By Senior year, most high schoolers know how to get through and around high school like the back of their hand. They know who to kiss up to, how to get around the rules, and, most importantly, how to survive.

But what about college? It’s Freshman year all over again–new building, new people, new mindset, new rules. So what do high school seniors need to know in order to survive this new and overwhelming environment?

Thankfully, with the help of some Bob Jones alumni Johnna Dixon (2012) and Samineh Heibert (2012), here’s a list of some helpful college survival tips.

1. Join an organization. It really helps to meet people, especially when you don’t know anyone at your college. Plus, you never know when you may need help. It’s good to be social and to enjoy the college life, because you never know who you’ll meet. Just “don’t let yourself be a hermit.”

2. Don’t skip class. Contrary to popular belief, most professors do have some sort of attendance policies, and if you keep skipping class, they will either fail you or drop you, and there goes all that money that you paid for the class.

3. Keep good study habits. College is definitely not high school; the classes are at a whole other level. However, don’t be too daunted. “Do what works for you” and don’t stress too much. Right as you enter college is not the time to develop some intense new study habits; stay with what has worked so far. You just may need to study earlier and longer than normal, but it will be all right.

4. Have fun every once in a while.  College is so much fun! It is a new chapter in your life with all these new and exciting things. Hang out with people; take a stress-free class or two. You have the rest of your life to be bored and stressed, so don’t let it start in college. However, partying too hard right before a test or hanging out with people instead of studying will have some negative consequences.

5. Free stuff is your new best friend. Welcome to the life of a poor college student, where a great meal may be a bread sandwich or a cup of ramen. But, most people sympathize with the poor and hungry college kids, and there are many occasions that offer free food. Going back to Tip #1,  organizations will practically always have tons of free food, but also many community restaurants have some great cheap meals to help out college kids.

College, while it may be intimidating and nerve-wracking, can easily be overcome when you have an idea of what to do and how to make the most of your college life.