Top 5 Tips on How to Manage Time in College

Ø  Get a Planner: In college, there is always something going on and assignments that you will have due. The best way to keep track of that is to get a planner and put it to USE. By doing this you will never have to worry about what you have coming up. You will know what is coming up and how to prepare for it. If you go to www.amazon.com they have them for a great price. 

Ø  Plan Your Naps: The biggest mistakes that most college students make, including me, is not tracking what time they will take naps. For example, if as soon as you get out of class you want to take a nap, that’s fine take a nap! However, you want to make sure that you look at your planner and see how much time you should take that nap so you are not sleeping for 3-5 hours and you have something due that same night.

Ø  Have “Office” Hours/Days: When I say this, I mean have specific days or hours that you dedicate to your school work to get yourself on a schedule. By doing this you will find that your planner is more consistent which makes you feel that you are not all over the place all the time.  For example, on Sundays I normally fill out my planner for the week so I know what is coming up.

Ø  Trust Your Process: Don’t second guess yourself because that will only cause you more stress. Trust that everything you have in your planner is right because you took the steps to prepare your day or week.

Ø  Realize That Your Schedule is Subject to Change: Don’t expect everything to go as planned all the time. No matter how great of a planner you are, everything on your schedule will not be 100% correct so always be prepared for minor setbacks. 

Roommate 101

In college it is almost impossible to never have a roommate or suitemate, unless you live at home and commute to campus. Which means you need to embrace the idea that you will have one of the two. Roommates can be good and bad. It’s good because, having one teaches you how to live with different people with makes you more diverse and open to different things that you are used to. It can be bad because you get some of those roommates That are almost impossible to live with.

Ø  Always make a roommate or suitemate contract so that your roommate is aware of what you are okay and not okay with. This contract sets the tone for the year!

Ø  Things you don’t want shared keep in your personal space so your roommate does not think it is okay to use. A treasure chest with a lock is your best friend.

Ø  Build a relationship with your roommate. Roommate can become lifetime friends. Your freshman roommate may be your roommate throughout your entire college career and maybe after.

Ø  Split the cost on things you share to save money. Always visit www.coupons.com or www.dgdigitalcoupons.com to help save money on toilet paper, hygiene products, food, etc.

Ø  Go to events together but also make other friends that just each other so that you don’t get annoyed by each other’s company.

Ø  Decorate the room together so that you both feel that the space belongs to both of you. www.pinterest.com is a great website for cheap decorations.

It’s Your Schedule! Not Your Advisers!

In college a lot of students, especially first-time freshman, make the mistake of just going to their adviser and letting them pick their schedule for them. It is okay for your adviser to make suggestions but that does not mean you are required take everything they are suggesting to you.

Ø  Always look at your degree evaluation and academic catalog to see what you need to take for your major. Go to your adviser with the classes you already have in mind to take.

Ø  Make sure that the prerequisites for your major that are only offered once a year are to the top of your list. The worst feeling is having to take a year of classes you don’t need as time fillers because you are waiting an entire year for a class you need before you can get into your program.
Try  to put a fun class in your schedule so that you have something to look forward to during the week. Every major requires electives. Take advantage of something you are interested in. For example, I took BA 101 as my elective and I loved it so much it became my major. You never know.

Ø  Don’t be afraid to look up your professor before you take their class. Personally, I always check www.ratemyprofessor.com just to see if that professors teaching style somewhat matches my learning style.

Ø  Just because you can handle being to school at 8am in high school it does not mean you are going to be able to do that in college. Check out http://college.usatoday.com/2014/01/06/how-to-create-the-perfect-college-class-schedule-for-your-personality-type/ to see exactly what type of person you are so that you can get advice on what time of the day classes are best for you.

College Tips: The Big Leap

The Big Leap

College is a Choice. Not a Determining Factor of Your Success 

It is important to remember that college is not like high school. If you do not want to attend you are not required to. From personal experience, I know how stressful peer pressure from your family, teachers, and friends can be with deciding what you want to do with your future. Just remain calm and remember that it is your future and your decision. Yes, your mother or father may feel that they know what is good for you but explain to them that you know what is best for you rather that be college, military, or going directly into the work force.

Choosing a College

If you have decided that college is the route you want to go the next step is deciding which school you would like to attend. I can not stress how important it is to do your research. Look into factors such as price, scholarship opportunity, programs offered, accreditation, etc. Do not attend a school because that is the school your parents attended or the school your friends are going to attend. From personal experience, I have witnessed people start out with me as a freshman and are not with me now during my senior year due to grades, finances, transfers, or  just simply dropping out. That is why it is important to look into the school before just making a decision to say you went to college. 

Free Money

Most have heard of the Hope, Life, and Palmetto Scholarship. However, a lot of students do not take advantage of the scholarships given by community and the schools they are applying to. Do not allow your GPA or SAT/ACT scores be the reason stopping you from applying for these scholarships. Most scholarships do not require a GPA or SAT/ACT requirement, they look at location, high school you are coming from, last name etc. 

Always Ask for Help

No matter how old you are there is always room for improvement. If you are having trouble with life ask someone for advice or help. For example, my sophomore year of college I was having trouble with my academics due to me trying to pursue a career that was clearly not for me. However, at that time I was not looking at my personal needs and wants. I was only worried out being that Nurse my parents wanted me to be. After sitting down with several people I trusted it came clear to me that this is not their life it is mines and I will never be successful if I am living for everyone else and not myself. Yes, I did have a shakey journey to get to the point that I am at not but it became easier and less stressful when I started living for me and not others. 

Do Not Be Afraid to Fail

My biggest fear going into college was my fear of failure. The moment you take your first college exam all of that fear will go out of the window. I say that because you and most of your classmates will be in the same boat. Learning how to study. Studying for high school vs college is a totally different thing that you will learn with time. Also remember,  if you get to college and realize it is not for you that is not a failure. That is you realizing that, college is not for you right now, or is not for you maybe your road to success is something else. 

“What if I fail? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”

 —Erin Hanson