5 Things I Wish I Did Throughout College
You’re sitting down with a seasoned veteran—a fifth-year senior—to reminisce on the things I wish I would have done in the four years I’ve been a college student.
For you incoming freshmen, or already struggling college students, I’m here to help.
I’m writing this with hope that you won’t make the same mistakes I did.
I wish I went to class
I’ll be pretty straightforward, I was an awful student. Attending my classes was a low priority on my list, when in reality it should have been at the top of my priority list considering how expensive college is.
There are three types of professors: Mr. Mandatory Attendance, Mrs. Participation, and Ms. I Don’t Care If You Show Up To Class, If You Fail It’s Your Fault.
I’ll break these professors down for you.
Mr. Mandatory Attendance literally requires you to be in class, usually giving you three to four free days. The way it typically goes is for every day you miss after that third or fourth day, you get points knocked off your total grade.
I’ve had plenty of classes that required my attendance and I made the same mistake every. single. time. There would be days where I just couldn’t bear to leave the comfort of my warm bed and decided to use one of my free days to cuddle with my dog and Netflix, or maybe I didn’t agree with the weather.
Before I knew it, I quickly used up all the free days I had. Normally, this would happen mid-October.
October = sick season.
Here’s my advice for you: Use those days sparingly because you never know when you’ll actually need them for good reasons. Sometimes, professors will give you extra credit if you have free days left!
Mrs. participation is a professor who centers classroom attendance based on if you participated in class. For example, five minute group work that you turn in at the end of class or the classic raise-your-hand-and-pray-you’re-right-so-you-don’t-look-like-an-idiot so your professor marks you down for the day.
This is the kind of class that will get you towards the end of the semester and leave you in panic-mode. Consistently skipping participation-based classes will destroy your GPA and you never expect it to until it’s too late. Don’t mess with Mrs. Participation. She’ll ruin you.
Ms. I Don’t Care If You Show Up To Class, If You Fail It’s Your Fault is the type of professor who expects you to be responsible enough to show up on your own. She expects you to sit down at every class, listen, and then leave. It’s a textbook kind of class that students (like me) make the mistake of thinking she totally doesn’t care if I come so this class will be cake. Then I only showed up once a week, had no idea what was going on, and failed the exam.
Long story short, just go to class. Even if your attention isn’t fully on the professor and you’re working on something else (or scrolling through Pinterest on your laptop) you’re still retaining a bit of information, so that counts for something.
2. I wish I managed my time better
This is what our high school teachers constantly warned us about.
Two distinct differences between high school and college are (1) you’re not forced to go to school for eight hours straight and (2) professors don’t give you class time to work on papers or homework (unless they’re super nice, and that is rare).
You’re expected to efficiently manage your time outside of class between four-six classes. Often you’ll have one paper due the same day you have two other exams, as well as homework due in another class.
Tips:
Buy a planner and actually use it
Set reminders on your phone
Schedule at least two days off if you have a job and be as productive as possible
You have to figure out when you can study for those exams (don’t wait the night before, no amount of caffeine will save you), how far ahead you’ll have to start writing that paper, and when you’ll have time to squeeze in finishing that homework.
Sometimes in situations like that, it’s necessary to prioritize which assignments/exams are most important. In some classes, the professors will drop your lowest exam grade; however, you should only take advantage of this if you know you have too much on your plate and there’s no possible way you can get a decent grade.
There are plenty of tools that can help you manage your time, it’s just a matter of finding which one works best for you.
The biggest struggle will be trying to manage your personal time between time set aside for studying and homework.
Always make being a student your first priority, after all, you’re investing in it.
It’s also important to take care of yourself and still set time aside to do the things that make you happy.
3. I wish I studied more
When I was a high school student, I never studied and I still got away with decent grades.
College isn’t that easy. There are classes that only require minimum effort and then there are tedious classes that require extra work and maximum focus.
It’s easy to get into the habit of procrastinating and allowing yourself to wait until the night before to start studying for an exam.
