<p>I'm starting college this fall, and I need some tips that will help me become successful. Don't give me obvious ones like "Don't procrastinate"(everyone does it anyways) or "Don't party too much!" haha
Please give me useful tips that will help me in college. Thank you!</p>
<p>Be early to class and sit in the front. It forces you to pay attention.</p>
<p>I know this seems obvious, but GO TO CLASS. So many professors ask easy questions on tests that are basically free points if you were in attendance that day. Don’t skip class just because you THINK there won’t be anything important going on that day.</p>
<p>If you’re confused, get help IMMEDIATELY. It’ll only get worse if you don’t.</p>
<p>Go to office hours, even if you’re doing well in the class. The professors want to get to know the students, especially if it’s a larger class. They’re also more likely to remember you when you need that letter of rec. down the road.</p>
<p>^That’s like exactly what they said at our orientation.</p>
<p>^They told you that for a reason: that stuff works.</p>
<p>don’t gain the freshman 15</p>
<p>On the drinking. Only drink on nights when you don’t have class the next day. That’s the key to managing your drinking. </p>
<p>Going to class is good, because professors will spell out stuff for exams throughout the semester. I had one professor who told you to write something on your final just before Spring Break (because half the class skipped), and that was like 10% extra credit for writing that.</p>
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<p>It seems like that would mean don’t go to class hungover.</p>
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<p>Well, it’s good advice. Students who whine about pulling all-nighters are those who, given a month to work on a project, will start it 1-2 days before the deadline. College isn’t that much work if you treat it like a full-time job.</p>
<p>Figure out where you need to do all the work and where you can get by with less; it will save you stress and time to focus on classes in which you really DO need to read it all. It sounds like I’m telling you to blow stuff off, but I’m not. Get to know how your classes work and what is expected of you. If you never use your economic book in class, for instance, and the professor says nothing from the book will be on the test, DON’T waste time reading chapter after chapter of it because you think it will help. You’re wasting time that you could use for things that will actually help you.</p>
<p>Look up Study Hacks, a really good blog that is all about college academia.</p>
<p>Don’t read Twilight.</p>
<p>But on a more serious note, look out for your health. I normally have wonderful health, but first year of college (across the country from home)…BAM, everything just hit me at once. I got seriously sick or would have a cold 24/7. When you’re in college, your sleep schedule may change, your diet may change, the stress of moving to a new place may affect you, and perhaps you’ll be exposed to viruses you’ve never been exposed to. Wash your hands often. Don’t make out with too many people (herpes, anyone?). Don’t share drinks, mononucleosis and other flus are much more rampant on college campuses. Eat your fruits and veggies, get your sleep, exercise. Don’t forget about your body. :)</p>
<p>I would have to second HisGraceFillsMe’s advice. Sitting closer to the front is a good way to force yourself to pay attention. My best grades in college came in classes that I actually attended. The ones I slacked off in turned out worse. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a question begin with “According to what you heard in lecture…”</p>
<p>If you slouch down in the back, you may be tempted to doze off or let your mind wander, or even leave class early.</p>
<p>Sleep as much as you can. You’ll feel better in the morning, and you won’t feel as if you’re fighting your body just to get up and go to class, foggy-minded and tired.</p>
<p>To echo Grace again, if you don’t understand something, ask the teacher ASAP. Nothing’s worse than letting a fundamental misunderstanding go on for weeks unchecked, because by that time the material will be more advanced, and it’s hard to play catchup.</p>
<p>I go to Swarthmore, which is known as an intense college academically. But it’s honestly not that bad. I was mostly a straight-A student in high school and I got a B average first semester and a B+ average second semester of my first year in college. I honestly don’t know whether that’s good or not, because nobody talks about grades here. But I think I’m doing alright. </p>
<p>One piece of advice that I’ve found very helpful: You do not have to do all your reading. Sometimes a professor will assign a chapter and call it “required reading,” but the professor never discusses it or tests you on it, so it’s basically a stupid decision to read it, especially if you have other work that’s more important. Once I was assigned 580 pages of reading for just my Chinese history class, to be read the next week (the normal 200 pages, + another book for a book review assignment) and in addition a 4-page book review to be due that week. When you have 3 other important classes, you can either try to read all 580 pages, or just be realistic and say, I will just read what’s important. So I skimmed the book for my book review, banged out the book review (which got a B+) and just didn’t do the other reading. And I didn’t really regret it.</p>
<p>Another tip: Focus on what your professor says in lecture, and then pay more attention to the parts of the text that correspond to lecture. Take my German history course. He also assigned about 200 pages a week, but he only lectured about some of it, and the entire grade in the class was based on 3 take-home papers. So I could get away with basically reading very little of the “required” reading. For my Chinese language class, what showed up a lot on the tests was the grammar that the teacher went over in class and that was more important than memorizing how to write, for instance, “soap” in Chinese. Basically, you should study most what the professors say in lecture, and don’t worry too much about the other stuff.</p>
