So I just got back from my college orientation and I feel overwhelmed. They gave us so much information in such a small amount of time. They told us so much stuff I’m just not sure what to do. I registered for my class and it feels like the classes I want is either full or is at night. I manage to get a schedule that I was ok with with all GE classes.They told us there’s so much to do on campus and we will make friend have fun and stuff. But my biggest fear is what it I fail a class? I’m so scare of failing and there’s so much classes to take. While registering for classes, I feel like I miss high school already. I miss how simple life was back then and how school stuff was so simple. My parents and grandparents will be very disappointed at me if I drop out of College. College just feel so much more complicated. In a way I wish I can go back to last summer so I’ll be a high school senior. Can someone give me advice? Is college classes really that hard?
You are going to be fine. In any new situation, there is a bunch of information that gets thrown at you and it is totally normal to feel overwhelmed. Just make sure to make and keep appointments with your academic advisor who will help keep you on track. Also, it is hardest to schedule classes first semester of freshman year - you are low man on the totem pole. Going forward you will have an easier time with scheduling. You’ll do great - and remember, the college would not have accepted you if you were likely to fail. Don’t worry - you can do it!
College is definitely a step up from high school. You have a lot of freedom now, but with that freedom, there’s a loto f responsibility that’s involved. I just finished my first year as a Health Science/DPT major, and I have to say, college classes can be tough. However, there are ways to work about it.
-
The professor/lecturer is your best friend in the course: go to office hours and get to know the professor! Ask questions in class or one-on-one. For my General Chemistry II class, I would find myself visiting my professor every week with questions. By the end of the semester, I had an 89.4 or a B+ in the class. However, she was kind enough to bump me to an A-. I would imagine that this would not have happened if I had never gone to her office hours.
-
Back Exams: these are past exams that lecturers upload to the course website. You can also ask other students for previous exams. Usually, the back exams are very similar to upcoming exams, so if you can, get your hands on as many of them as possible.
-
Look at the course code: if it starts with a “1”, it’s a 100-level course and is easier than other courses in that subject. For example, General Chemistry I at my school is labeled as “CH-101” while Organic Chemistry I is labeled as “CH-201”. If you want to have an easier time starting out, make sure your classes are 100-level.
-
Do the homework assignments and whatever needs to be done. Everything counts for class and make sure you don’t miss things by checking the syllabus and your school email.
-
Stay organized: keep your room nice so everything is where it should be and have a planner! Know when things are due and what you need to work on. It’s very easy to get buried under mounds of work. My roommate from this year spent most of the time playing videogames, so now he’s paying for it dearly by retaking classes that he could have easily passed.
-
Take a break: watch TV, hang out with friends, nap. It’s important to set aside time for yourself. Not everything in college is about schoolwork.
To be honest, I was in the same boat as you when I was entering USciences. I knew my roommate since he and I have known each other for 6 years, but I knew that I had to make friends to get places. One of the first things to do before you start class is to know people: underclassmen like your year and upperclassmen. The upperclassmen can show you the ropes and who to take for your major. Classes will get hard if you don’t stay on top of everything, but I reckon you’ll do just fine.
Keep this in mind: “you’ll get as much out of college as much as you’ll put in”. Give it all your best and you’ll do great. I hope this helped and best of luck!
Right now everything is new.
Where you live, your friends, your teachers, your classes, your school. But once you start school you will get to know everything. Soon you will be used to it.
How not to fail?
So to do well, consider the following:
-
GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
-
Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
-
If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
-
Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
-
Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.
-
Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
-
If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
-
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
-
If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
-
For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
-
How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
-
At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
-
If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
-
At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
-
Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
-
If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
-
If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
You might think that this is all completely obvious, but I have read many stories on this and other websites where people did not do the above and then are asking for help on academic appeal letters.
You know that old saying about “How do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time. That applies to getting through college. Another poster is correct…scheduling your classes is the most difficult for your first semester of freshman year. After that, it usually gets a lot easier because as you rack up units, you move up the priority list and it’s easier to get the classes you need at the times of day that you want/need.
You’ve received some great advice already. My additional 2 cents to add to that is as follows:
First…GET ORGANIZED. What does this mean?
If you didn’t have good practice with this in high school, then now is the time to get organized. For example:
- Get a 3-ring binder for each class.
- Put all hand outs, returned homework, quizzes, & tests in that binder. Don’t throw that stuff out.
- READ THE SYLLABUS!
- Put the professor’s office hours into your online calendar. Write it down as well on an “old school” printed calendar. Like a desk calendar or one you’d hang on the wall. A big one with plenty of room to write.
- On your online and printed calendar, take each syllabus and write down on BOTH calendars when the midterms, quizzes, and tests are. Also write down when major assignments (like term papers) are due.
- Keep the printed calendar in a prominent place so you have to look at it every day.
HOW TO NOT FAIL A CLASS:
- GO TO CLASS. EVERY TIME.
- DON’T SKIP CLASS!
- Go to the professor’s office hours…whether it be to ask a question or whatever.
- If you’re not sure what will be on the test, ASK! Repeat #3.
- Probably assume that the test will include all of the course material covered up until test day.
- Make a study plan for preparing for the test. Work backwards from the test date & separate your studying into manageable “chunks” each day.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you have a Statistics class final exam. The Stats class grades are done on a curve, where only, let’s say, 15% of the class will get A’s, so many % get B’s, etc., because you’re in an impacted major and they can only accept so many students into the major. This means that getting a decent grade in the class is important.
Let’s also assume that the Stats class had regular homework assigned. And there are sample problems in the book and problems in the homework assignments. Redo problems from each homework assignment from each chapter that will be covered on the test. Especially the problems that you know you struggled with earlier in the course. Review 1-2 chapters per day. Figure out when to start reviewing based on how much work is involved. Work backwards from the test date and that is when you start studying for the midterm/final exam.
This also gives you time to recognize that you don’t understand certain concepts, so you can go see the professor in office hours to get clarification.
If you wait to start studying the night before the test, then you don’t have that opportunity to ask for help.