The Good Student: Tips to Succeeding in College
And how to make all-nighters an infrequent event
Tip #1 Go to Class
Ahhh the famous phrase you hear from professors, parents, friends, and any other wise student success guru. And while this tip may seem obvious, most students don’t fully comprehend how important attending class is. Regardless of whether the professor grades attendance or not, simply being present provides an osmosis-like sense of learning. How can you expect to learn if you aren’t present for the lecture? It’s true, learning styles differ and not everyone loves being talked at for two hours straight, I get it. But, ultimately, what you don’t know you don’t know. It is better to go to class and retain five bits of information then not go and know nothing. You will always learn more from going to class compared to sleeping in, drinking, or playing video games. Every piece of information will be helpful when quizzes, test, and group projects roll around. We often discredit our brains and their ability to retain information.
If learning isn’t enough reason for you to attend class, another motivation to go is because you are paying for it. Like a gym membership, what is the point of paying for something you don’t use? I remember attending an accounting class and every day my professor would teach until the end of class because he knew we were paying for every minute we were there. He refused to stop until the final minute of class was done. Now, in this situation I’d pay to end class early because accounting was that boring, but looking back I appreciated that professor. He taught me that I should make sure I am getting my money’s worth when paying for something, while also valuing how I spend my time. According to USA Today, students at public institutions waste, on average, $7,200 throughout their four years, while private schools students average $24,960 by not going to class. Oftentimes students forget that they are literally paying tens of thousands of dollars to attend the classes they are registered for.
Tip #2 Stay Organized
For some, organization is second nature. A friend wants to hang out later? Let me check my calendar. Have class at 2 p.m.? Better give myself 15 minutes to walk from building A to building B. Have a test in 2 months? Better start studying now! You get the point, we all know someone like this. To others, you wish you could be like this. You have tried the whole fancy planner thing and have even spent a hefty price for one, but you just can’t get yourself to stick to it. It feels like just one more thing you have to do. So, for those who aren’t naturally organized, how do you become somewhat competent with your own organizations style? Well, my first piece of advice is to find the style that works for you! Here are just a few ways I have seen others stay organized:
- A physical planner
- A physical calendar
- Sticky notes
- Phone calendars
- Phone reminders
- Check-list
- Outlook calendar
- Any combination of the above
Many of these methods allow you to sync your calendar with other platforms too. Take Microsoft Outlook for example. Outlook allows you to sync your email and calendar directly to your phone, providing automatic phone reminders 15 minutes before you have something to do. Some people don’t like cluttering their phone up with school stuff so they write everything on sticky notes and hang them up until its done. One practice that is helpful when beginning a semester is writing down every assignment, quiz, test, and project due date in your planner directly from the syllabus. This reduces having to constantly write new things down and lets you prepare for the week ahead of time. It is also helpful to plan out your day. A piece of advice I always used in school was that from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I was “working”, meaning during my spare time I only ate and worked on coursework. Obviously I had exceptions to this rule and there were times when I still had to work at night, but overall this kept me motivated and productive throughout the day, while my classmates ended up working late into the night because they spent their free time socializing.
Tip #3 Get Involved
Getting involved in college — especially at large institutions — can be overwhelming. At the University of Texas in Austin we boast about having over 1,000 student orgs, which is great. But at times can feel daunting to say the least. How can you decide between squirrel watching club, hacky sack club, and star gazing club?! A solution that I recommend is selecting one org/club that is major related and can help build you professionally and one that is just for fun. An example from when I was in school was my involvement in intramural sports and a mentoring program. Obviously I wasn’t establishing a professional soccer career for myself through intramural sports, but I sure as heck had fun. Likewise, I felt like I grew a lot through mentoring local students in my community with autism, but it was not the same as scoring goals with the boys.
When it comes to getting involved, it is all about balance. If something sounds interesting to you, go to a newcomers meeting. But don’t commit to five different organizations and end up hating them all because you are too busy. There is nothing wrong with trying one or two and seeing how it goes. The biggest mistake I see when getting involved is establishing yourself in too many commitments, which then affects grades, friendships, and overall mental health. Learn when it is appropriate to say yes and to no, especially when committing to an org.
Tip #4 Intern! Intern! Intern!
In todays market, knowing someone and having relatable experience is the best way to land a job. Interning is a way you can get both. Students often view internships as simply a degree requirement when that is far from the truth. Interning allows you to see the ins and outs of an organization, gain basic and advanced skills in a field, and network with those within the industry you are interested in. A lot of students who land dream jobs get them through past or current internships. Obviously this isn’t guaranteed, but it sure does help. The cool thing about interning is there is not commitment after it is done. Did your internship with Wells Fargo not go so well? No worries, you don’t work there! There is no limit with how many internships you can participate in either. You could intern at a different organization every year of school if you wanted. It is also important to note that if you don’t need credit for an internship, don’t do it! Save some money and just intern to gain some experience. Some will even pay you for it. Bottomline, take advantage of this time in your life where you aren’t working 40 hours a week and intern while you can. This can give you a better idea of what specific field you want to work in and may even land a future dream job.
Tip #5 Take Care of Yourself And Use Your Resources
Today more than ever, schools are providing students with resources to support mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. Cafeterias are providing healthy alternatives, schools are hiring more counselors and training all staff on how to identify at-risk students, and workout facilities continue to expand. Yet, even with all of these resources, only you know what you need. Feeling sick? Take a day off and inform your professors. Missing family? Give them a call! Struggling with a class? Get help from a campus tutor! It is important to identify areas that you are prone to struggle in to set yourself up for success. You are never less of a person because you asked for help. Campuses today are making it even easier to schedule an appointment with a campus counselor, often times making it as private as possible. With all this in mind, here are three practical ways to take care of yourself at college:
- Get 7–9 hours of sleep each night
- Have one portion of fruits and vegetables at at least one meal every day
- Take time to do something you love once a day
These are practical, simple, and easily attainable ways to make sure you are setting yourself up for success. Like in a race, you wouldn’t start 100 yards behind the starting line. Similarly, don’t set yourself up for failure by getting little sleep, eating junk food for every meal, and becoming so busy you can’t do the things you love. For some, this means focusing on one of these at time, which is great! Whatever you have to do to slowly implement positive change can influence your schoolwork tremendously. So go buy a planner, join an org, secure an internship, eat some veggies, and go to class!
Have specific questions or topics you want discussed? Feel free to leave a comment below! Feel free to follow me on twitter at @CalvinJamesAthy, leave a clap, or share the article!