Today, we have too many tools that can help us study to even consider putting it off, because at this point studying is easy. It’s just a matter of making yourself do it.
Tips:
Using pen and paper to write things down boosts your memory retention. Even if you use a laptop during class, just go back over the notes and write them down!
If your professor gives you a study guide, fill it out as the professor lectures. This saves a lot of time from trying to look for the answers outside of class when the professor is going over it in class.
Quizlet. Quizlet. Quizlet. Not only can you make your own flashcards, you can search for the class and see if someone has already made one.
The library is your friend!
If you’re feeling unmotivated to study, start a system where you reward yourself for every hour of studying you get done (I use Netflix and food).
CHEGG! Utilize this tool and find past exams. You could even split the account and subscription with friends to make it cheaper.
4. I wish I planned accordingly to my personal interests as a student
When you first meet with your academic advisor, their main concern isn’t exactly what’s best for you. They’re just trying to get you and a ton of other students enrolled in classes.
As a freshman, I just believed that waking up for 8 a.m. classes was a part of college I would have to deal with. I’ve always been a night owl so obviously, 8 a.m. classes and I don’t get along.
All I needed to tell my advisor was “I won’t be as successful taking a class load with early start times” and talk to them about scheduling your classes later in the day.
It’s important to plan your college career accordingly to how you work best. If you’re not a morning person and have trouble getting yourself out of bed, don’t take an early morning class.
Another thing to plan for when scheduling your classes is when you can eat. If you plan on starting your day early and ending it mid-afternoon, don’t forget to leave a time slot for lunch. If you’re starting your classes after lunch, make sure you have time for dinner.
A tool I’ve habitually leaned on while scheduling my classes is Rate My Professor. This site is a life-saver in terms of preventing you from ending up in a class with a villainous professor; you just input the professor’s name, look for the class in the ratings, and viola! You can decide if you want to take that professor.
I almost forgot! There’s immense pressure to graduate in 4 years, but here’s the thing: only 19% of students graduate with their bachelors in 4 years. I’m not saying become a college student for life, but just take your time. Determine what amount of credit hours works best for you and just go with it!
Additionally, it’s okay to be unsure about your major. You’re young, it’s difficult to imagine yourself in a career field that you’ll be working in until retirement. Take it from someone who has changed their major four times, it’s not the end of the world—if you believe you’ll be happier in the long run, I encourage you to go with your gut!
Side note: keep in mind that if you do have trouble waking up in the mornings, you definitely need to find a permanent solution because hello, full-time job after graduation.
5. I wish I had chosen better friends
When I look back on my four years of college, the one thing I would change first is who I surrounded myself with.
Between the actual school work, the hits on your mental health, and the oh-so familiar feeling of overwhelming stress, you need people you know you can count on.
The last thing you need is to deal with drama that reminds you of high school, or even worse, someone who drags you down with negativity.
Choose your friends wisely.
How do you know if they’re good for you?
They encourage you.
A good friend will push you to study, to take personal time to decompress, and cheer you on.
They push you out of your comfort zone
College is a time where growth is inevitable. There’s only so much growing you can do as a person when you restrict yourself to small circle of comfort, and a good friend will push you to do things to better yourself.
If they’re pushing you to do things that you’re reluctant of trying - keep them around.
They check on you
Sometimes we go MIA and lock ourselves away in our rooms, attempting to hide from the world and our problems. A good friend would notice that you’ve become a little hermit and drag you out of bed.
There’s a ton of other ways that could be check-on worthy and the point is they’ll always notice and be by your side.
Personally, those are three things I believe are the most important to keep a friend around.
Good, reliable friends will make your college experience go so much smoother. It’s no coincidence that once I found two of my best friends who push me, encourage me, and keep an eye out on me, I began pursuing things I never would have, my GPA shot up, and I truly became happy.
College is all about self-control; controlling that sneaky laziness, the skip days, the “I’ll go out this weekend and just pull an all-nighter Sunday night” mentality, and of course, the junk food.
Do yourself a favor and hit the gym every once in a while. It’s good for you.
Welcome to college, freshies.
