<p>I've heard numerous stories about intelligent, hard-working kids doing poorly their freshman year in college whether it be due to newfound or independence or whatever transitional problems. I want to try to avoid that and start college off strong. I'm nervous though because even some kids who were in all AP classes throughout high school struggle at college and I personally never took honors or AP classes and just got by without working really hard. Now I'm off to a college where academics are actually pretty tough and am worried I won't do well. How can I prepare myself this summer for the rigor of college academics? Or am I overly-concerned?</p>
<p>I think you should make sure to choose your classes very carefully. Make sure you take subjects that you are very interested in (so that you’ll want to do the work), try to avoid a lot that are heavy on reading and writing, and don’t take more than the number your school recommends. This will make the transition smoother, and once you have a better idea of your ability to keep up with the work, you can maybe try to challenge yourself more the second semester.</p>
<p>Good luck! =]</p>
<p>Enjoy your summer and dont worry. Like stated take the recommended course load and study in bits and parts. Don’t wait till the last second to study for a midterm or final, or to write a paper. Just study an hour here and an hour there, and eventually the effort will pay off.</p>
<p>Do what you enjoy. And since you stated you work very hard, you’re already ahead of the game. </p>
<p>Also if you like reading/writing, take those classes. No reason not to!</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess your intended major will say a lot, and the work-coping possibility varies with that.</p>
<p>I was an extreme slacker in High School. I came in an hour before school started to do all my HW and I also had a 45 min study hall as my first class senior year to get some last minute HW done and I was taking some high level classes (ap calc, college physics, anatomy). It was rough and I didn’t care but I still managed to get into a great school. But I completely changed that in college because it was inevitable. </p>
<p>-looking at notes everyday helps (even for a couple minutes)
-paying attention during lectures
-being organized</p>
<p>If you can do these you’re already ahead of the game.</p>