College Advice for an incoming freshman

[Bassy]

So as you know, I will be a freshman in college in August. Here's the thing.... I am nervous out of my wits that I will not be able to get good grades in my classes. That's what I am so scared of. I want to join the PCWCP (Public Child Welfare Certification Program) and get a boost on my career. To do so, I HAVE to get good grades in my degree courses, and I want to do well in my General classes as well.

Study tips? Experiences? Note taking strategies? Anything.

UPDATE: ITS NEXT WEEK AND I POSTED THIS MONTHS AGO OMG.

[ShiroJiki]

I'm a freshman in Hs so there's not much I can offer however Are there study methods you have tried before that have worked really well for you? o:

[Lemon Cheesecake]

Bassy, what kind of grades are you getting now? Cause freshman college year isn't that much different then 12th grade. Don't panic, do your assignments and don't leave studying until the last minute. Sometimes a study buddy is very helpful so you can quiz each other.

[Mousy]

Some things that really helped me~

1. I had a MWF bag and a T/TR bag. That way I could just grab the bag for the day instead of searching my dorm for each book. It really helped for those 8 a.m.s. XD

2. If any on campus activities offer free food, DO IT. GO GET THAT FOOD. I can't tell you how many things I made an "appearance" at just for free food. My appearance was literally going up to said event grabbing the hot dog and leaving.

3. Sit up front! You are paying to be there. You are not too cool to sit up front. This isn't free public education any more. If you fail, it's your own money you're wasting. Also, if you're up front, you're less likely to day dream and zone out.

4. If you are having any sort of trouble, talk to those professors. They care more than you think and are way more understanding than you think.

5. Make a friend and hold each other accountable for studying/study together.

6. Occasionally, I had professors that spoke too fast and went through slides too quickly for me to keep up. I kept my phone with me and took pictures of each slide. I wrote what I could in class and went back to look at the slides on my phone later to add to my notes. I had friends that would record whole classes too. I never did that one because I knew I would never go back and listen to a whole class again, but it helped them.


uhhh I'll post more as I think of them.

[MonkeyGirl18]

Something else that wasn't mentioned, since you're away from home, it's easier to get all caught up in the "My parents can't tell me what to do!" and want to do what you want and is easy to not do homework. Just stay disciplined at doing your school work.

I've been told to try to keep an agenda and write down what I need to do and just schedule my time, giving myself free time to do what I want for so long.

Unless you have to or like 8am classes, since you can choose whatever time you want to take your classes, to choose something later on in the day. Of course, that's not as important as keeping your grades up, but later classes means that you'd be more awake. When I took biology for my science gen ed, it was at 8am and I had a hard time keeping attention because I was still tired, even when I went to bed at 10 or 11. But that's also just me.

Try to space out your classes. Give yourself plenty of time between classes to get a breather. Also, don't forget that you need to plan what time you want to eat lunch because if you don't set aside time for lunch, you might end up not eating lunch and just dinner and that's not fun. I have 4 classes in one day and don't have any time to go to lunch. Just pay attention to the day and time they meet when you create your schedule. Don't overwhelm yourself.

Tutors are available if you need help as well.

That's all I can think up of right now.

[Ryvvi]

Go to your classes!
as someone who dropped out, the very first sign i was slipping was the fact that i would just skip classes on the reasoning i could always just catch up later
then of course i would never get around to catching up and it would spiral from there

i dont know if your high schools had the diary things where you would write assignments in but regardless you should get one, or pin a calender up with ALL your assignments and hw written up on their due dates

i would rock up to class and find out i had an assignment due that afternoon that i had not even known about /dies
so yes! learn from my mistakes xD

[Bassy]

I do have good grades so far with a high C that I keep bouncing back and forth to a B.

One thing is, I need to learn to take better notes, the phone idea seems very helpful. Since I have drop box, I a can look at the pictures on my computer, or my phone.

Also, lectures... how do I take notes from them? How will I know what will be on the final? How do I know what is important? I know when in in doubt, write it down... but what if I was in doubt through the whole lesson??

Am I going crazy?? ._-

[MonkeyGirl18]

What's going to be on the final is up to the teacher. Nobody but your teachers would tell you what will be on the final, if they have a final. Out of my 5 classes, only 3 have finals.

When it comes to note taking, just try to write down what you think is important. If the teacher provides powerpoints and lets you download them, focus on taking notes on what they say and what they write on the board. Print out the powerpoints an take notes on them, if you so choose. You will have $25 of free printing and each page is $0.10. Trust me, that lasts for quite a while.

If you need help in the class, talk to the professor and see how they can help you. Don't be intimidated by them.

[Diana]

I've found that college is no different than highschool, if anything a little easier (so far).

There's some standard advice I can offer (for academic success):

Keep to-do lists wherever is convenient for you. For me I keep a draft in my email that just lists all the dates I need things done by. I take the class' syllabus at the beginning of the quarter and type it all up, and then check it nightly to make adjustments as I need to.

