3 Steps to be Successful in College
College is an exciting prospect, yet many students feel overwhelmed by the occasion.
I think we all can agree that college is a massive shift from high school. Some students tend to cope well with the change, but many others tend to plummet as the semester goes on.
Why is that the case? The environment, coursework, professors, schedule, time management, interests, and the list goes on and on. Students have the opportunity to live an independent life. Though that may sound exciting to many individuals, it is crucial to always stay on task, or else you will struggle to do well in your courses.
I am currently in my third year of college, and there were so many things I wish I could have changed during my first semester of college.
Back in high school, I was one of those teenagers who assumed college would be a paradise. Considering I was never an early morning bird, the idea of setting your class schedule sounded like a dream come true.
Like many others, I wanted college to be a fresh start for myself. But I will be honest; I was never a perfect student in high school. After coming back home from school, I would end up watching YouTube videos and Netflix until midnight.
By the time I finished, I would eat a late-night dinner and barely have enough time to study for exams. Eventually, I would get my work done, but I would lose a lot of sleep. Looking back at things, I definitely could have fixed many aspects of my high school life.
College is a fascinating occasion, but it can hit you hard if you are not focused. Here are my three steps for success in college:
Step #1. Be open to making new friends
Easy, right. Unfortunately, this isn’t as easy as it sounds, and this was one of the things which I feared as a high school senior. The friends I made during middle and high school are like family to me. They will always have a place in my heart for everything I have experienced with them.
With that said, I was sad that I was not going to the same college as them.
Three months before graduation, I received news that I got accepted into the Pharmacy program at the University of the Sciences. I was the only student from the Class of 2019 who applied and accepted the university’s offer.
Most students from my class applied and accepted their offer to Rutgers University (a gigantic public state university in New Jersey).
When I thought about making new friends at college, my biggest concern was if students would have similar interests to mine. How would I introduce myself? What do I talk about?
Let’s be honest, if everyone had similar interests, making new friends would be a piece of cake.
My most significant piece of advice would be to stay patient. Friendship isn’t something that can appear out of thin air. Sometimes, you need to remain patient until you have found the right pair of friends.
True friends will always be there for you, and they will make college an exciting experience. I never found the right group of friends until halfway through the first semester.
Just know that this can take time for some people, but you will learn and feel the charm and sensation when you have met the right pair of friends.
Step #2. Effectively manage your time
I believe this tip ranks at the top for many because of the twists and surprises a college life can have.
Time management was something I struggled with during my first few weeks of college, and sooner or later, I realized that studying two hours before an exam and doing work last minute would lead me on a path to failure.
You don’t want to have five projects due the same week as four exams. Not only do you lose plenty of sleep, but you also don’t have enough times to study for exams. College places a significant emphasis on exams.
For the past two years, I’ve enrolled in classes where exams comprised my entire grade for the academic semester. It was a huge transition from high school, where you would receive projects, extra credit assignments, and quizzes to boost your grade.
Studying last minute never helped me excel on exams, and it was one of the things I wish I changed during my first semester of college.
Setting a schedule to manage my time helped me a lot during my second semester of college. I would strongly advise anyone starting college soon to create a schedule to help them manage their time.
You can create an agenda through a notebook, diary, Google calendar, or even the notes app on your phones’.
Trust me; you will sleep so much better knowing you don’t have a million assignments due the next day.
Step #3. Build relationships with your professors
Trust me, even if you enroll in a class with over 500 students. Professors love when students participate during lectures. Not only are you exhibiting interest in the subject, but you are also conveying to your professors that you want to be here and you are willing to work hard to be successful in the course.
During my first semester of college, Writing and Rhetoric 101 was a course I struggled with. Writing and Rhetoric 101 was very similar to an English 101 course. I could never seem to write the perfect paper. No matter how many hours I spent practicing, it never seemed to improve my writing
I was a quiet student in high school, and I was never really one to participate in class. Not because I wasn’t interested in the course, but because I was afraid of speaking out loud to my professor in the middle of class. In other words, I had stage fright.
Please don’t make the same mistake as me.
If you notice that you are struggling in a class, let your professors know immediately.
Think of a bad grade like a broken cup. If you break a brand new cup into two pieces and fix the pieces back together, will the cup ever look the same? No, because even when you set the parts back together, you can never hide the crack.
In college, if you fail exams, it isn’t the end of the world, but recovering your grade will be a complicated challenge. Not only are you on the road to failing the class, but you are also under immense pressure to perform well in future exams.
Eventually, when I informed my writing professor two weeks before the semester ended about my struggles with writing, it was way too late. Though I received guidance for the final paper, it would not make up for all the other assignments where I failed to ask my professor for help.
The moral here is don’t be shy to introduce yourself and ask your professors for help! Mark my word, professors only want you to succeed, and they will be happy that you reached out for extra support and guidance.
I wish you the best in your journey to success in college! Feel free to share what college you got accepted into, and any additional tips you have in the comments below. Good luck!