• By Disha
• Posted July 26, 2017

5 things to know before starting college

Finishing High School and entering college is one of the most exciting phases in a student’s life. From the newfound freedom to responsibility, everything is exciting and thrilling!

All this comes with some advice in hand; here are 5 things you should know before starting out College:

• Keep a balanced life: Entering college life involves having a lot of fun for students, but sometimes they forget to manage work wisely and turn it into a mess. During college life, there are a lot of things which require your attention- like your lectures, assignments, activities, extracurricular, social life, and sometimes a part time job. Time will be your most important commodity in life and you should learn how to make the most of it. Learning how to properly organise will save your college life from a lot of unrequited chaos. Take advantage of everything that’s out. Like when you get your syllabus in the first week of classes, pay attention to the due dates of assignments, midterms etc. You should even put submissions in your calendar to avoid missing deadlines. You can even set reminders if you need. Organising makes things simple.

• Set your Goals: Before starting any work, you should know what exactly you need to accomplish. Setting a goal will help you do your work easily. You can set short-term goals for a day or a week like practising one paper every day to prepare for your exams ahead and not leaving anything for the last moment to stress yourself. You can set long-term goals as well like to complete your most difficult subjects till your exams. Not only academics, you should set goals to accommodate every aspect of your life. When you try to prepare a certain set of goals, you are more likely to stay committed to them and complete them in an easy and encouraging way.

• Prioritise: It is totally okay to have friends and fun during your college life, but when you set your goals and know that you have to achieve them; then it is important to prioritise accordingly. Try to put important things first. Your academics should be your first priority before anything. However, the first and the foremost goal of your life is to graduate. Your primary focus should be to have a degree with a good score. Try to find what needs your immediate attention. Prioritising will help you to plan ahead which can save time and decrease your stress level.

• Have a backup plan: Having a backup plan is extremely important in college where the unexpected is bound to happen anytime. Sometimes even minor mistakes can put you in trouble while completing your graduation. Backup plans can either be makeshift plans or plans to replace the original plan. Either way, it facilitates handling major setbacks in a better manner.

• Your professors are not your enemies: Most of the students entering college start thinking that their teachers are their biggest enemies. Students don’t try to solve their problems with their professors and stay confused for the whole year. Instead, students should try to talk to their professors and introduce themselves so that the professors get to know their students. In college, you will need more guidance to clear your academics; asking questions and discussing with your professors will not harm you or decrease your respect, it will only help you and no one else. Be sincere in showing your efforts in the classroom, your professor will know that you are trying and your efforts will be pay off. Your professor will be more than willing to go out of their way to help you.

College is the time to get the most out of everything, especially life!