We asked people on campus and on Facebook to give advice to new students.
“Drive Route 9 all the way into the woods in the fall. Invite your adviser out to lunch, never mind your nerves. Take any class that will make you interesting to chat with at cocktail parties.”
Jennifer Kaufman Aslan ’02 (via Facebook)
“If you want to keep it, lock it up. Don’t leave your laptop, bicycle or other valuables unsecured.”
John Carter, chief of campus police
“Get your butt out of bed, get to class, sit up front, take good notes, engage your professor, go to office hours and find someone smarter than you to study with!”
E.J. Mills, head football coach
“Go to office hours—seeing your professors outside of class helps you get to know them and them get to know you. And not only can this be helpful in mastering course material, but it can also be useful when you need a recommendation for a summer internship or going abroad.”
Catherine Sanderson, professor of psychology
“Go for long walks in the Bird Sanctuary at night with quiet friends. Swim in Puffer’s Pond. Talk to your professors about life and your friends about classes.”
Denise Steele ’02 (via Facebook)
“Go talk to your professors—they are rather good at magic, you know.”
Lisa Wolf ’88 (via Facebook)
“You don’t need to be focused at this point. You can be a generalist for a couple of years.”
Harold Varmus ’61, Nobel laureate in medicine and Amherst English major (delivering the annual DeMott Lecture to first-years on Aug. 30 in Johnson Chapel)