College is what you of make it. You can either choose to make the best of it, or you can choose to complain and not look at the brighter side of things. When you start college, you will finally realize that everybody was right...college is hard. You will also realize some other stuff along the way. Here's what to expect from college.
1. Cha-ching
Money, money, money. College is expensive. From the tuition, to the books, to the gas spent getting there. My first semester of college, I was lucky to get a $1,000 scholarship and a $250 scholarship. Before college had even started, I spent $600 just on the books I needed for four classes. The remaining $650 lasted for the rest of the semester and half of the following semester. It felt like it was gone in no time. The biggest tip with managing money is to apply for scholarships. And one thing I wish I had done was wait until the teacher said if we absolutely needed a book or not, because one of the books I bought only got used once. In college, you have to be smart with your money.
2. Time management is a must.
If you are a procrastinator, I highly suggest trying your hardest to get out of that habit. In college, waiting until the last minute to do any assignment is the worst mistake you can make. I learned that lesson the hard way. Get yourself on a schedule and work ahead. It will benefit you in the long run.
3. Study
I can't stress this one enough. In high school I never had to really study for a test. At most, I would glance over anything I wasn't sure about right before taking a test. College is a different story. I haven't had one test that I didn't have to study for. There was one test I studied a whole week for and still barely passed. This was the hardest part for me about college. I was used to knowing the material with no problem and making A's on everything.
Since starting college, I've had to readjust and accept the fact that a B isn't a bad grade. Get used to studying and find strategies that work best for you. I highly suggest having a study group or partner. I found a study partner on the first day of class, and we stayed study partners the next semester, even though we didn't have class together. It makes studying easier and more fun for everybody.
4. Study your professor.
This is one thing I really wish I had known when I started college. Go online to Ratemyprofessor.com and do some research before you choose who you want. My first semester I had a really bad English instructor. He didn't teach well, he graded everything late, and he talked too much about his personal life. Because he never graded correctly, I didn't make my desired grade in the course. Now I'm choosing to retake the entire class to improve my grade. If I had done my research before taking his class, I probably wouldn't be in the position I am in now.
5. Don't expect too much.
Last semester I finished all of my pre-occupational courses and went to apply for my program. I was so excited to finally be done with the boring classes so I could move on to the fun, hands-on learning. A week after applying, I was informed that I actually had not finished all the pre-occupational classes and that I should had taken an elective class. This wasn't my fault.
When I first started college, I was informed that I did not need to take an elective class. It turns out the person that told me that had it wrong. In my program, the occupational classes only start in the fall. Because of this, I won't be able to get into the program until fall of next year. I decided to make the best of the situation and retake some classes that I didn't do so well in the first time, like that English class.
All of these are something I wish I had known before I started college. I hope you will take everything into consideration and prepare yourself ahead of time.
