Hello, students of all ages! Since I graduated, I knew that I wanted to share advice with you guys and it will cover from studying to life and everything in between. So here it is, enjoy!
School:
Figure out what school works for you and your life: This is probably the first thing I normally tell people. Researching the schools that you want to go help narrow down your choices. Make sure that reading details carefully is also important for full understanding. There may be schools that offer specific majors that others may not, so make sure that there’s a full understanding of what the schools offer before making a decision.
Find out your major (and it’s okay to change it later): Knowing of what to major in can be difficult for people to narrow down. There are some people that double major in their college career. If you’re unsure of what to major in, try thinking of what career field you want to be in and find the major that is required. Remember, you choose how you live your life, even choosing your major.
Know what expectations are for the classes you’re taking: Not every professor will be laid back or chill. The work can be difficult and hard to understand. Make sure that on syllabus day you are focused and take notes on the syllabus for later use. As long as you are trying in the class and talking to the professor, you should be fine. Getting a tutor does not make you any less than you are now (I had to have a tutor for my last quarter to help with my French. Was it degrading? No, not one bit. Did it help? Yes.) Talk to some people you may have the class with, join or create a study group. Everyone is in the class with the same goal: to learn.
Find a group, club, or organization to join: This one was a bit hesitant for me because being an introverted person (well, extroverted introvert), it took me until my junior year of college to join something I was passionate in doing. (I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know specifically what I wanted to do until late sophomore year into junior year specifically anyway). I found an organization, Her Campus, that helped me do what I love: writing/editing and helped me learn the skills I needed to learn. I knew that I wanted to work in magazines by the time of me finding HC and when it was brought to Tech (Louisiana Tech University), I knew I had to do it. Since then, I got the opportunity to make my work published through an official online blog that can be seen nationally and internationally, work with the best girl gang on campus, and be able to see what I could create.
Find different study tactics to help you: Ever since I created this studyblr, I found different study tactics: from printables to schedules and everything in between. My go-to for studying were printables. I used ones from @theorganisedstudent ‘s essay planner (I swear by these because I majored in English and used these for every paper I wrote), weekly planner (to help with planning out commuting times, working, and study schedule around class times). I used @studyquill ‘s To-Do List, I constantly used this to make sure I kept track of all assignments and due dates and everything that popped up like random assignments to thought like “ extra credit assignment”. @emmastudies has a lot of wallpapers (which are adorable and amazing) I use those 100 percent of the time. The calendars are chic and available as well, I use the yearly ones. I see in the Studyblr community that people use the bujo templates for journaling, calendars, lists, etc. I didn’t have the skillset, time/patience to try it, but I may over the summer to see how it can turn out. I worked at a ratio of studying for 45 minutes and taking a break for 15 minutes. This helped me stay focused and know when to take a break without thinking about stopping. Remember that everyone is different and use what works for YOU.
Take classes that you’re interested in: When you take classes that are interested in helps make learning fun. Now, there are required classes that are not in your interests and that happens. Try to find something that makes the course interesting. I would watch documentaries for history classes and watch videos (typically short Youtube videos) for psychology. This also helped me with troubling subjects as well.
ALWAYS be prepared: the most important thing I did at the beginning of the quarter I would gather all the info I was giving off the syllabi and make a checklist. My checklist would have “electronics (computer, phone, maybe iPad) and chargers, planner, books, homework assignments, snacks/lunch, and headphones”. I brought these items with me every time I went to school. Now I wasn’t perfect, I still forgot things and I tried to make sure if I had extra chargers or headphones, I put them in a bag or specific holder (similar to this holder). For paperwork of any kind, I kept them in folders of some sort and kept them where I could find them. When I was a freshman, I didn’t receive a curriculum sheet (the paper that had the class requirements) for my major (this was before I transferred) until the last semester before transferring. Since then, I’ve always kept a copy of one for myself and had it with me when I would go to advising for classes. It helped me keep track of what classes I needed to take and where I was at in my schooling. Review notes the night before, even if it’s right before you go to bed. Some professors require that you do the assignments before you get to class and it happens. Merge both previous notes and upcoming assignments in the same time frame to help make sure that you remember the last class’ lesson plus know about the new lesson. Try to plan ahead as best as you can in every way you can. Remember: not everything goes as planned, and there are more letters in the alphabet :)
Find a friend or two in each class: a trend at my university was making a GroupMe chat (or a chat of some kind) for classes in case we needed information. I’ve made a few friends in college and I even made friends with people internationally. Don’t stress over this factor cause sometimes it just happens. If you want to start a friendship or know someone, ask them about something in the class or about their major. This is a common icebreaker for college students. I also made friends with my professors because they were understanding, amazing, and open to helping students out.
Make a studying playlist: the best way to study is with classical/instrumental music because it keeps you focused and it won’t cause distractions. You can find playlists on Youtube, Spotify, and Pandora. Even create one for yourself. Music like soundtrack scores can also help
Look for internships and jobs ASAP: always be on the lookout for jobs, internships, even ask around to job shadow to see if you would like the career path. I found internships and I job shadowed while I was in school and it helped out tremendously. I did mine through Her Campus here.
Find your favorite spots on and off campus: there will be days when you’re going to be studying. Sometimes, being cooped up in your room doesn’t help you focus. Find a place that you’re comfortable being in: a coffee shop (mine was off campus), a student center, a place outside, anywhere where you can enjoy your surroundings and help you study. This can also be a sort of “time out” spot as well. If you have two places you like to be in, you can pick one to be a study spot and the other can be a wind-down spot.
Be realistic with yourself: know yourself, know the workload and responsibilities that are at task. If you can’t handle it, find ways to break it down and handle it. If it gets overwhelming, reevaluate yourself and your situation. College is NOT easy, it will test you and push you to become better- that’s the point.
Change is not always a bad thing: change can be scary and it can either push you to be better or scare you. Pick your decision on if the change will scare you or let it push you.
Know everything you sign up for: Financial aid, work-study, any contracts, etc. Know everything about anything that you sign up for because you want full awareness of the situation. You don’t want to be in a situation where you don’t get what you need or end up owing more than what you bargained for.
Keep receipts of EVERYTHING: when I got my first debit card, I was told to keep my receipts for bookkeeping. If there were a situation where I would need to return something, you would have the receipt. I use this method for everything in my life from keeping my bank statements in a binder to keeping up with any large payments like tuition payments. It helped me keep up with everything I needed to. If you feel like you should have a copy of something, ask for one. Never doubt your gut.
Look for deals on textbooks: there’s always somewhere where textbooks are cheaper. I used the school’s bookstore, Chegg, and Thriftbooks- these were all lifesavers.