Don't party hard. Ever person I know on AP is there because they party too much. Socializing is okay, but don't forget you're paying and attending school to learn.

For note taking and knowing what's on the final, teachers are usually pretty good about preparing students for the finals. Listen for key words like "this is important", usually that means you need to remember it, as one of my teachers put it, until death or (you see it on the) final exam.
There's nothing wrong with writing down everything (chances are, it's not actually that much. A lot of lectures are filled with fluff and downtime) just make sure you figure out a format that works for you and don't just write down word for word. Try to see what you can cut out so it still makes sense. That requires you to think about what you're writing down, so you commit it to memory easier.

Do your homework on the day it is assigned. It makes life much simpler and information sticks with you better.

If you can, study in an environment that is similar to where you'll be taking your tests. It is easier to recall information if you learned it in the same situations (both your state of being and the environment around you).

[Mousy]

I had several professors post the slides online for us. I 100% agree with printing those off. It makes life so much easier and you can just focus on what the prof is actually saying. Butttt those that didn't post it, taking pictures helped. XD

Also, don't talk to Australians until 3am your time instead of doing your homework.
*stares at Ryvvi *

[Lemon Cheesecake]

all such good advice, yes

[Ryvvi]

O.O Mousy
meeeee?
/looks innocent

[Bassy]

Thanks for the advice all. Maybe it's the nervousness. Though I am still excited to go. Just gonna play it by ear.

[Hero]

I'm on my 2nd year and almost finishing of Computer Programming and these are the advice I can give you:

1) Be surrounded by people that sum to your life:

Like the saying goes "Tell me who you hang out with and I'll tell you who you are" Don't be that type of person in College that is basically friends with everyone, people won't take you seriously. Choose your college friendships wisely, get with people that are talented in your career even if you're not talented as them, it'll help you more than hanging out with people that don't care about the career and also you'll learn alot from them.


2) Never, never fall into peer pressure (Kinda related to 1):

If you have an exam tomorrow and you want to go hangout with a group of people in your section just to try to fit in or people go "Oh, you can study early tomorrow lets go out" stop yourself and think if its wroth it. Your career is more important than your friendships in college. Your friends won't pay for your future, only you will.

While it is, of course, possible to meet your lifelong friends in college, the nature of university friendships sometimes makes it difficult for them to be long-lasting.

I met so many people who clung to each other out of need — a need to not feel alone on a big campus with unfamiliar faces, buildings and streets. Be careful who you become friends with in college, many people might look up for you out of necessity, not because they want to be your friend.

The most meaningful connections I’ve made have been later in life, while on a journey of self-discovery and without a “need” to fulfill in the friendship circuit.

4. Graduation doesn’t guarantee a “big boy/big girl job.”

The economy is still very broken. While there have been improvements to the country’s unemployment rate, recent grads are still struggling to begin their careers.

Even graduates from years ago are severely underpaid and working jobs that don’t require a diploma.

There’s no shame in working the service industry while you get on your feet; in fact, doing so will probably teach you about humility and enhance your people skills.

5. Your morals will be tested daily.

For many, college allows for the first taste of independence and the first time living outside of parental control.

While college will provide you with plenty of opportunities to figure out who you are and what you believe, it’s important to remember your core values.

You will have to define what you believe to be good fun and what is potentially dangerous territory. You can live like there’s no tomorrow, but make sure you’re prepared for a life where tomorrow is on the horizon.

6. Mindset

If you go to college with the mindset of doing nothing, you're gonna do nothing. If you go with the mindset of studying, you're gonna study and have less time.

As long as you’re not a student working a full-time job, it’s pretty much a guarantee that the amount of free time you’ll have as an undergrad will far exceed what you’ll have postgrad. Exercise, eat well and get plenty of sleep when you need it.

As soon as you have a full-time job, you’ll realize the importance of time management, and you’ll wish for the days you wasted on Netflix binges in college.

Spend your time as you please, but remember to take care of yourself while you have the time to do so. College isn’t forever, but the decisions you make now will impact the rest of your life.

Being able to grasp the balance of fun and responsibility will bring you success, regardless of your GPA.

7. No one cares about your GPA.

If someone told me in high school that my college GPA would be nearly meaningless, I never would have believed it. Due to my belief that my GPA was my ticket to success, I bailed on nights out and stayed up until sunrise writing and revising essays.

Since studying consumed my time, I also failed to join clubs and engage in activities that would have allowed me to meet people and network, which, as aforementioned, is actually the key to post-graduate success.

Go to class, take notes, study and fulfill all of your assignments, but remember that at the end of the day, the difference between a 3.2 and a 4.0 isn’t life making or breaking. Treat yo’self.

[Bassy]

Guys, classes start next week and I'm freaking out...