College Questions.

1 - How did college move in work for you? The process I assume I'm going to follow is to fly there a day before move in, try to buy all the college supplies that aren't huge on the mainland, then move in. My mother said she'll try to go with me, but money is an issue with that extra plane ticket.

If you're moving in a day early, it should be incredibly relaxed and easy. Freshman year I moved in on the same day as every other freshman and it was a little zoo-like. Well-organized and smooth-flowing, but there was a lot of hubbub. Last year and this year I moved in 1-2 weeks in advance for my cafeteria job's annual supervisor training stuff and being on campus during breaks are the most relaxing few days I've ever had. If there are any big box marts around, quite a few in my area do "midnight madness" events with good sales on just about everything a few days after move-in. Don't worry if you forget anything simple. You might not even need as much stuff as you think. I didn't bother bringing a microwave with me this year since I don't snack in my room or have leftovers. I just eat in the caf.

2 - When it comes to laptops, what the pineapple do I need to be looking for? I will be getting a new one, and I want to make sure it can handle my koreagames, but what should I look into for school work?

If it can handle your koreagames, it'll handle whatever else you want. Don't get a huge one. 14 or 15" is good. My laptop is this size and it puts a good heft in my backpack. 17" is a bad idea. Not that I take my laptop with me too often. Michigan State has computer labs everywhere and the engineering lab's computers are overflowing with all the specialized software I need to use for my classes. I don't even bother doing homework in my room anymore, I just do it all in a lab. Less distracting and people in my classes are usually bumming around too so I can get questions answered. Look for a laptop that fits your personal entertainment needs and that should exceed your academic needs. Tablets are kinda cool and if you really, really don't want to handwrite notes, take a look at a decent one. All the professors in engineering have a tablet and most of them do their lecture notes on that instead of a chalkboard. Not a necessity - I still like to handwrite my notes. Michigan State has a computer store with student deals on software ($65 for the full Office suite, etc) and computers (not quite as good a deal) and the engineering college also has a MSDNAA account, so look into that before you splurge full price on software. If you have any specific programs you need, we can probably point you toward good, free alternatives.

3 - I've heard that first year will be just like high school, full of nothing but core classes. Does this mean I can't take a language? I know that my Uni has it's own list of requirements for graduation and moving up in rank but aside from that what have you had to do?

You can absolutely take a language. Just probably not any with a prereq. And it may cover a lot of what you learned in high school. My freshman year looked like 3 general requirements + one engineering related class per semester. Then sophomore year was 2/2 and 1/3 and now I'm entirely in engineering classes and I kinda miss having, say, a social science class to break it up a little. This was with about a semester's worth of general AP credit going in.

4 - Living with a room mate, what is it like? I am so blessed that my Uni has a service for LGBT students to help get them situated where as they aren't placed with homophobic/problematic room mates but I haven't lived with someone for the past three years. My father does come home, but we don't interact. I prefer to be alone, is it wrong that I want to try and get a single dorm room?

My freshman and sophomore year I roomed with the same guy, who I knew from high school. He was great... but by the end of year two his personal health habits were getting a little extreme but that's a story for a different time. It seems to be a trend that I have one crappy suitemate per year though, just in terms of bathroom habits. I'm in a single room this year and it's really fantastic since I'm a total introvert. By luck, I'm also on a floor with a handful of friends I work with in the cafeteria, so I'm not a shut-in like my family thought I'd be in a single. The cost stings a little, but I'm in electrical engineering so I'm not terribly concerned about my loan count (Probably a bad mode of thought). The odds are your roommate situation will be positive or neutral and once you get a few weeks in, you'll probably know a few other people's or public places that are good for getting away. MSU is pretty good about mid-semester room changes when the need arises. For every horror story I have of my friends and their blind rooming situations, there are three who met their best friend or a good friend.

5 - Using the pineappleing bathroom, and taking a god damn shower. This is what I worry the most about, I'm like a teenage girl when it comes to my body. I'm so insecure. I assume I'll probably have to use a public shower, but how does one cope with that? I generally have stomach issues with anything I eat, and therefore find myself best friends with the toilet late at night, should I try and request a dorm with a private restroom?

On MSU about two thirds of the dorms have a suite set up where two rooms share one bathroom and the rest have floor bathrooms. One perk about community bathrooms is that they're cleaned daily. I've only lived with the suite set up though, so I can't comment on that. If you haven't signed up for your housing already, you should be able to figure out what the bathroom situation is and pick accordingly.

6 - Having a job on campus, should I try for it? I'm going to need to get all the money I can take, be it from grants/scholarships/loans. A job would make things better, and give me some spending money however is it really worth it?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Check to see if your uni hires students. MSU hires students for everything from the cafeteria to building maintenance to tech support to groundskeeping, parking ticket giving, research and telemarketing. My job is insanely flexible with my class schedule and I work an average of 15 hours a week (10/20 per two. Only have to work every other weekend) and I've never had a problem fitting it in except a few minor instances. It's good for your resume, it keeps you busy, and it gets you paid. Get a job, even if it's just 8-10 hours a week.