Grades and Girls: What Your Parents Never Told You About College

by Seth Rose

  12-12:30: Lunch

  12:30-3: Class

  4-5: Exercise

  5-530: Eat Dinner

  530-8: Study/Work

  8-9: Admin

  9-10: Pregame

  10-???: Party!

  It really isn’t that hard to switch up the schedule for a Friday. Opt out of doing work at night so you can get the party started. Just keep in mind that you will be making up the work over the weekend.

  Friday’s are fun, but the chillest day should be Sunday:

  Sundays

  It’s the weekend and you know what that means? No class! Sleep in, watch some football, but make sure you get your shit done.

  2 AM- 11 AM: Sleep

  11-12 PM: Breakfast, make a nice one…

  12 PM-1 PM: Exercise

  1-2: Lunch

  2-4: Study/Work

  4-7: Downtime

  7-8: Dinner

  8-10: Study/Work

  10-1130: Downtime

  1130-12: Get Ready for bed

  While Sunday’s present you with the most time it’s easy to actually not get work done. I’m a believer in momentum, and when you sit around most of the morning, you’re more inclined to sit on your ass the rest of the day. That’s why I’m an advocate of always doing something and always moving.

  There you have it. I’m not going to make a sample schedule for everyday of the week because it’s pretty straightforward from here. Monday-Thursdays are the same, you have Friday and Sunday which I laid out, and the Saturday which is a hybrid of Friday and Sunday because you have no class, but you’ll be going out at night. Oh yeah, and if you have a home football game Saturday don’t expect to get much done.

  I have a few more recommendations:

  1.) Get a Calendar: Go out and buy one of those big calendars. Hang it up somewhere in your room. During the first week of school go through all of your class syllabuses and write down the due dates of major projects and papers, homework assignments and of course midterms and finals.

  2.) Create an excel spreadsheet: Write out your daily schedule and insert and small assignments you have due on a weekly basis. Also, any time something comes up like a meeting, party or a date write it down. It should look something like this:

  I’m not here to tell you exactly how to live your life. If you like this setup, awesome. If not create your own and use mine to structure your schedule. Don’t skimp on this though.

  Scheduling Classes

  Above I’ve given you a sample schedule. But before you can make your own schedule, you have to choose and schedule your classes.

  Your schedule is going to be based around when your classes are as they are the most important factor. Don’t be tempted to choose classes at a certain time that is more comfortable, rather put the class itself as the priority. Most people won’t choose early classes because they want to sleep in. But if you feel it would be a smart move to take an early class, then go for it.

  As for the specific type of class to choose, I recommend you take our general education/core courses as early on as possible. This will allow you to get the groove of college, and also will not hurt you much if you decide to change majors.

  Once you’ve fixated on your major, find the classes you need to take. If there’s prerequisites and introductory courses, take those first and gradually build up to the hard classes.

  Also, take the quality of the professors into account when choosing. RateMyProfessors.com is accurate, and will breakdown the different characteristics of your professors. If a professor is bad (<3.5 rating), then you should consider taking the course with a better professor, or delay taking the course that in the future a better professor will teach it.

  Chapter 33: Habits

  Instilling good habits that help to develop the mind and body is one of my favorite subjects. It is imperative for the person who ever wishes to grow as a man. This starts at a young age and can’t be ignored in college.

  While many college-aged men may scoff at the idea of becoming disciplined and integrating these habits, that is actually what college is for. Remember that college is a unique period of time with less responsibilities than you will have in the real world. You have an abundance of time and that should not be squandered partying.

  The following are what I consider essential habits or skills. You should develop these over our four years in college. It is too difficult to implement them all at once, so I suggest you take your time in making them a part of your life.

  Reading

  I can easily count the number of guys I met in college who read on a regular basis on one hand. Some people just aren’t interested in reading, but I can’t discourage this mindset enough, especially when in college.

  College is a time of learning, and growth. Don’t take this for granted. If the only thing you come out of college with is a piece of paper you did it completely wrong.

  The books you should be reading are ones that will develop you and make you a better person[26]. They should give you insight about great men and how they lived their lives. They should be about making yourself a better person and discovering more about the world.

  I personally own a kindle and love it, but maybe you don’t want to shell out cash. Fortunately, there are these places called libraries which have thousands of free books. You should have at least one on campus. Check it out some time…

  Grab a book and read it either before bed to help you sleep, or while at your “Home away from home”.

  Fitness

  If there is one single activity that I would recommend to any man it would be lifting weights. Lifting weights is beneficial for so many reasons. Here are some important ones and how they relate to what you’re trying to achieve as a Big Man on Campus:

  1.) Anxiety: As if going to college and being surrounded by people you don’t know isn’t hard enough, having to worry about being overweight or rail thin only adds insult to injury. By spending time in the gym doing a combination of lifting, mobility work/stretching, cardio (if and when necessary) and playing sports you will look good which in turn will help you to feel better about yourself. Also, playing sports exposes you to meeting new people.

