyped up for the games and get dressed all in school colors, paint their faces, and have chants to cheer on their team. Even if you’re not a huge football fan (or a sports fan at all), going to games can be a lot of fun. It’s a great way to get into the school spirit, and, in my opinion, there aren’t many better ways to spend an early Saturday afternoon.

If you’re less into watching sports than playing them, fall is perfect for throwing a baseball, kicking a soccer ball, or tossing a frisbee. Do anything to get outside while it’s nice! Going on walks and looking at the fall colors is tough to beat when the trees start turning. If you’re a runner or a cyclist, this is one of the best times of the year to get out training (especially because you might be doing most of your training inside for the next couple months).

An often-overlooked fall activity is going to an apple orchard. Young kids love to do this, but it’s easy to lose sight of it as you get older. Get a few people together and go pick apples for an hour. Eat a slice of apple pie, drink a glass of cider, and go on a hayride! There are all kinds of things that you can do at an orchard, and they’re all pretty cheap. It’s a good way to spend an afternoon, and orchards are beautiful places to spend time.

It’s a little ways off, but it’s not too early to start thinking about Halloween, the favored fall celebration of many college students. Hold a party at your house or apartment, or go trekking from one costume part to another to see how all of your friends dressed up. There are plenty of haunted houses, theme parks, and city-wide celebrations that you can hit up, as well. Get creative! There are all kinds of things to do on Halloween.

Whatever you decide to do, I highly recommend getting outside. Fall is a beautiful time of year, and it’s best to take advantage of it while you can!

Most campuses, especially early in the year, sponsor events where students can get together, have fun, and meet new friends. Exactly what—and when—those events are varies greatly by campus. Maybe your college will hold a weekly outdoor movie night (like this one), or a monthly free dance lesson. Some schools organize things like lawn game tournaments, where students compete in bocce ball or lawn darts. (Events like these are pretty common at school-sponsored houses.) Another common event that you’ll see on many campuses are sports-watching parties for big sports games, like the World Series, the Stanley Cup, or the NBA finals. Even if you’re not into the sport being televised, these can be a lot of fun, because there’s usually a great deal of rivalry and associated ribbing going on.

Another nice thing about sponsored events (as opposed to ones you or other students put on) is that the college will usually provide free food. No matter what that food is, it’s free food, and you’ll come to appreciate it pretty quickly! Pizza, burritos, salads, and sandwiches are staple school-sponsored-event foods. If you find out that someone’s handing out free food, get there fast, because it won’t last long!

No matter which event you decide to attend, just go out and have fun! Get a couple of friends together and head out. Make it your goal to introduce yourself to at least five people that you’ve never met before, and see what happens. If nothing else, you’ll have met five new people and had the chance to hang out with your friends for a few hours doing something for free (which, you will find, makes every event even better).

Another option is to have your own party. Clean your dorm or apartment, and then just start inviting people over! Tell everyone to bring a friend or two, and see what happens. Put up a sign in your dorm hall that lets people know that you’re having a get-together to watch a football game, or just to hang out. Have a potluck at your apartment, and ask everyone to bring an ethnic food. Whatever you do, just make sure that you invite enough people (and encourage them to bring their friends) that you’ll be sure to cross paths with at least a few people that you don’t know.

First, obviously, is a movie! If you don’t have a specific one in mind (it’s fun to get together to rent a movie that’s just come out on DVD), you can always go with a college classic, like Animal House, National Lampoon’s Vacation, or Caddyshack. Having a scary movie night is a lot of fun, too—you can try out movies like The Exorcist or one of my favorites, 28 Days Later.

After you’ve picked out a movie (or maybe before), you’ll have to pick a night to watch it. Fridays and Saturdays are great, because you can stay up late and not go to class in the morning. Sundays can be good, too, if you’ve been partying really hard and are still hung over late at night. Thursdays can be good, as a way to start your weekend a little early. Really, you can do it on any night that works. Weekday, weekend, whatever . . . as long as you have a couple hours that you don’t desperately need to dedicate to homework, you’re good!

A lot of people like to eat while they watch movies, so you might want to stock your cupboards with college favorites like frozen pizza or pizza rolls. You’re getting together to watch a movie, not to cook, so keep it simple. If you’re the type that really likes to go all-out, you could prepare something before people come over. More munchy foods like chips and salsa (or dip) and popcorn are good, too. And don’t forget drinks—stock your fridge with beer, cider, soda, juice, or whatever else you and your friends like to drink. Making margaritas, martinis, or another slightly more involved drink is a favorite way to get ready for a movie, so consider getting the supplies to prep one of these.

And . . . that’s really it. It doesn’t take much to have a movie night—and that’s one of the reasons that college students like them so much! You don’t have to get party decorations, you don’t have to clean your room, you don’t have to buy a ton of food; it’s pretty simple. So don’t sweat getting ready, just get a movie, some food, some friends, and go for it!

The first key to making long-distance relationships work is commitment. Both members of the relationship have to be fully committed to making it work. This seems obvious, but it’s something that you’ll need to think and talk about quite a bit. If both people aren’t ready to deal with the difficulties of a long-distance relationship, it can place a great added strain on the relationship. It’s important to address this issue before leaving for college, so make sure to bring it up early.

Probably the most obvious component of a successful long-distance relationship is communication. Because you can’t see each other very often, it’s important to stay in close communication—many couples find that talking on the phone every day keeps them close. Not all couples talk every day, but the successful ones communicate very often, via phone, email, text messaging, instant messaging, or another method of communication. Talk to each other like you would if you were together; talk about the things that happened that day, what you’re looking forward to in the coming weeks, the tough tests that you’re getting ready for, the latest dorm gossip, the school’s sports team . . . anything and everything that you would talk about in a normal face-to-face conversation.