<p>Another tip: Take advantage of office hours. I wasn’t used to the idea of going to a professor after class and asking specific questions, but it was very useful. Much better than study groups, because you’re talking to the person who really knows the material. Study groups are more for reviewing. Instead of struggling for hours by myself over the textbook because I couldn’t understand it, I could have just gone to the professor, and I would have understood the material much faster.</p>
<p>And when you’re working on problem sets, it helps to work on the problem by yourself for a few days, then meet with a friend who is a good student and discuss the problems, then go to the professor or TA and go over what you couldn’t figure out. In my math class we had weekly math assignments. Instead of spending the whole week working by yourself, it was better to work by myself the first few days, then maybe on Wednesday go over with a friend, then go over the tough problems in office hours on Friday. </p>
<p>If you do these things, you can save a lot of time and pain.</p>
<p>^great advice!</p>
<p>Also, find out who is grading your assignments and ask THEM about what they expect. In my intro to int’l. relations class, for instance, everything (midterm, paper, and final) was graded by your TA (who were all Ph.D. students in this case and all phenomenal actually), but people went to the professor of 100+ students to ask for help. I didn’t understand this: the TA knows what he’s looking for, he’s the one giving you the grade, AND he only deals with 20-some students and will be much more available to meet with you. </p>
<p>If the professor is grading, ask him personally what he expects if you’re unsure instead of going solely by what your TA says.</p>
<p>Just some quick’uns.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>So if you can’t get breakfast for any such reason, make sure you at least have a spoonful of peanut butter and some water (sorry for those peanut allergy sufferers). It works well at waking your brain up and preparing you for the day ahead.</p></li>
<li><p>Drink water. Take care of yourself. Stay away from junk foods, they’re costly and unnecessary most of the time. If you do snack, make sure to mix in something healthy (like a fluffernutter on whole wheat, blasphemy, i know, but!). </p></li>
<li><p>Respect other people. Keep your hands to yourself and don’t threaten anyone/act a fool/be a jerk/start a fight. </p></li>
<li><p>Keep the pot smoking/illicit drug using on the down low. Cliche I know, but if word gets around that you’re that kid or in that crowd, RA’s and rumors could materialize into meetings with your RD about he-said-she-said happenings. Here’s a real life example: We (our suite) was pulled into our RD’s office and questioned as someone reported hearing us talk about crack cocaine use. </p></li>
<li><p>Walk/bike when you can. The campus bus is convenient, but you get to enjoy the world so much more by giving yourself some more time and taking a walk!</p></li>
<li><p>Make an effort to analyze your classes in the first week or two. By this I mean really hammer down whether or not you can afford to skip this class, not study for this class’ quizzes, and how much you have to focus on this class. It may not necessarily be a bad thing if you don’t, but if you really take the time to figure out how to make a class work for you, you take immense amounts of pressure off you and your time.</p></li>
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<p>This is more of a second semester piece of advice, but when you do scheduling for the spring and later semesters, try and get into classes with at least one good friend in each. For me that really helped because when I’m taking a class with no one I know then I tend to daydream a lot more, but if there’s a friend sitting next to me then they help me focus on the notes and the teacher. </p>
<p>Also, make sure you squeeze in exercise and “me time” for at least a little while every day. I couldn’t figure out all first semester why i was so miserable, and when I finally started doing that in the spring it made SUCH a difference.</p>
<p>Here’s what I said in an old thread:</p>
<p>1) Go to class. AT LEAST the first couple weeks, go to EVERY class. After that you might be able to see that you can skip one or two, but in general, GO TO CLASS!</p>
<p>2) When you’re studying actually study. Don’t sit in your dorm room half watching TV, half doing physics. You won’t learn any physics. If you actually study you’ll have time to do other stuff later.</p>
<p>3) Don’t just hang out with your old friends/your roommate. Make friends in your hall and in your classes and hang out with them. If you just hang out with your roommate who are you going to complain about your roommate to?</p>
<p>4) Don’t be a jerk to your roommate. Set up guidelines on sharing food and stuff, and don’t take anything without asking. If you all have an agreed upon set of standards for the TV, visitors and sharing supplies/food everything will go much easier.</p>
<p>5) Exercise. All that cafeteria food and studying can take its toll on your body. Go for a run, lift weights, play football, just do something. Bonus points if you actually join some sort of club or intramural sport.</p>
<p>6) Meet a lot of new people. Leave your door open when you’re in your room and don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone before or after class. The more friends you have the better your experience is going to be.</p>
<p>7) Don’t get too into the partying scene. Have fun, but don’t start going out five nights a week. You have to know when to work, and when not to work. Friday night, you aren’t bumping up on any deadlines or tests? Go have a good time. Saturday night, final you haven’t studied for on Monday morning? Study.</p>
<p>8.) GO TO CLASS.</p>