  2.) Discipline: Lifting weights is something that you have to commit to. Going to the gym to lift, and follow a lifting routine consistently builds discipline like no other.

  3.) Testosterone: In College, you’re going to be young and surrounded by pretty, tight girls. You shouldn’t have too much issue wanting to fill up these biddies, but lifting weights will ramp up T production and make you want to go apeshit on some pussy. Any self-respecting player puts in his dues in the weight room. If I see a skinny dude I just have to shake my head. All guys in college have access to a weight room. Use it! Find some cool dudes to go with and lift.

  A lot of guys will claim to not have enough time to work out—this is bullshit. College students have plenty of free time, even engineers, and there is no excuse to not get your ass to the gym.

  As for specific training advice, that is beyond the scope of this book (Check out these recommendations). However, the single biggest factor I would recommend to you is to follow the Law of Progressive Overload. I have been working out for many years with little to show for it. It’s because I did not strictly follow this law.

  Progressive overload is the concept that every workout you strive to get stronger. Add one rep or a few pounds to each lift from week to week. Sure, this is not sustainable ad infinitum, but you can keep this up for quite some time.

  Think of it this way: Imagine you’re a weakling 18 year-old when you enter college. Your max bench press is a pathetic 95 lbs. But, imagine if over those four years in college, you add just 5 lbs. per month to your bench press. By the time you graduate college you will be bench pressing 300 lbs.!

  This path to 300 lbs. in 4 years is definitely feasible. The path to get there will not be linear, meaning you will not add exactly 5 lbs. per week or month, but you should keep that idea in mind.

  Forget doing
bodybuilding and bro splits. While they may have some merit, take your four years in college to build a base and become a strong motherfucker!

  Instead, start with a program like Starting Strength or Rippetoes. After a year move to a more powerlifting type workout, or better yet a program from my favorite fitness guru Jason Ferruggia—he knows his shit.

  Cooking and Nutrition

  You’d be surprised how few guys can actually cook in college. It’s only a bit more than those that read.

  Knowing how to make a few decent meals will not only make your life more enjoyable, but the ladies absolutely love it. Having a girl over for dinner is one of the best dates you can do in the event you need to have a date.

  Ask mom and dad to borrow a few pots and pans, or go in with your roommates to get some. Buy some spices and sauces. Look up recipes online and go to the store and get what you need. Presto! Dinner. Cook the same meals over and over and you’ll get better at making them.

  If you want to get in shape, be healthy, feel good, and perform your best in college you can’t be filling yourself with hot pockets and Wendy’s every day. Eat some real food.

  Unlike at home, you won’t have a home-cooked meal every night at six waiting for you on the table. You’re going to have to take responsibility for your own well-being.

  For most people, they take the easiest path. They eat out all the time and have ramen noodles and chips to fill in the gap. This is really pathetic and something you should avoid at all costs.

  As an underclassman you will likely have access to the dining halls. When you get older though you’re going to need to start cooking. There will likely be a grocery store nearby, and if it is not within walking distance and you don’t have a car you will need someone to drive you. I was always able to have one of my fraternity brothers take me. I would stock up on a week’s worth of food.

  Something I would’ve done differently was to buy healthy, whole foods, but not pricey organic stuff. Sure, it is better, but I don’t think it’s as important for college students. Especially if you’re bulking PB&J’s will go a long way. Of course you need some fruit and veggies, but if you have a balanced diet you should be fine.

  Your Meal Plan

  Cooking and eating healthy meals is a lot of work. You’re going to have to fit it into your schedule in order to stay consistent.

  As an underclassman, this will require you to check out the different dining halls on campus. Then, you will have to fit those around your class schedule. Because you will have a routine Monday-Friday you’ll always know where you’re going to be. It’s also convenient, because you don’t have to spend 10 minutes thinking about where to eat.

  So, let’s say you want to eat 3 big meals a day: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. You’re going to need to choose the time to eat those meals that is most convenient to you. For example, if you have class at 9 AM, would you eat Breakfast before class, or wait until 10:30 when class is over? This is based on personal preference.

  I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way too much for food. Keep things simple and convenient. Some dining halls may have elaborate sandwiches and desserts, but since nutrition is our focus, basic foods will suffice.

  As for specific food choices, nutrition is beyond the scope of this book. You should know what is healthy and what is unhealthy. For breakfast, eat eggs and oats, not cereal. For dinner, have chicken, rice and veggies, not pizza! If you want to eat junk food once in a while, go ahead, but to avoid the “Freshman 15” you need to make good eating choices.