While close communication is important, it won’t cut it forever—make sure to see each other when you can. If you’re across the state, this might mean spending weekends together (if you can drive to your boy- or girlfriend’s school). If you’re across the country, you may be limited to holidays and summer vacation. But no matter your situation, make sure to take any opportunity (within reason, of course) to spend time together. It’ll help strengthen your relationship and give you something to look forward to.

Making a relationship over a great distance work can be a difficult, but very rewarding, proposition. It takes a great deal of commitment, patience, and forgiveness. Be forgiving, because someday, your significant other will forget to call, not check her or his email, or have another plan for the weekend that you were hoping to come over. These things happen—but if you can just roll with it and not stress about it, you’ll be in much better shape. It can be tough, but with some perseverance, you’ll make it through. It’s definitely been done before!

The most significant advantage of online dating is that you can meet a really large number of people from a wide area very quickly. Instead of trying to meet guys or girls in classes or at parties, you can just log on to any number of web sites, put in some information, and you’ll be presented with a list of people that might be a good match for you. You can be very specific in what you’re looking for, or very vague in your requirements and get as many suggestions as you want. You can search for people at your college, in your city, in your state, or just somewhere in your region.

In addition to seeing a large number of options, online dating also makes it easy for college students to talk to other students. Instead of trying to find some mutual interest before you make conversation (which is still a good thing to do, and a good skill to have), you can simply send a message saying “Hey, what’s up?” to someone, because you know that they’re single and looking to date. (Or else why would they be on the site?) It’s still good to be able to start conversations, but dating sites make it a little easier.

So why wouldn’t you use an online dating site to find your potential match? Some people find it a little weird to be meeting and talking with people without having even seen each other face-to-face. (Especially because pictures don’t always portray people accurately. Like it or not, that matters to a lot of people.) It also makes some people uncomfortable to try to make conversation without already having something in common, like having the same professor or studying the same subject. A lot of people also don’t like paying for the chance to meet people (there are free sites, but many online dating sites require a membership fee).

Whether or not you’re interested in online dating is up to you. It might make you a little leery. You might think that it could save you a lot of time and help you bypass at least part of the dating game. Whatever you think about it, it’s good to know that it’s an option, just in case you decide to take another route through the dating scene.

Unless you’re in the depths of a frigid winter, you’re almost guaranteed to see at least a few sets of people throwing a frisbee around every time you set foot on a college campus. And in the summer, you’ll see college-aged kids throwing frisbees on campuses, in parks, at beaches, in streets, and everywhere else that you might find groups of people. Where there are college students, there are frisbees.

Why is the frisbee such an important symbol of university life? There are many reasons, but I believe that the most important one is the also the simplest: because it’s so much fun! There’s something inherently satisfying in throwing an object that doesn’t look like it should be able to fly over great distances and having one of your friends snagging it out of the air with style before throwing it all the way back. Frisbees are easy to carry around in a backpack, are cheap (and thus easy to replace when thrown into a lake or lost in other ways), and easy to start up games with. Because of all these reasons, the frisbee is—and always will be—a favorite of college students.

If you haven’t thrown a frisbee since you were a little kid, or have never been very good at it, this summer is a perfect time to get into it and learn! Odds are very high that one of your friends plays pretty often, so ask them to get out and throw with you for a little while. They can offer some tips on your throwing technique, and you’ll be playing catch in no time (and, most likely, you’ll be hooked). You can now easily kill an hour with a group of your friends just throwing back and forth (if you think an hour is a long time to do just that, try it sometime—you may find that you’ll play a lot longer without even noticing!).

Once you’ve got the throw and the catch down, you can start trying other frisbee games. Try catching it behind your back, between your legs, or while jumping in the air. Have a competition with a friend to see who can catch the disc with the most style. You can also try disc golf, which is an adaptation of “normal” golf. Disc golf courses are popping up all over the country, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find one near you. Disc golf is one of the most fun (and free!) sports around (it is, by its very nature, extremely relaxed). Whether you’re just learning to throw, or working on lowering your score on the course, get out there and have fun with a frisbee!

There are many ways to find out about free summer activities, but word-of-mouth is usually the best way. Ask your friends about events they’ve heard of, and when you find out about something going on, let people know! Invite your friends, and tell them to invite their friends—start sharing information between groups of friends, and you’ll have more free summer fun on your hands than you know what to do with. You can also check your local newspaper or city magazine; most of them have events calendars that will list free events. There are many places online that will give you the information you’re looking for, as well. Just Google “free events [your city name]” and you should get at least a few useful results.

Many cities have a free concert series in the summer, where local bars show up and sell drinks, companies will have promos, and you’ll get to chill out and listen to local music. Even if you’re not a huge fan of the type of music being played, these concerts are a lot of fun (they also make for good dates, if you don’t want to take your date out to an expensive restaurant or movie). It’s always cool to hear local musicians—and if you play in a band, maybe you’ll end up on stage for one of the events!

Another common free activity is outdoor movie showings, many times put on by art galleries, museums, history centers, or other nonprofit organizations. A lot of these groups will show indie movies that you’ve never heard of or older, artsy movies. Attending one of these free showings is a good way to expose yourself to movies that you wouldn’t have watched otherwise, and enjoy a summer evening when the sun isn’t blazing down on you. Some groups also offer family-friendly movie nights, and show kid’s movies (think Disney and Pixar).

There are many other smaller, less-organized events that pop up every now and then, as well. An apartment complex might have a community grill-out night, a local church could put on a lawn games competition, and schools often put on free productions through their theater programs. You can really find almost anything for free if you look hard enough. So no matter what you’re interested in and what you like to do, explore a little this summer and hit up some free activities, even if they’re not things that you would usually do. Step outside of your comfort zone, and you might find that you really like something you’d never even thought of before!