For freshman, the keys to succeeding in college vary, depending on who you talk to, of course.

Whether you talk to a magna cum lade graduate of Harvard, just your average Joe, or a stoner still living on his buddy’s coach who dropped out of Sac State after taking one GE recreational and leisure studies course, you’re going to get a mixed bag of advice.

But take it from me: I’ve been at Sac State for two years, and I’ve succeeded. So lend me your eyes for a bit, and I’ll let you in on some of the tricks of the trade.

First off, to survive freshman courses, you must know how to play the game right. What I mean by that is college is one big game, and if you play it right, you can win; of course, if you play it wrong, you still might graduate, but you can be sure that you took the road less traveled, which was the hardest freakin’ road ever.

So to play the game right, first you have to know your professor. You don’t have to butter him or her up or brown-nose, but you should try and be his or her friend; make it genuine, of course. Professors can spot a fraud from a mile away.

The professor has to know who you are, enough to where they can associate your name with your face. If your professor recognizes only you and your name out of a lecture hall of 150, when she’s giving final grades, she’ll remember all the times you talked to her after class. More often than not, she’ll give you that little boost in your grade that you desperately needed.

Secondly, you must network. Here at Sac State, we’re accustomed to a network of sorts, rather than the close-knit community I’m sure we’d all prefer. It’s unfortunate, but we Hornets aren’t as tight a group as we should be.

Therefore, we must rely on our communication skills, and seek out those we’ve seen in our other classes to buddy up with and work on school assignments together.

School — and life in general — is so much easier when you make friends with some of the students you’ve seen in your major classes before.

Talk to them; give them your e-mail address and your cell phone number. The more acquaintances you make, the easier school gets.

When you need the lecture notes from March 14 … boom! You’re covered. When you’re screwed for the upcoming exam … boom! That guy Mike you talked to at the beginning of the semester has aced every test; he’d be glad to help you with this one.

Everything is easier when you have buddies to work on things with, so make friends, and always offer more help than you receive.

Lastly, take every little ounce of help the university is offering you. If you’re having trouble with your English 20 course, check out the Writing Center in Calaveras Hall.

They’ll assign a personal tutor to help you with your paper, which will save you many late nights trying to figure out what in the world you should write about.

If you have trouble with the Xs and Ys, stop by the Math Department in Brighton Hall. There you’ll find a bunch of guys and gals who know what they’re talking about. If you’re not a math wiz, this is the perfect place, because any question isn’t too dumb for them. They’ll tackle anything you throw at them, so take advantage of it.

College isn’t for everyone, and it’s tough, especially for freshmen. But live by my mantra, and college will be a day at the beach.