Caltech

Don't date first term of frosh year. Students who hook up early tend to not make friends. Adjusting to the work at Caltech is difficult and takes up a lot of time, and if a student spends all of his or her free time with his or her boyfriend or girlfriend, he or she doesn't have time to make friends. Friends are necessary here because you need someone to do homework with and hang out.

Don't try to do too much. Students often come to Caltech thinking it will be like high school; they'll eventually find out that it's not. Taking too many classes or doing too many activities is not a good idea because students need adjusting space. College takes getting used to. Also, the work is very hard and students who over-commit themselves tend to get very stressed out.

Have outside interests. For most students, it helps to have a non-academic hobby or two. It is a good outlet for frustration and an escape from the extreme academics at Caltech.

Take it one day at a time. Sometimes, one needs to sit back and focus on one thing at a time. If you think about all you have to do, you might just have a nervous breakdown.

Don't try to do it alone. Some students don't realize that collaboration on homework is not cheating. If you don't understand a concept or how to do a problem, ask a friend, a TA, or a professor (not during lecture).