At times, your first year of college can be very trying and overwhelming. You have higher academic standards to meet, a new community of friends to form, and many other other responsibilities to manage. If you don’t prepare yourself adequately, you could have a very hard time getting through. Here is how to best navigate freshman year in college.
- Buy all of your books early.
It may seem like the super nerdy thing to do, but buying your books early is extremely important. Not only do you want to be sure to save money on the used books before they sell out, but you also want to have an idea of the curriculum you will be taking on. You don’t have to start reading too in-depth before the semester starts, but simply going through the table of contents and descriptions of each book will give you a good lay of the land before classes start.
- Look for good study buddies in each of your classes.
You may have classes with some friends who are fun to hang out with, but not so good for studying, and vice versa. No matter what, though, you want to make sure that you never sit next to someone who is going to distract you from the lecture, and you want to be sure that you choose someone who will stay on task when you are studying together. If not, it can be very easy to let someone else’s irresponsibility distract you from earning the grades you deserve.
- Find good clubs to get involved with.
During your freshman year, you want to be sure you can make friends with plenty of people who have similar interests. It’s always easy to find kids who like to party, but in your first year it’s important to become active with a community that has a higher purpose than drinking. This will keep you from losing track of your priorities and staying away from any eventual dropouts – because there will be plenty of them.
- Stay on top of your schedule.
One of the most difficult things about being a college student is the crazy schedule that you have to maintain. That’s why it’s important not to fall behind on classes or miss lectures. You want to keep all of your priorities straight – which means remembering that you’re in college to learn and elevate your learning as opposed to your social life. Otherwise, if you start to fall behind then you will feel like you’re swimming against the current throughout the entire semester.
- Keep your relationships casual.
When you’re in college, especially your first year, the last thing you have time for is relationship drama. You are going to be meeting a lot of people all the time and you definitely won’t have any time to waste on a jealous partner who is needy or insecure. So make sure to always maintain your right to keep things casual so that you can focus on your studies. Whether you’re at Juilliard earning your BFA in music, or if you’re earning Norwich University’s MBA degree online, you can’t afford to be distracted by petty drama.