College survival: the first semester Tests, papers, and quizzes can quickly make or break your college experience. Trying to learn to balance school, work, friends, and sleep can be something that no college student is completely ready for. Below are some of the top tips to help you survive your first semester away from home and in school.
Preparation Most likely, you didn’t have readings and lectures quite like you will have them in college. You can look at a syllabus on see what the topic is for the class on a specific day. Make sure that you are always caught up on the pre-readings for class. Getting behind on your readings can be detrimental in your success and is a bad way to start off your college experience. Make time in your busy schedule to read and put your studies ahead of other less important things.
Prioritize Time is something that most likely, you have never had to manage like you will in college. In high school, everything is planned for the entire day, you get home and you do your homework. Life is very simple. Now, you are dealing with fitting your job into your school schedule and making sure you plan time for dating, friends, homework, eating, and trying to get adequate sleep. Make a list and put the more important things near the top. When you engage in an activity, think about whether or not it is the most important thing to do. If you aren’t spending enough time with homework then allocate some more towards your studies. Conversely, Make sure that you are well balanced. Have friends, and spend time unwinding to keep yourself from getting overly stressed.
Sleep sleep sleep This can be really difficult for new college students. The first semester, without the rule of parents over you, it can be easy to play with friends, then pull an all-nighter doing homework. This is not recommended even in the slightest. Your first semester will have plenty of parties and fun but you will regret not getting good sleep. It can be a struggle but the effects of good sleep to your body are unending. You will stay healthy, your brain will run better, and you will overall feel better about how things are going.
Ease your way in Your first semester, you are figuring out all these new ways to study and learning new things about yourself and the best way you learn. Don’t take too many difficult classes right away. You won’t be ready for it. Taking difficult accounting classes, programming classes, or biochemistry classes might be something you want to do when you have figured out effective study habits for yourself. Take some
difficult classes to push yourself but keep your overall load low. Try to take classes that you will enjoy the first semester to help you have a fun experience as well.
Take advantage of your resources College is time of learning. Broaden your horizons and study things that seem interesting to you. You may never get the chance again to study German or French to the extent that you have it then. Allow yourself these opportunities and take advantage of the blessings of being in college. You will remember this time for years to come, make sure to live it to the fullest. Photo Credit: jzlomek, drmatiz