Here we are again. Stuck in another year of overnight coffee binges, long hours of teacher lectures, and a hardy amount of work to do. At this time each year, we begin to feel a bit of fear, frustration, anger, and maybe (even possibly) a bit of illness over the amount of work and choices that you have to make between the dreaded school start and the much anticipated school end. Yes, we are firmly in the knick of it now, but fear not. For enduring this has given all of us a keen sense of what to do and how to do it. For the new bloods, however, here are a few tidbits and tricks of the trade to help you on your way to success in the four or more years you will be eating, sleeping, and hopefully studying on this enchanted campus.
Tip #1- Get to know your teachers. After all, you are going to be spending the majority of the semester with these scholastic professionals who subsequently have the last say on final grades. Thus, it is best to have them on standby. Be it a paper you are having trouble starting, or just confusion about a specific topic you couldn’t quite grasp. Professors are resourceful tools to help students gain more knowledge about a topic.
Tip #2- Get started early. At this point in time, most of us are still in the “summer-time mood,” where little thought is placed on the ideas of classes and study time. However, those times are over and done with for the next 8 months, and it is best to get into the swing of things before they swing at you. Make an attempt to get into the groove of sitting down and reading, brainstorm for papers, create ideas for projects, or develop a way that best suits you for note taking. It may not be pertinent now, but it will be helpful later on.
Tip #3- When in doubt re-read. Let’s be honest, there is going to be some hard reading ahead, and there are going to be moments of confusion that are going to pervade through your college career. However, they can all be managed by taking the time to sit down and re-read the things that you find confusing. One would be surprised as to how easy things become when you look at a paragraph for a second, third, or even fourth time.
Tip #4- Find a partner in crime. Whether it be a classmate, a floormate, or even a mentor who is willing to take the time to read over your papers or help you out with a hard equation. These people will no doubt be the saviors to you in your time of need and you, theirs. As members of the academic community, we need to help each other out in any way possible. Do not go at it alone!
Tip #5- Abuse (if not use) all available help. Whether it is the library, I.T. department, PASS office, the writing center or anything of the sort, use it. All of these resources are meant for students to utilize as tools to expand the educational experience.
Tip #6- Buy a dictionary/thesaurus. No matter what field you are going into (meteorology, math, creative writing, teaching, etc.) papers are going to be inevitable. Having a dictionary on hand for more difficult words or a thesaurus around for more colorful language will pay for itself in no time.
Tip #7- Don’t overwork yourself. The weight of a hard class is overall stressful, but that doesn’t mean that you should spend all your time worrying and working on it. After all, the more stressed about a class you are, the more worried you become and the more worried you become the more irrational your actions tend to be. Find time for yourself, whether it be in a club, playing a game, hanging with friends, or even just reading a book. This doesn’t mean goof off–simply pace yourself.
Tip #8- Accept failure gracefully. Nobody is perfect. We have all had moments of unsatisfactory test scores, or a class whose syllabus appears to be impossible to tackle. With failure, you can either curse the heavens in a pointless show of defiance, or you can reflect on the experience and learn from it. It may not be the most charming or fair thing to know, but acknowledging its existence won’t hurt.
Tip #9- Tackle work a bit at a time. Don’t rush yourself. Not a semester has gone by that I haven’t said “Oh, it’s fine, I can work on it tomorrow…” and utterly paid the consequences in headaches due to lack of sleep and `disappointment. In all honesty, it is best tackling the paper early enough where you don’t have to worry too much about it, and take it in pieces. If a paper is twelve pages and you know the paper is due in fourteen days, take it a page at a time until completion and reread it the last couple of days. You’d be surprised on the improved quality of your work when you take it in strides.
Tip #10- Put it down, walk away, and come back. How many times has this happened to you? You’ve been trying your hardest to start, continue, or finish your paper, experiment, or even your homework, when suddenly you hit a rut and you just don’t know what to do. You’re tapped out! The best way to solve this problem is to simply walk away from it. Work on something else, take a breather, or take a nap. If you force a paper to the last page, you may begin to repeat yourself on your way to the allusive end. If you let it sit, and return to it later, it will be easier to write. Pinky promise.
Tip # 11- Don’t worry. When all is said and done, a class is just a class, and pondering too much about it will only cause anxiety and potentially more negative emotion. At the end of the day, worrying about a grade will bring you nothing. You need to respect the class enough to try hard, but just remember that it’s not the world and that you ARE only human.
Tip #12- Overall, have fun. If you are not enjoying your class, then it’s pointless. Take an interest in the course topic and try to gleam all you can out of it. After all, you are paying out of the nose for it. In the end, fail or succeed, it all comes down to you (no pressure). However, that doesn’t mean freak out. We are all facing the same journey to obtain the golden diploma. If we want to leave this campus with the feeling of accomplishment, then we must know what to be prepared for and whom we can turn to. The plight of the college student is not one to take lightly, but with a little management and a bit of common sense, they may become the best years of your life.