TITLE: How to be a successful math undergraduate student?
QUESTION [43 upvotes]: I am an undergratuate student in my first year of combined bachelor of electrical engineering and bachelor of mathematics. For my mathematics degree, this year I am supposed to take two math courses and for both the required textbook is Stewart Calculus.
I was wondering if you have any advice for a first year undergraduate student to be successful both at math and at university? What exercises from the textbook should I do? Should I try every single exercise in the textbook? How can I improve my math skills? when I can not solve a problem, what should I do?

REPLY [3 votes]: Don't go it alone.
Don't be afraid to talk to your professor/TAs when you're having trouble understanding something. (Actually, this is a good rule for any class.) 
Don't be afraid to collaborate with your classmates, either -- doing so is silently discouraged in most high school classes, where homework is a big part of your grade, but it should be encouraged in college (and your future career). Consider your homework to be practice for quizzes and tests, and learn to work the problems out with your peers.
Finally, be prepared for frustration -- calculus and onward demand a different way of thinking and problem-solving than plain algebra. You'll probably bang your head against the wall a few times before things really click. You won't be alone.