Quick Tips
These are just a few insights I've learned during my time in college which apply to every student and that you may wish to take into consideration during your own college years.
1. Don't pull all nighters to study. You actually review what you've learned while you sleep, and you'll retain it a lot better than if you cram all night. I know students who actually go so far as to use sleep as a study tool. The added bonus, of course, is that you're better rested, too. In addition, ideally you should be studying regularly outside of class to the point where an all-nighter should never be in consideration. (See #6 for more on that...)
2. Take care of yourself when you're sick. A little known fact is that most universities have clinics on campus that offer care for little or no money, plus vaccines to keep you from getting sick in the first place. Don't have health insurance? Universities generally have an affordable plan you can buy into for the bigger problems, which is sometimes even included in the cost of the tuition.
3. Consider being involved in campus life. Participate in clubs on campus and gain leadership experience. It's my own personal opinion that for resume purposes you can use clubs to show your commitment and preparation for the career of your choice. If you can show that you already gained experience in your field (for example, participating in a business organization on campus if you're interested in business) and/or have a leadership background as a club officer, it will help you when you make the transition from school to the workforce. You don't have to be particularly social to benefit from career-oriented clubs, which tend to be directed more towards professional than social meetings.
Clubs can also be for fun, too. My particular school has organizations as specific as a Quidditch team and a Facial Hair Appreciation club (and there appears to be a new Star Wars LARPing club if the lightsaber duel I saw is any indication). So no matter your interest, you'll likely find people who share it through clubs on campus, particularly if you're at a large school. Those people you meet in a club can become close friends, so joining a club is a great way to help not only your future professional life, but also your social life.
4. Get to know your professors early on. Many scholarships, graduate schools, and even employers require that you have recommendations from your former professors. The problem is, classes in college are really impersonal at times so you may have to put in some extra effort to do this, such as going to your professor's office hours. In addition, seeing a professor during their office hours is a great way to get help with any concepts you learned in class that may be troubling you. By the time you graduate, you should have at least three professors who truly know you as a person and will be willing to write recommendation letters for you.
5. Keep up your GPA. I really can't emphasize this enough. If you don't maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, minimum, your chances of getting and keeping financial aid, moving on to graduate school, or getting hired are low. It's really easy to put studying aside when you go off to college, but I think we can agree that down the road, you need a job. And without a college degree with the additional disadvantage of student debt, if you fail out of college or barely graduate, in this market you're probably going to be struggling to find a job for a while. Even if you stay in college but lose your financial aid, you'll be facing far more debt when you graduate than you would have otherwise. Keep your GPA up and you can avoid these problems. If you do end up struggling with a low GPA, or think your grades for the semester may be lower than you'd like, you may wish to see an adviser, either through your major or through disability services, for help.
6. Study outside of class. I've had nine neighbors in my dorms over the years, and three of them have been kicked out of college for poor grades. How did that happen? Not for a lack of intelligence - each of them was an Honors college student. The problem was that they didn't study and didn't think they needed to. For many students, high school was so easy that they never studied and still got great grades, and they expect college to be the same way. That's what happened to my friends. I'll warn you now - university classes are much harder than high school and they do require studying. Many people argue that a "Three Hour Rule" exists, in which for every hour that you spend learning in class, you should be spending three hours outside of class studying. In my experience, this is more of a guideline than a rule, and it doesn't apply to every class - I've also taken other classes where the ratio was one hour of class to five hours studying or (for particularly easy classes) five hours of class to one hour studying. The amount of studying you will need to do will depend on the class, but no matter you should come into college prepared to study.
7. Ask for help as soon as you need it. This is the absolute most important point on this list. Every student will go through points where they struggle with grades, money, roommates, and/or a myriad of other problems. The key is to get help when you start struggling. Whether it's Disability Services, advisers for your major, resident assistants, or other university employees, their job is to help you, but they can't help if they don't know there's a problem. When I spoke to Mr. Bryson, an adviser at my school's Disability Services, he told me he likes to meet with students on the spectrum regularly because if he doesn't many students will simply drop out of college without him even having realized there was a problem. Don't let your case be one of these. There are people who want to help you (and, ruling out a desire, are at the very least paid to do so), but you have give them a chance to do so.
