Many students arrive at college expecting a fun time, only to find that the classes require much more time and effort than high school classes did. If you’re planning to head off to college soon, you need to know what to expect. If you major in English and take advanced literature classes, you’ll find those classes much more difficult than literature classes you took in high school. You’ll be writing more papers that are longer than what you had to write before. You’ll find test questions harder. Certainly, you don’t want to travel all the way from New York to a university in California only to find that you have no idea how you’re going to make it through classes.
Be Prepared for Your Freshman Year at College
What can you do to prepare for the level of classes in college? Some colleges let students take a class or two ahead of time to get credits out of the way and experience a class early. You might be able to take something like freshman history and taste what a class is like at your college. If you leave nearby, you could take it at your college, or if you live far away, you could take a class by correspondence. Call your college or check its website to see what they offer for classes you could take early.
Disciplined study habits are essential to succeed in school. Someone who studies for every test at 10 PM the night before and types up long papers the day before they are due will probably not find his grades to be too high in college. You may be attending a college with a world-class biology program, but you probably won’t be passing a biology test if you only study from midnight to 3 AM and take the test at 8 AM. Learn to study in small increments long before tests occur and work on papers early in advance. At the beginning of the semester, write all your test and project dates into a planner (or in your iPhone if you’re cool like that). That you way you won’t be caught realizing you have two tests the next day and a 6-page paper due the day after. Talk with students who succeed in their grades and ask what strategies they use. Also, evaluate the tools that help you best for studying. Flashcards? Mnemonic devices? Crazy songs with terms in them?
Take advantage of tutoring services and general academic help a college might offer. Also, many teachers are willing to help their students who come to their offices or send them emails. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
College is a life-changing experience and can be difficult to adjust to. But don’t give up—you can make it through! Begin your college search today.
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