You’ve officially made it to college! You’re all unpacked and ready for the next exciting chapter of your life to begin. The first few weeks of college are a great time to get settled, meet new friends, explore the campus, and set goals and expectations before your new schedule gets too busy.
Watch the full-length My Journey video with Collegewise.
Tip #1 – Find Your Classes Before the First Day of School
Don’t wait until the first day of school to find your classrooms for the first time. Your college campus is likely quite a bit larger than your high school was. It will take more time to walk around and can be confusing if the buildings are large with lots of hallways or floors. Instead, in the few days before school officially begins, you should find all your classrooms and note parking, how long it takes to walk/drive there, and which building entrances are closest to your classroom. If you can, do a walkthrough from one class to the next based on your schedule. Keep in mind that it will likely take you a bit longer on school days because of the number of students on campus.
Tip #2 – Attend Office Hours
Professors, or their teaching aids, typically provide office hours for their course throughout the semester. This is the time to ask questions, get additional assistance with material you may not understand, or network. Using some of this time to discuss your career goals allows the professor to help you get in touch with companies or others in their network who may be looking for interns or to hire after college.
Similarly to office hours, your professor may provide study sessions before a large exam. If this is offered, take advantage of the opportunity and attend. Remember, your professor knows what’s on the test, so getting some additional practice with their insight can be helpful.
Tip #3 – Learn How To Manage Your Time Effectively
It can be hard to manage all the expectations you or your family have for you while in school, but with your newfound independence it’s up to you to manage your time effectively. You’ll be responsible for waking up for your classes, carving out time to do your homework and study, and making time for friends, clubs, part-time work, and other activities. It can be a little overwhelming. You may have heard the saying that you can only have two: sleep, social life, or good grades — you pick! But the trick to having it all is managing your time well.
Five ways you can manage your time more effectively in college:
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Create a weekly, monthly, and yearly calendar: Having a calendar that you can easily refer to and add to is important to stay on top of your class schedule, homework, studying, and goals. Start by blocking off your must-do items for the week: things like attending all your classes, tutoring sessions, group project time, studying, and your job if you're working. It’s harder to stay balanced if you procrastinate or wait until the night before a test to start studying. Then, work on incorporating long-term goals into the calendar by setting smaller deadlines to help you reach them.
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Eliminate distractions: Identify things that distract you from sticking with your schedule. Whether it’s your study environment, trying to multitask, your phone, or something else. Work on using your time better so you have more opportunities to do the things you love.
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Set timers: It’s hard to stay focused for hours at a time. Instead, try setting timers for the things you need to get done so that you manage your time more effectively. That might be setting an end-of-day timer for 15 minutes to tidy up your room or use timers to schedule manageable study blocks.
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Learn to say “no”: Creating a balanced schedule doesn't come without an occasional sacrifice. Commit to sticking to your schedule. Sometimes that means missing out on doing something with friends to ensure you ace your exam or get enough sleep before a school day.
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Use campus resources: There are lots of campus resources that can help you manage your time more effectively... starting with tutoring. Instead of spending a lot of time trying to figure out something you don't understand on your own, book a session with a tutor and see if they can help you with the concept. Another great on-campus resource is the librarian. They can work with you to track down reliable resources for papers, give you access to databases or other resources to help with your project, or help you develop a strategy for a paper. All of these can save you lots of time in the long run.
