When I started college, I was just like any other normal student. My only real concerns were my classes; everything else I did was for fun.
I learned a lot during my freshman year, though, and as I learned I began to focus on more productive things.
What you do in your first year of college can have a big impact on the rest of your college years – not to mention on the rest of your life. A few missteps might be possible to undo later on, but too many wrong moves and you might well find it impossible to recover later. Blow off too many classes, for example, and your grades will suffer – and no matter how much you reform your ways in ensuing years, your GPA will always suffer. Do poorly enough, and you might find yourself on academic probation or even thrown out come the end of the school year!
Here’s my piece of advisory to all the First years in the time to come;
(A) Always go to class
A lot of bloggers will debate this one, but I think it’s essential. You never know when the professor will drop a crucial test hint, or give out extra credit for attendance.
(B) Get Organised
Get yourself a sturdy file box and a set of file folders, and set up a folder for each class. Start using a planner, and keep a to-do list. Unless you’re heavily into computers, I actually don’t recommend you use software or web services to manage your schedule; most of the time, you won’t have easy access to a computer which means you won’t use those tools when you need them most.
(C) Sleep Well
It’s ironic that the time in our life when we need sleep the most is the time when we’re most tempted to skimp on sleep. Adequate sleep is essential for college students. Believe it or not, it’s when you’re asleep that most of the work of learning happens – that’s when the brain processes and files away the stuff you stored in short-term memory in your classes the previous day.
(D) Don’t get a Credit Card
You’ll get bombarded with apparently sweet credit card deals almost from the second you step on campus (many college bookstores put credit card flyers in the bag with your textbooks!) Consider that credit card companies have fought hard for the right to turn a large profit from fees for being overdrawn, missing payments, or going over your limit – now consider how they expect to make a profit from you.
(E) Take no shit
College is full of drama. From ragging to emotional gaming, it’s a vast arena for filmy experiments to create trends. The more you end up listening to people and maintaining a genuinely frank attitude, the more you’re guaranteed to fall. Don’t blindly trust, stay confident and remember that your only true friend is you.
