College Success Strategies

College Success Strategies

Once you've successfully navigated the college admissions maze, you need to start preparing for the transition to postsecondary academics and student life. It will be much harder than high school for most. You will have to put in lots more sudy time to earn good grades. And, there will be a ton of reading to do! Don't worry you can do this! Here are some college success strategies to help.

Go To Class - Every Class

This is the single most important thing you can do to help yourself. Ask any college professor and they'll be sure to tell you that this is what helps all students to do well in their class. Yes, it's fun to have the freedom that no one will miss you from that 200 student lecture hall - but beware, more classes in college actually have attendance policies than you think. And, it really does help you to learn. So, don't miss class for any reason if you can help it!

Of all the tips listed here, you may overlook this one as too simple to matter, but I promise you that if you a make a commitment to do this, without exception, you will do well and you will graduate!

Review The Course Syllabus To Plan Ahead

One of the great secrets about college classes is that every professor is required to give you a roadmap of exactly what you are going to learn, ALL of your assigments for the entire semester and WHEN they are due. Too many students just don't use this information to their advantage.

Each professor will give this to you on the first day of class. Most now post it online, too. Use it to make a calendar of when all your assignments are due. If you now you are going to have 3 big tests and 2 papers all due in the same week, you certainly won't want to leave all of that for the last minute! Plan ahead and get to work early.

Meet Your Advisor And Get To Know Them

Your advisor is typically a professor that either is an expert in your major or that works specifically with first year students to be their guide in helping you with transition issues. Many first year students don't invest the time to use this valuable resource! Don't make that mistake.

Make an appointment the first week of school and ask that advisor to tell you about themselves and you share with them, too. Tell them what your current dreams of what you want to do after college. Ask if you can make a second appointment now just to check in with them and let them know how you are doing. The reason why is this person can you help you start to plan what courses to take to make sure you accomplish your goals. And, you need to know what courses to take during what semester (not all are offered every single semester) so that you can graudate on time.

One of the saddest things I often hear on campus is too many first year students that don't even know their advisors name!

Make The Research Librarian Your Best Friend

Ok, so he or she doesn't have to be your best friend. But, seriously, go to the library soon after your arrival and find out who the people are that are called research assistants, research librarians, reference assistants or reference librarians. These people can really save your butt when you need to find good, citable information sources for your research papers. They can save you oodles and oodles of time! And, every library has them and this is what they love to do! This really is a great success strategy. Just ask nicely and they will make the information world a lovely place...

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Learn What A Citable Source Means

When using sources of information for papers after high school, DON'T use Wikipedia or any other online or hard copy sources that include a "pedia" of any kind! For that matter, you usually won't get good grades for using newspaper articles or just quoting someone's blog either.

Most schools have a tutorial available in some kind of format (online or in-person or written guide) to help you understand what it means to do quality research for your papers at this level. And, for any class that you see a paper due at some point, ALWAYS email that professor and ask what type of sources of information are acceptable to use.

Learn How To Quote Research Sources

I know, I know, I 'm spending a lot of enery on doing research and papers, but the truth is, this where you will be investing lots of time and an area that most first year students make mistakes. You need to learn the correct way to quote your sources and to paraphrase any information you find in using it to make your points in your arguments.

Usually, most schools will adopt one uniform way to do this (they are two generally accepted ways ---you'll hear the acronyms AMA style or APA style). Find out which your school uses and BUY the handbook that outlines how to quote things and footnote things and do a bibliography of your sources using that style.

You can usually find out the preferred method from any teacher you have. So ASK!

Buy A VERY Loud Alarm Clock

All kidding aside, you are going to have a lot of nights either from studying or from enjoying your newfound freedom. Mommy is NOT going to be getting you up in the morning anymore (well ok, she COULD still call your cell phone but that ringer isn't very loud is it?). So, you need to make sure you get an alarm clock that can wake you up out of a deep slumber --- you will need it!

By the way, make sure you do get some sleep! And, try to get at least 7 hours a night if you can. Your mind really needs it to soak in all that knowledge!

Practice Good Eating Habits

You DO need to beware of the dreaded Freshmen 15! This seems like a no brainer but you really to pay attention to this success strategy. It's so easy to fall into bad eating habits and your metabolism is not the same as it was when you were 14. Those all you can eat cafeterias usually have many, many very tasty, but calorie packed choices from pizza to ice cream. Try to limit yourself to one trip through the lines (yes, I know you paid for it) and avoid that dessert line!

Seriously, you've got so much to occupy your mind, you don't need the added stress of putting on a few pounds. Then you'll have to get new clothes, you'll be worried about how you look, and you won't sleep as well either, so try to pay attention to your eating habits if you can.

Make A Plan To Deal With Stress

There will be stressful times. Unfortunately, it's not all "the best 4 years of your life," like everyone tells you. It's hard! New friends, new work levels, new places, new routines. It is a lot to adjust to. You can do it, and there will be lots of good times, too. But, you need to plan for how you will deal with stress.

Figure out what you will do to get in some regular exercise. Also, learn where your school has resources for you just to talk to someone if you need it (the school nurse is a great person to ask -- so is anyone in the Student Life or Residence Life Office -- and if you live on campus there is usually a person called a Resident Assistant on your floor that took that job because they want to help new students).

Use The Help Services Available To You

The vast majority of schools have lots of services to help you with your studies. Most have Writing Centers, Math Centers, Tutors and all kinds of things geared to help you. USE THEM!

First, of all, you are paying for them! Don't just let them go to waste. Second, they are very good sources of help. They can help you make your paper better BEFORE you turn it in. They can help you understand that statistics problem you just didn't get in class, etc.

Too many students think it's a sign of weakness to use these services. HOGWASH! Show your friends your first priority to do whatever you need to do well to get good grades. THIS IS YOUR FUTURE we are talking about here!

Register For Classes AS SOON AS YOU CAN

Classes have student size caps so don't wait too long and get shut out of a class you need this semester. This is important. Not every class is offered every semester and there are often classes called "prerequisites" that you have to take before you can take another class. So, ask about when register for the next semester's classes is early in your first semester and find out how it works. Then make a point to register as soon as you possibly can so that you'll stay on course to graduate on-time! (I'm not kidding about this, you'll hear stories from students who couldn't get the classes they needed when they thought they could take them and ended up having to spend extra tuition dollars!)

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