The school year is here! So many of you are returning to college, but I bet there is a handful of you who are going into your first year at a university. Honestly, these next few years will be some the best years of your life. You’re going to try new things, meet new people and learn so much about not only your field, but yourself. I know you’ve been fed the hype about how amazing college with be, however, college is what you make it. You get out of it what you put into it.
I’m going to share with you 8 ways to make the most of your college experience.
TUTORING
Take advantage of tutoring resources.
Most colleges have free tutoring on campus. At my school, it’s called the academic success center. There are staff tutors and also peer tutors. You can bring your class notes, get help with homework or read ahead in your textbook. Also, if your school doesn’t have free tutoring, your professors may have office hours set in place. Use those times they already allocated to helping students to go get the help you need.
CREDITS PLAN
Make a (flexible) credit requirement plan
I’m sure your major program has a class requirement checklist that lists all the classes and elective credits needed to graduate. Make a plan so you know how many credits you plan to take a semester so you have an idea of the work load you can expect. If you plan to just “wing it” you make find yourself taking a bunch of classes that you don’t need or having to take all your heavy load major classes at once.
Pace yourself. You’ll thank yourself later.
STUDENT ORGS
Join a club
College is what you make it. You have to find groups of people and activities that you have a passion for. If you’re an English major, maybe a book club is for you. If you danced your whole life, you may find a place on your school’s dance team. Whatever your interests are, joining something can make finding friends easier, make you feel connected to something and you’re guaranteed to have fun doing what you love.
PROFESSORS
Build relationships with professors
Your professors are an amazing resource. They can provide guidance about which courses to take that’ll help you in your career, they can be a reference when you’re applying to grad school or a new job, and also they may want to be excited about your success in your budding career. They’ve most likely worked in the field before. They’ve been around a lot longer than you have and may give great advice or be super insightful about the future of your industry.
INTERNSHIP
Apply for a Internship or job in your field
I cannot stress enough how important jobs an internships are. Some majors even require you get an internship as a course requirement. There are so many benefits to getting an internship or job related to your field besides general working experience. You’ll also stand out as a candidate after graduation as a job candidate – which could lead to your entry-level job paying more! Plus, you’ll be more prepared to do the job.
STUDY
Make a study plan
When I found out my class schedule, club meeting times and all the other set in stone activities that I committed to, I thought about the free time I had left in the week and knew when I had an opportunity to study or do homework. If I didn’t do that, I can promise you that I would have been hanging out with friends, going out or napping instead of getting my work done.
MENTOR
Get a mentor
Finding a mentor isn’t necessary but you definitely want to find someone who inspires you to succeed. This should be someone you can trust, who can guide you and invest in your future. Often times your mentor is someone working in your field. This person will be writing letter of recommendations for you, be your reference on job searches and the person you call when you have questions or successes.
Most importantly, you need to have a connection with this person. Having a successful mentor means nothing if having a conversation with them is super uncomfortable. You have to click; because if you’re doing this mentor thing right, you’ll be spending a lot of time together.
SOCIALIZE
Got out and socialize
College isn’t all about academics. It’s the best time of your life because you’re making the best memories and the friends you’ll ever have. Don’t dedicate all of your time to homework. Say yes to the party next weekend. Dress up for Halloween. Take risks and have fun. You don’t want to leave college academically content but feeling like you missed out on memories of a lifetime.
There you have it. That’s the best advice that I can give. Do with it what you please. Just promise me you’ll make these the best 4 years of your life thus far.