College is a big step. You’re about to leave the world you’ve always known and step into a whole new world of education, responsibility, and experience. It can be a little daunting. Knowing what to bring to college can be a huge help, because you’re going to be on your own and starting fresh, and many of these things can get overlooked. And when you’re starting college you’ll want the transition to be as smooth as possible.
Of course, no list of what to bring to college can be totally comprehensive. Nor should you look at this as a list of “must haves”. Use some common sense and do some research into your individual circumstances.
So when you think about what to bring to college, consider:
• Alarm Clock
• Backpack/Messenger Bag
• Bathroom Supplies
• Bed Risers/Cinder Blocks – Space is a precious commodity.
• Bedding – Bring sheets and a mattress pad.
• Boardgames/Cardgames – Something to do with friends and roommates.
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Camera
• CDs/DVDs/Books/Personal Entertainment
• Cleaning Supplies
• Clothes – Winter clothes, gym clothes, etc.
• Computer
• Cookware
• Detergents
• Dining Utensils
• Extensions Chord
• Extra Long TV Cable
• First Aid Kit
• Food/Beverages
• Hygiene Products
• Lamp
• Laundry Basket
• Medications
• Phone
• Post-Its – A million and one uses.
• Power Strips/Surge Protector
• Professional Clothing – In case of an interview or other important meeting.
• Tools
• Writing/Office Supplies
Of course, the most important thing to bring just might be a desire to learn and the right attitude. But you can’t pick those up at the store.
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Do you have trouble taking notes? In college, poor note-taking skills can be the death knell to your hope for good grades. The textbooks are bigger and the tests are more comprehensive, meaning that the test cramming skills you developed in high school just won’t work here.
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Use the Cornell note-taking method to add some structure and organization to the copious amounts of notes you’ll be taking and studying from throughout your college career.
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With the rising cost of college tuition and all the expenses related to going to college, it is no wonder that most college students are looking for ways to save money. College textbooks represent a major expense in the overall cost of getting a college education, but there are ways to save money on them.
First, go to class at least once before buying your books to make sure your professor will be using the books on the syllabus. Sometimes professors change their minds after telling the bookstore what to order. Also, often professors will put copies of the books on reserve at the library. Once you know the books you are going to need, try looking for used copies of the books. Used textbooks are often significantly cheaper than new ones, but publishers print new editions every few years, so make sure that you have the right edition. Also, be sure you understand the store’s return policy before you buy textbooks, new or used, especially note the deadline for refunds, and always save your sales receipt. If you have time, shop around. You can often find college textbooks online for cheaper than at college bookstores.
Often, money spent on college textbooks at the beginning of the quarter can be recouped once the class has ended. Most universities will do a Textbook Buyback at the end of a quarter or semester where the bookstore will buy back any used books from students. This may be the best overall way to save money on college textbooks.
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Part of the college experience is all of the new social opportunities that abound. While forming new friendships and getting involved in the social scene of college can be exhilarating, it is important to maintain a balance between study and fun and to learn to prioritize your schedule and your life to make room for fun while still keeping up on your studies and maintaining both a mentally and physically healthy lifestyle.
College is a great place to get to know yourself better and to recreate yourself in any way that you want. Don’t hesitate to participate in activities and to get involved in the many social aspects that college life has to offer. Different associations and groups can provide you with a great way to meet new people and get involved in other areas that may interest you other than just your academic pursuits. However, balancing the two requires a greater sense of responsibility that also comes with the independence of college life. You may not have the same day-today support and scheduled extra-curricular activities that you had in high school, so it is important to be able to mange your own time and energy wisely so that factors like stress, late-night parties and just pushing yourself too hard in general wont take too hard of a toll.
Don’t always do what sounds easiest or more fun at the time. Learn to make smart decisions. When it comes to your schoolwork and your health, always put both ahead of social obligations. Make sure that you get enough sleep and eat well so that you can be most affective in your schoolwork. Figuring out the right balance of studying and fun will help you to have energy and to make enjoy all that college has to offer.
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When you get to college, you may be shocked by the increase in workload from high school. It is wise to think of college as a full-time job, in which you will spend about forty hours a week on class, labs, and studying. It is also important to realize that you are largely responsible for managing your time and for deciding exactly how much time you will allocate to each task. Getting organized and using your time will be key to developing effective study habits in college.
Coming up with a specific plan for where and what you will study during gaps in your schedule will help you to make better use of your transitional times during the day. It is generally a good idea to avoid studying too late at night, and is good to look for paces to study that have good light, are at a comfortable temperature and have good desk space. Deciding in advance what to study will help you to make reasonable goals that are specific and attainable, and will keep you from feeling too overwhelmed and discouraged. When studying things that are harder or that require more intense thought, take breaks so that you stay fresh and won’t waste time by not absorbing the material you are studying. Most importantly, keep up with the workload by doing the reading, and seeking help when you need it. Get to know your professors and other students whom you can ask questions and study with. You don’t want to become paralyzed by stress or get so far behind in the work that you are always trying to catch up and end up skipping material that may be important.
Good study habits in college require dedication, in order to stay ahead of your college workload, set aside time everyday to complete your assignments and stay on top of your course requirements.
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You might feel a bit overwhelmed the first time you are assigned to write a term paper in college. The material you cover in class is probably more advanced than you were used to in high school, and your professor will most likely expect your thinking to be on an equally higher lever. However, there is no need to feel overwhelmed if you apply an organized writing process to your paper, and if you do so you will be able to come up with compelling arguments and back them up with supporting evidence.