<p>9) Talk to your professors, especially if they’re in your major. Go to their office hours and ask questions on anything you’re not positive about. Most professors like students that do stuff like that, and will help them out. Also you get contacts/recommendations. The professors here bent the rules for me BIG time and let me transfer into my college within the university because I knew two of the three that could make the decision.</p>
<p>10) Keep healthy/clean. Eat some decent food (vegetables and fruits) and take a vitamin. Now’s a great time to stop drinking pop and start drinking water. Keep your clothes and room fairly clean, you never know when you’re going to have somebody over. Wash your sheets every once and a while too.</p>
<p>11) Call your parents every once and a while. They’re probably paying for you to go there so it’s nice to let them know you’re still alive, especially if you call sometimes NOT asking for money. With my parents at least, they bug me less when I give them a weekly or so call then when I fall off the face of the earth to them for a month.</p>
<p>12) Try some new stuff. If you’re the type of person who’s sort of quiet and doesn’t go out much, try going to a party. Try new food. Play a new sport. Go to a play. Just do SOMETHING new. It keeps life interesting and gives you something to talk about. If you don’t like it then now you know.</p>
<p>13) Don’t go home every weekend. Don’t go home every other weekend. About twice every three months works out pretty well. I tend to not go back unless there’s something big happening. There’s plenty of fun stuff to do on campus, and you’ll end up missing a lot if you’re just home watching your mom do your laundry.</p>
<p>14) GO TO CLASS.</p>
<p>15) Have fun. Really, you’ve got the opportunity to make college whatever you want to. Want to be a huge partier? You can. Want to stay locked in the library all day? You can. Want to live healthier? You can. You are actually going to be making real decisions that really effect who you are as a person every day. Just remember to keep everything in moderation and you’ll be alright.</p>
<p>About scheduling:
You know if you’re a morning person or not. If you are then you should get your classes out of the way early. Some people can do 8ams, some can’t. If you can’t do NOT sign up for them, you will skip. And just because you go to highschool at 7 doesn’t mean you’ll actually go to your 8am chem lab.</p>
<p>Make sure you leave time to eat lunch. Class from 10:30 - 2:30 might get the day over with quicker, but you’ll be ready to eat your notes by the time 2 rolls around. If worst comes to worst take a sandwich and eat it between classes.</p>
<p>Try not to take any evening classes on fridays. Evening classes are generally fine, especially if you only have one or you’re not planning on getting a job, but having one on friday makes it harder to go out and do stuff, or to take weekend trips, or go home or whatever. Just try to get out of class as early as you can on friday. In my experience there are fewer classes on friday anyway, with way more M/W or T/TH than two day classes that meet on friday.</p>
<p>If you live pretty far off campus try to get all your classes together. If you can’t and you have a large block between classes stay on campus and use that time to study. You’ll be wasting a lot of time and gas driving back and forth.</p>
<p>If you’re on campus you have a bit more flexibility. Some professors do run over. If you have one that has a tendency to do that talk to him after class one day and just inform him you might have to duck out right at the classes ending time to get to your next class. He shouldn’t care. You COULD schedule huge blocks of classes and get them all over with, but then sometimes you’re racing across campus over and over. Just try to avoid having just a half hour between classes, since then you’ll be getting back to your room just in time to leave again. If you do have an hour or so you could just go to the library and study. Time management is key.</p>
<p>I’ve found ratemyprofessor to be pretty inaccurate at times. If a professor has a LOT of reviews that all say basically the same thing then it might be worth listening to, but two or three reviews generally don’t mean anything. If you can, talk to students that have had professors before. This is easier to do when scheduling for second semester and beyond, but if you’ve got older friends that go to that college you can ask them. You can also use facebook to try and find people. The professor you have makes a HUGE difference in many classes, enough of one to justify taking an 8am over an 11am just to get a certain professor. Trust me.</p>
<p>Try not to schedule too much of one thing on one day. Split up your math classes or labs or whatever if you can, especially labs. Having two labs on one day would be a very draining experience, so don’t if you can avoid it.</p>
<p>Schedule classes with friends if you can. You can study together and keep eachother on your toes when it comes to test dates or whatever. Also, try to make friends in your classes.</p>
<p>Only use online classes if that is the only way it is offered, or if you’re extremely motivated, or if the class is not in your actual field (just taking it to satisfy a university requirement) and you’ve talked to a lot of people that have said it is easy. It’s easy to forget to do stuff when you don’t have an actual classroom to go to, and it really becomes annoying to keep up with everything.</p>
<p>PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT COURSES YOU HAVE TO TAKE, AND DO NOT BELIEVE A SINGLE WORD YOUR ADVISOR EVER SAYS! This one came back to almost kill me.</p>
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<p>Yeah. A lot of professors get bad ratings on that site because they expect a lot out of their students. A lot of students don’t like unpersonable professors, even though they may be excellent teachers, as well. There are a lot of lazy students out there.</p>
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<p>Really though, try to be a morning person. It just gives you so much more time to do stuff.</p>
<p>True, but there are people who just are not going to show up for an 8am class, and those people shouldn’t schedule them.</p>