I have really lived this since I just finished the fall semester. I know what it is like to be a freshmen just fresh out of high school and go right into college, it's tough but everything can be rewarding. I am doing this post because I want to reach out to any future freshmen to help with the craziness of the first semester.
Tip #1. Have a binder designated for anything college related. It could hold the copy of your class schedule, financial aid documents, scholarship letters, letters from the college such as the acceptance letter, and if your dad or mom is military and they give you their GI Bill, it can hold you VA forms and such.
Tip #2. Rent your books. I rented all my books and it is easier on the wallet rather than buying a $100 book. But if you do end up having to buy a book if you can't rent it, buy one that is used. There are many used college book sites out there that you can use. I used a few, one like skyo.com which has a great selection of books for rent or to buy.
Tip #3. Make flash cards for your vocabulary and spread sheets with info that you gathered from the textbooks that was on your exam study guide. Sticky note everything; literally. Trust me, I did the spread sheet and it did help me because it gives you the definition for an event, a person, a battle and a place that you have to know. Flash cards help a lot too because they are a form of repetition, at least they are to me. Sticky notes really do help when you have to do a term paper on lets say a compare and contrast of two books. You can place a note on a page and write on the note what you need and bookmark the page for later when citing it in a paper.
Tip #5. When in doubt, always ask questions. Whether you are stuck on a paper or unsure of a protocol, ask you professor or an advisor. They have the answers they can give you. Do not just sit there and do what you think is the right method. It is better to go to someone with knowledge and ask for advice or help.
Tip #6. If it helps you, print out the power points if your professor emails them to you and your classmates. It helps to have the power point in front of you because then you can write your own notes on the power point to review later when you have an upcoming exam. You can highlight the terms that your professor says will be on the exam.
Tip #7. If your professors says there is extra credit you can do, by all means do it! My Greek Mythology professor said that we could do a compare and contrast on Hercules (Disney film) and Heracles (Greek Mythology Hero). I did this and it was not that hard, I had a jolly good time because I got to watch the film which was nice. No college student can get too old for a Disney film.
Tip #8. Always check your student email! One time, class in the classroom for me was cancelled due to weather conditions and I did not know this and ended up arriving to my classroom with the door locked. All because I did not check the email.
Tip #9. If your college has an app for your smart phone; GET IT! It makes it easier rather than typing in into your safari app which takes a while since you sometimes don't have a great wifi source to make it go faster. I got my college's app for my iPhone and it has helped. Many college apps are free.
Tip #10. If you don't live on campus and you live at home, exchange numbers with people in your classes in case you want to do a study group, need information on homework, need notes that you missed, and or need to figure place and time to meet up to work on a group project. You make such great friends from college. Especially if they are in your grade/year, cause then you can relate and try to help each other through any struggles.
A lot of these tips did help me because it made classes a bit easier on me. I was able to complete all my classes with good grades, and my grades helped me get on the Dean's List. They could help you too. You just need dedication, consistency and confidence. You can make the Dean's List during you first semester, you have to believe in yourself, because you CAN do it.
And if you did or didn't notice that I skipped Tip #4, here it is.
And if you did or didn't notice that I skipped Tip #4, here it is.
Tip #4. Read and re-read everything before submitting it to a professor or to a blog.
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