Many of people have either made it to college or are applying to colleges very soon, yet they're not very sure of what college would be like. There are so many very important things that you should keep in mind while in college that many will not tell you. Yeah college is fun, and it will shape the rest of your life, but how exactly do you survive college?
1. Attend Office Hours
The first day of class you are passed a syllabus, on the top of the syllabus is the class name, the name of the professor and his/her office hours -- use them! It does not matter if you do not have a question all semester about your assignments for a particular class, attending office hours could be the determining factor between the grade of "d" or "c". Many professors take their office hours seriously, and are there when they should be. Going to sit in the office during office hours and asking questions about tests, papers, homework, etc. can be very helpful when you need an extension on an assignment.
2. Go To Class
The biggest issue in college is that your parents are not here, meaning mom and dad will not wake you up every morning to start you on your way. For many colleges you only have so many absences before your professor can drop you without any hesitation, save those for a stormy day or for the morning after you've stayed up all night trying to study for an exam. Whatever is on the exam was covered in class and written on the board, just get up and go.
3. Planning
Planning to do things will help a lot. For an example, as a procrastinator I often wait until the day/night before an assignment is due to actually complete it, not because I don't want to do it, but because it's easier to focus under pressure. The key to procrastination is planning. Write things down in a planner so you know when everything is due. This will cut down on the "crap! I forgot to do my homework... AGAIN!".
4. Coffee
Many people hate coffee; however, after many late nights of paper writing and researching you'll find a friend in coffee and caffeine.
5. Studying
You know that one place in the library that you never see people? Use that as your quiet place to study. For my University the 3rd floor in our campus library is the best place to study during the day because there's nobody there. Make sure to highlight important parts of the text that your professors go over during class, and feel free to write all in the textbooks (you can return them to the bookstore with writing in them). The highlighted parts of the text are what you should expound on in your notebooks, nine times out of ten you'll need these quotes for exams and papers.
6. Take A Break
It is okay to take a break. You will need quite a few during your four years in college. Take a walk, a nap, go eat something? Anything?
7. Get Involved!
Do you like to sing? Join the campus choir. Do you like to dance? Join a dance troupe. Do you like to write? Does your school have an Odyssey team? If so join. You wont regret it. Theodysseyonline.com/apply. Check it out to see if your school is listed.
8. Go Home.
A lot of times in the middle of a really stressful month of school I will become very homesick. Although home is only about 2 hours away from where I attend college I rarely go home. Going home, however, is the best place to be refilled, and find your peace before midterms, or finals.
9. Failing: 2 not 3
When failing classes always remember that you are not a failure! The thing about failing classes is that you probably missed more than one assignment that was worth more than you thought it was. Do not take the same professor that you just failed, they will not help you. You only have 2 times to take a class, please remember this, financial aid will not cover your third try.
10. Internships
College is all about who you know and what you know. Applying for jobs you often see "5 years of experience needed", and you're stuck trying to understand how you can find 5 years of experience when you haven't graduated college yet. Internships. They're everything you never knew you needed. Whether paid or unpaid find internships and stick to them. They look very great on resumes and count as experience.
All in all have fun. College is what you make it and things may not go exactly how you thought it should but it will be worth it.
