University Life - Week 1.

After selecting a dormitory (I advise picking a central one), Anna moves in and meets her dormies.

There are three main things to concentrate on at University:

• Getting the skills for your job. This is, again, why method 2 is better: you already know what that job will be. In my case I need to get Logic skill. But I would also do well to increase two other skills as much as possible as well, to lift my Renaissance Sim lifetime wish too. Unfortunately, the skills that help with my major are Science, Gardening, and Fishing, none of which are really all that useful once I get home. But it's easy enough to get good marks without the right skills, so that won't be a problem.
• Making connections. Anyone you meet at Uni will stay frozen at their current age until you yank them out by inviting them to move in with you. I want to meet and make as many friends as I can here, not just Anna's spouse, but also for potential partners for her kids and even grandkids. University is a gold mine for making contacts; make the most of it.
• If you're playing Easy Start, you'd also do well to try and earn as many Lifetime Reward points as you can, and buy whatever rewards you can - except for objects, as those will be non-functional when you get home. But if you can get Fast Learner, Multitasker, Hardly Hungry, and similar rewards, you'll breeze through your founder years. Unfortunately you can't do any of that with a Hard or Prestige Start.

There is a bunch of objects you're allowed to put on the lot. Go ahead and do that; you definitely want the brain enhancer and a couple of cars, if nothing else. If you forgot to modify the lot before you moved in, use the family funds cheat to give yourself the money and then adjust it back to what it is supposed to be.

Now, because I'm using the easy start, I am basically unrestricted at University. So I can lock wishes, earn money, talk to whoever I like, and so on. I spend the first day taking a class in Logic skill (fulfilling two wishes), a class in Science skill (fulfilling another), and meeting a bunch of people. But first I lock the door to the best dorm room in the house and get myself a good bed. I'm also making use of the cerebral enhancer once a day; I'm choosing to boost Charisma, because that will automatically give Anna friends as she increases it.

At the end of the first day, I've got about $2800 left (buying a bed, chess set, and telescope - the latter two were wishes), I'm about half way to being friends with one of her male dormies; I have Logic 2, Science 1, and Charisma 1. I have about 5000 lifetime reward points - not a bad start for the experience, and I'm in bed by midnight after making some autumn salad.

I had two classes the next day, during which I chose Work Hard and played a few video games to restore fun. After that, it was playing chess time. I made more Autumn Salad, and was about half way through when this happened:

Abducted by aliens! They must have been alien chefs, because Anna got a point of Cooking from it.

There's a trick to University. For the rabbit hole classes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) you can choose to sleep in class, and you will recover energy rapidly. This doesn't work on the other days; choosing to sleep in a lecture barely moves your energy bar. But you should generally be going to class on Monday/Wednesday/Friday morning with low Energy, to make efficient use of your time.

Along the same lines, make frequent use of the "Hand of God". Your Sims should never be loading plates into the dishwasher, for example, or moving papers to the trash - you can do that, while paused if necessary.

At the end of the first week, here was my tally:

• Passed exams with flying colours.
• Maximum Charisma skill; Cooking 8, Science 2, Handiness 1, Logic 6.
• $6009 (from spotting objects with the telescope, and selling one giant meteor).
• 10 friends (one of whom is a best friend, the other is a boyfriend). A bunch of acquaintances.
• 21000 Lifetime Reward points (and change). Hardly Hungry is a great reward, so I'm holding out for that. When I get my lifetime wish, I'll pick up Multitasker and perhaps Fast Learner (or perhaps Meditative Trance).

The Charisma skill and friends were all from the brain enhancer; so was a lot of the Cooking. I was using the telescope a lot both to raise Fun and Logic, and I spent a lot of the weekend making the best friend and the boyfriend. I am also keeping notes on whatever traits I discover for everyone I know, as this information will be useful for several generations. The boyfriend Derek is a Fine Arts major with Perfectionist, Dislikes Children, Avant Garde, Brave, and Great Kisser - not ideal, but it could be a lot worse.