Whether you are analyzing facts in a research paper or interpreting texts in a critical paper, you are required to convince your teacher of the validity of your argument or interpretation. Give your paper clear structure, beginning with an argument of some kind, and supporting your argument with evidence from the material you have studied. Try to keep your focus as narrow as possible. Your goal should be to introduce your paper with an argument or claim of some kind, so make your argument specific and compelling. If your argument is too general it will be too easy to counter argue. A clear concise statement will give your teacher a clear sense of where you are going to take your argument. Then support your argument with thoroughly expressed claims and as many references as you can, spreading them throughout the paper. Always write clearly and convincingly. Take some care with the phrases you construct, and make sure that any metaphors you use or the words you chose make sense.
Always remember to cite your sources to avoid plagiarism. Always provide a citation for material in your paper that is not your own. This includes items such as a quick page reference, a few facts quoted directly from your source, or an occasional longer passage, table, chart, or any other information you may have used in the body of your writing. You can cite these sources by using footnotes, endnotes, or in-text citations, but whatever method you chose, use it consistently throughout the paper.
Finally, try to have fun with your writing. Prove your points, but don’t forget that your paper is also an exercise in creativity and communication. Work on your ability to fine-tune a point and really develop it. Your paper should illustrate who you are as a thinker.
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Getting the most out of college means studying hard and using your time in class wisely. One way to do this is with an effective note-taking strategy. Your class notes can only help you if you can find them, so when you are taking notes be sure to keep all your notes for one class in one place. Dating and numbering pages can also help to keep them in order and to make it easier to refer back to them. Before class review the materials assigned for that class thoroughly. Bring a list of questions you may have from the reading to remind you to get answers. During class make the best use of your class time by having a note-taking method. Things to keep in mind while taking notes are to write down the speaker’s main points; you don’t have to write down every word you hear. Organize your notes as you write, pay attention to cues such as repetition and emphasis. Indicate main points and supporting points as you go. Jot down key vocabulary, important facts, and formulas. And remember if you are confused it is okay to ask questions. It is better to ask while the material is fresh in your mind.
As soon as you can after class, review your notes and fill in any blanks. Underline or highlight any information that stands out as more important. After you have reviewed all your notes from class, write down any questions your teacher might ask on a test. You could even write a summary of the notes to help you digest what you have learned and improve your memory of the notes in the long term for exams down the road.
By exercising good note taking skills you will find that you have created your own personalized study guide. Review your notes the day you take them, and all your notes once a week or so, and you will hardly need to study when exams come around because you will have been doing the work all along. Taking good notes requires practice in order to figure out what methods work best for you, and the more you work on it, the more prepared you will be.
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Making the transition from high school to college can be difficult and at times overwhelming and stressful. But it doesn’t have to be discouraging, and there are ways to better manage the stress of college life.
In college you may not have the same sort of day-to-day support system as you did in high school, and it is easy to become stressed and overwhelmed with managing your schoolwork and adapting to living away from home. Learning to manage your money, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and getting enough sleep so that your body doesn’t get sick or run down and eliminating factors like stress, late nights and pushing yourself, can all help you to overcome stress. One way to do this is to learn to make smart decisions. Don’t always do what seems easiest at the time. For example, learn to budget your money and use credit wisely, and when it comes to your health, get enough sleep, eat well, and pay attention to what your body tells you. You will need energy to enjoy all that college has to offer.
New social opportunities and pressures can also be a source of stress for college students. While forming new friendships and getting involved in different groups and student associations can be exciting, it is also important not to spread yourself too thin, or to take on more than you can handle. Also, if you are hesitant or unsure about participating in certain social scenes or activities, don’t hesitate to seek guidance about the best ways to resist these pressures.
College is full of resources - professors, tutors, counselors, and resident advisors. In college it is up to you to initiate getting help. If you are feeling stressed out, seek help and look for ways to eliminate the things causing you to feel overwhelmed. The good news is that once you adjust to the demands of college life, it opens new doors to all sorts of learning and living.
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When you get to college, you may be shocked by the increase in workload from high school. It is wise to think of college as a full-time job, in which you will spend about forty hours a week on class, labs, and studying. In college you also won’t have teachers who check up on you like they do in high school. Keeping up in your classes and completing and turning in your homework will have to be something you discipline yourself to remember and do. Getting organized, developing good study habits, keeping up with your class work, and managing your time well will all be helpful ways for you to get good grades in college.
Good study habits are defiantly key to getting good grades in college. Some simple things to help you improve your study habits may include, having a routine for where and when you study, deciding in advance what you will study and choosing specific and realistic goals that you can accomplish, doing things that are harder or that require more intense thought earlier in the day when you are more alert, taking breaks so that you stay fresh, making good use of down time before and after class, getting to know other students whom you can study with or call and ask questions, and most importantly, keeping up with the workload.
Getting good grades means knowing the material you are studying. This means doing the reading. There is a big difference between reading effectively and merely skimming the text, and it is this difference that will be the difference in your grades. To read more effectively, read the assigned materials before class so that you’ll be able to ask any questions about the reading that you may have. Also, take notes on the reading, this kind of active learning requires you to think and rephrase key points which will help in committing them to memory. Having written notes apart from the text will also be a great help when it comes time to review the material for exams.
Getting good grades in college require dedication, discipline and hard work. Make it a goal to have good study habits and stay on top of your class reading and assignments, and you will find it easier to do well and get good grades.
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