First I'd like to congratulate you on starting your newest adventure! As I prepare to start off my final semester before graduating with my bachelor's degree, I remember how nervous I was when I started this journey. Like many other college seniors there are things I would have done differently and things I wished I knew earlier. I cannot guarantee that you won't have to learn anything the hard way, but I can share with you the advice I have learn and found most helpful over the last four years.
Take your notes in pen.
Yes, even your math classes! This forces you to begin studying earlier as you will need to transcribe your scribbles into neater (and in my case, more readable) notes while the lecture is still fresh in your memory. Ink also does not smear or fade like pencil marks do, which help in the classes you need to take when you're an upperclassman, as your notes and hints will still be legible.
Do not fall for the myth that college is a time to discover who you are.
Nearly everyone says that college is the time for you to explore, find out who you are and what kinds of things you like, but this simply is not true! Yes, while college is a great time to discover how you function without your parents, what you need to do to create accountability and responsibility and what kind of support you need to make tough decisions; it is not the time to try every and all things that are available to you. You had all four years of high school to find the hobbies and classes that fit you best, and now your college years are the time to get better at them. Don't get sucked into the whirlwind of trying several campus organizations and unique classes and fall behind students who are committing their time to honing in on specific skills. When students who spent their college years exploring different subjects leave school, though their experience makes them look like a well rounded person, employers see a a 'soundboard' of skills that is so spread out that it is unable to focus and amplify the job they are looking to complete. Come to college with a mind set of already knowing who you are and making that person better.
Don't study what you love, study what you find fascinating.
When choosing a major, don't base your decision on the school subject you love. There will be many lectures, assignments and test that will prove that it doesn't love you back, and this quickly drains your motivation. Instead, chose to study and work with subjects that you are fascinated by. Curiosity and desire to know the answer will help you make it through the 'up-till-2-AM' projects. Because you earnestly wish to improve your understanding of that subject, you will greatly add to your career after college as you will want to seek ways to do your job better out of pure inquisitiveness. This may not be as easy as knowing that you are intrigued by the phenomenon of physics or the puzzle of the psychology. In my case, for example, I am fascinated by our ability to heal and improve, but I hate all of the controversies that at linked with science and its research. I chose to study biology because I wanted the privilege of seeing people heal and my excitement in understanding how a biological system functions helped pushed me through all of the difficult concepts and assignments.
This is your college experience and not a carbon copy.
Looking back this was my biggest misconception about college. Several times I harshly compared how my schedule and classes were going to how my family, friends and even make believe student's schedule and classes went. I would push myself to work long hours and sleep very little, because that is what normal college students did, right? I also spent way too much time judging my abilities and intelligence by looking at how other students where doing. For one of my classes, my lab partner and I did the same amount of studying and yet she was receiving As while I was barely scoring enough to get Bs. I became extremely frustrated and felt like a failure, I was doing everything the same as my lab partner and could not produce the same results. This went on until near the end of the semester I found out that she had already taken the course and was more familiar with the information than I was from the very beginning of the class. Even if you take the same class from the same teacher and study in the same way as someone else, you can never produce the exact results, so don't waste your time trying. Don't compare your college experience to how your sister's or best friend's college experience went, go and make your own unique experience!
A College Degree is still just a piece of paper.
Despite the hype that it is now the ticket to landing a job or becoming a better person, a college degree is still just a flimsy piece of very expensive paper. It is the knowledge and wisdom that you collect and create while at college to backup that degree that truly make the difference. Don't settle to simply pass the required classes to earn a degree, become part of the academic community, after all where else are you going to walk down a hall and run into PhDs and specialized experts? Take the time to learn and grow outside of your classes and seek out opportunities that will help you develop better leadership skills and accept offers to work in diverse groups. Support your degree with with so many projects and experiences that it won't ever fall flat.
I wish you the very best as you grow and learn on your journey.
It was worth the wait!
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