2. Take care of yourself when you're sick. A little known fact is that most universities have clinics on campus that offer care for little or no money, plus vaccines to keep you from getting sick in the first place. Don't have health insurance? Universities generally have an affordable plan you can buy into for the bigger problems, which is sometimes even included in the cost of the tuition.
3. Consider being involved in campus life. Participate in clubs on campus and gain leadership experience. It's my own personal opinion that for resume purposes you can use clubs to show your commitment and preparation for the career of your choice. If you can show that you already gained experience in your field (for example, participating in a business organization on campus if you're interested in business) and/or have a leadership background as a club officer, it will help you when you make the transition from school to the workforce. You don't have to be particularly social to benefit from career-oriented clubs, which tend to be directed more towards professional than social meetings.
Clubs can also be for fun, too. My particular school has organizations as specific as a Quidditch team and a Facial Hair Appreciation club (and there appears to be a new Star Wars LARPing club if the lightsaber duel I saw is any indication). So no matter your interest, you'll likely find people who share it through clubs on campus, particularly if you're at a large school. Those people you meet in a club can become close friends, so joining a club is a great way to help not only your future professional life, but also your social life.
4. Get to know your professors early on. Many scholarships, graduate schools, and even employers require that you have recommendations from your former professors. The problem is, classes in college are really impersonal at times so you may have to put in some extra effort to do this, such as going to your professor's office hours. In addition, seeing a professor during their office hours is a great way to get help with any concepts you learned in class that may be troubling you. By the time you graduate, you should have at least three professors who truly know you as a person and will be willing to write recommendation letters for you.
5. Keep up your GPA. I really can't emphasize this enough. If you don't maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, minimum, your chances of getting and keeping financial aid, moving on to graduate school, or getting hired are low. It's really easy to put studying aside when you go off to college, but I think we can agree that down the road, you need a job. And without a college degree with the additional disadvantage of student debt, if you fail out of college or barely graduate, in this market you're probably going to be struggling to find a job for a while. Even if you stay in college but lose your financial aid, you'll be facing far more debt when you graduate than you would have otherwise. Keep your GPA up and you can avoid these problems. If you do end up struggling with a low GPA, or think your grades for the semester may be lower than you'd like, you may wish to see an adviser, either through your major or through disability services, for help.
6. Study outside of class. I've had nine neighbors in my dorms over the years, and three of them have been kicked out of college for poor grades. How did that happen? Not for a lack of intelligence - each of them was an Honors college student. The problem was that they didn't study and didn't think they needed to. For many students, high school was so easy that they never studied and still got great grades, and they expect college to be the same way. That's what happened to my friends. I'll warn you now - university classes are much harder than high school and they do require studying. Many people argue that a "Three Hour Rule" exists, in which for every hour that you spend learning in class, you should be spending three hours outside of class studying. In my experience, this is more of a guideline than a rule, and it doesn't apply to every class - I've also taken other classes where the ratio was one hour of class to five hours studying or (for particularly easy classes) five hours of class to one hour studying. The amount of studying you will need to do will depend on the class, but no matter you should come into college prepared to study.
7. Ask for help as soon as you need it. This is the absolute most important point on this list. Every student will go through points where they struggle with grades, money, roommates, and/or a myriad of other problems. The key is to get help when you start struggling. Whether it's Disability Services, advisers for your major, resident assistants, or other university employees, their job is to help you, but they can't help if they don't know there's a problem. When I spoke to Mr. Bryson, an adviser at my school's Disability Services, he told me he likes to meet with students on the spectrum regularly because if he doesn't many students will simply drop out of college without him even having realized there was a problem. Don't let your case be one of these. There are people who want to help you (and, ruling out a desire, are at the very least paid to do so), but you have give them a chance to do so.
Give Your Input!
Are there any tips you think I may have left out or that you wish to share? Contact Me and share your experiences with others!
Are there any tips you think I may have left out or that you wish to share? Contact Me and share your experiences with others!
You may not be aware, but I actually plagiarized big time in this article. But considering it's from another website I made, I think the author's okay with it. :) If you want to read the original, unadapted article you can read it here: http://aftergraduation.weebly.com/quick-tips1.html