It is hard to say too much about the good things college can provide for a person. You can make more money during your life, can be stimulated intellectually, and you’ll make a lot of social connections that last a lifetime. If decision making regarding college remains a mystery, continue reading for some useful tips and advice meant to smooth the way.
Apply for scholarships ahead of time to have the best chance of getting them. If you find great resources for grants, you might not need many loans. Create a system that details deadlines so that you can submit applications on time.
You should never spread yourself too thin by taking on more than you can handle. If you aren’t a night person, don’t schedule night classes or labs. Be aware of your body rhythms and build your schedule around that knowledge as much as you can.
Success in college depends greatly on the quality of your study environment. The dorms generally aren’t great places to study. Seek out an area that has minimal distractions. A library is always good. When you cannot find a suitable place to study, you can also use special noise-cancelling headphones.
Visit the admissions office prior to deciding to attend a college. You can find out about scholarships that are available. Nearly all schools have some kind of scholarship programs. Make sure to talk to someone from the financial aid or admissions department to find out about financial aid available to you.
Make sleep a priority. When you are attending school, you may find it easy to stay up for a party and then do homework, but it will catch up to you. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, then your mind will not function the way it should be, which can negatively impact your grades.
You are responsible for cooking and cleaning. Be sure to keep your clothes and your room clean and eat a balanced, healthy diet. Add study, recreation, self-care and classes to your schedule. Poor eating habits and stress can make you ill.
Avoid Eating
If you wish to avoid the “freshman 15,” avoid eating too many simple carbs. Avoid eating too many snacks, sweets and fast foods. Turn to fresh veggies and fruits in order to keep yourself healthy and energized. Avoid energy drinks, coffee and unhealthy foods if you want to avoid stress and health problems.
Take notes while in class. Writing stuff down helps imbed information in your mind. This is yet another great study tip. Even if you feel like you know the information, make a habit of writing these types of notes.
Don’t plagiarize! Ever! You are going to be writing many papers while you’re in college. Pay attention to citations. Your instructor will specify what citation resource to use, though MLA is most common. Proper citations help you avoid plagiarism. Professors can check for plagiarism in many different ways; therefore, you should take all the precautionary steps to ensure that you aren’t plagiarizing.
Get up early every day. If you can get up, eat breakfast and even work out, you’ll find your mind is clearer all day.
Look into attending community college for your first year or two. This will save you some money. Also, you are given the option of transferring after a certain period of time. This is very helpful is a four-year school’s tuition costs are too high for you to afford.
You should always go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time. College students often experience sleep deprivation due to the competing demands for their time. You will have a difficult time focusing if you are sleep deprived.
Going away to college for the first time can be exciting and intimidating, but don’t worry. With all of your new found freedom, make sure that you set aside time to study and attend classes on time. There will be lots of temptations at school, but you need to remember you are there to learn and your decisions affect your future.
Take a break here and there. If you study for long periods of time, you can experience burn out. Though you may have always been told that you can never study enough, that is not exactly true. To remain on top of your game, take it easy.
Make sure that you take your own notes, as your friends may not have the information you need. You can never be sure if the person whose notes you borrow is actually a good student or a good note taker. You may get half information or shortcut codes that might not make sense to you.
Get creative on date night. Save money while still enhancing the date by cooking a romantic candlelit dinner instead of eating out at an expensive restaurant. You will spend less and impress your date at the same time. Build contracts with roommates. Ask that they give you a few hours for your date night alone, and then you can do the same when they need time for their dates as well.
There are many advantages to going to college. Consequently, more and more people are deciding to attend college regardless of their interests and background. However, not everyone knows where to begin. If you use this information, you will be able to make informed decisions.