  Style

  One of the easiest ways to distinguish yourself from your peers is to dress well. Most college guys dress like bums, absolute bums even when going out to the bar. Now fraternity guys on the other hand dress nice, but dressing nice doesn’t guarantee you getting laid. You see dressing nice makes you look like a nice guy and nice guys don’t get laid.

  The typical frat attire:

  Notice the obnoxious colored button ups and polo shirts, not to mention the khaki shorts. This style looks good in my opinion (sans the short shorts). However, it should be best left to activities where you want to look nice in a relaxed environment: Class, club meetings, BBQ’s, baseball games etc. When it comes time to meet women though you don’t want to look nice, you want to look cool.

  I’d be lying if I told you my closet used to look like an Easter basket. Brooks Brothers, J Crew, Ralph Lauren all cohabited in my closet making it look like a rainbow. I do enjoy dressing like that because it’s presentable. It’s also fun to sometimes dress outrageous, go out and just be a total d-bag.

  Later on in college I started to wear less of this style, and go more towards a cool, edgy look.[27]

  In fact, all the players I highlighted earlier opted for this look. It would be rare to see these players dressed like the guys above. Sure they wore polo shirts and button up’s out, but they were paired with dark jeans and nice shoes, not khakis. Coincidence, I think not.

  The reason a lot of frat boys can get away with dressing like this at bars, is because they’re not looking to branch out of their social circle. Most fraternity guys will inevitably meet up in groups at a designated bar where they will know quite a few people there. They want to fit in and not stand out as to show they’re part of the group. If they do take a girl home it will be either a.) A girl they’ve already slept with or b.) A girl they wanted to sleep with in a sorority that they’re close with. There’s really no cold approaching going on in these venues.

  By dressing in this manner, it lets people know that you’re in a fraternity. Being in a fraternity is a status symbol to some and by dressing this way you convey that status and let people know you’re in the ‘in’ crowd.

  Most of these guys are literally scared to dress differently for fear of being socially ostracized. If you’re a guy who’s not in a fraternity or not in one of the top frats, you want to stand out. Go against the grain. Rock a tight (not too tight) v-neck whose color stands out, dark jeans, and cool sneakers or other shoes. This is not just in this type of cliquey bar, this is in every bar.

  You have to stand out. Now back in the day of PUA standing out meant looking like this:

  (Mystery and the original PUA crew)

  Dress like this anywhere and I can guarantee you will be going home alone.

  If you’re on a budget, I can’t expect you to splurge. However, you can find some pretty cheap clothing around. Don’t buy a ton of new clothes, only buy what you need. Make sure it fits well. Simplicity is your best bet, but it should make a good outfit if that makes sense.

  Finance and Spending

  When I was an undergraduate, I was fortunate to have my parents pay for everything. This meant I never had to worry about paying rent or buying groceries.

  Now, this did not mean I had unlimited money to party with. That money came from my own pocket. I spent summers working, and even had a part-time job on campus one semester. This money all went towards entertainment, and what was left was for saving.

  I’m going assume that you have your rent and groceries taken care of. Whether mom and dad are paying for it, you’re taking out loans for it (which is a bad idea because you have to pay it all back with interest) or you have a full or part-time job.

  Fortunately, life in college is quite cheap. The rent around campuses is much cheaper than in major cities. Moreover, you don’t need to be buying a ton of fancy clothes, a car, or shopping at Whole Foods. If you can find cheap rent, it’s possible to live on just $1500 per month. That breaks down to working a minimum wage job full-time at $8 per hour. Another option would be to work part-time and/or save money over the summer.

  A reason so many kids in college go broke, besides the fact that they don’t have a job or a decent paying one, they spend too much money at the bar. Thai is so easily avoided with a bit of discipline.

  Personally, I’m not a big fan of drinking. 2-3 liquor drinks can keep me feeling good for a whole night. There’s no reason to do 10+ shots, only to not remembe
r anything the next morning.

  If you do feel compelled to drink more, pregame. Drink cheap booze until 11 PM then have another two drinks to round out the night.

  At times I felt like I cheapskate because people would always buy me drinks and I would not reciprocate. Quite honestly, that’s their problem. I’m not going to buy drinks for someone if I don’t want any and neither should you be forced to. If you’re friends give you shit for don’t drinking ignore them, or find some new ones.

  Savings

  It’s always smart to save money. That said, in college it isn’t going to be feasible to stack a ton of cash. You won’t have a high enough paying job to make a lot of money. And if you’re supporting yourself, that money is going to have to go to food and rent.

  The real key to saving money is making more of it. When in college you aren’t going to want to be working all the time, which means your income is only going to get so high.

  Don’t fret about saving during the school year. Don’t be an idiot with your spending and that in itself will be sufficient enough.