Has the idea of taking college courses thrown you for a loop? Do you have a lot of unanswered questions? Many new students, fresh from high school, feel great pressure. If you prepare yourself for college, you won’t be as overwhelmed by it. Utilize the advice in this piece and optimize your college experience.
Don’t worry about choosing your major right away. Most schools give you until your junior year to select a major, so you should take time to explore different options and figure out what you most enjoy and might want to make a career out of before you select your major.
College can be very expensive. If you don’t have enough money to pay for it, then it’s important to take out student loans. School may seem expensive up front, but will pay off many times over after you have graduated.
When you are about to take a big exam, make sure you eat an adequate breakfast but keep it a little light. Don’t go into a test hungry, or you’ll have a lot of trouble concentrating. Do not overeat either; however, so you don’t have to deal with an upset stomach.
You should find out what grants and scholarships you can get. There are many unique scholarships which can put a positive dent in your expenses. In addition, there are numerous state and federal grants you can take advantage of that don’t require you to pay them back!
Use online resources to study at home. Popular study aids include Quizlet and Memrise. You can use these websites to create flashcards for your class. Often, someone else has already made flashcards for your class or subject of study. In this case, you can use what is already available to study.
Get as involved as possible with the students on campus and with certain organizations in the school. This is very important as you do not want to be tagged as a social outcast with nothing to do during the day. This will help you to make friends and feel like a part of the university.
Keep your loans to a minimum. Look into scholarships, grants and special programs to help pay for college so that you won’t have a lot of debt hanging over your head when you graduate. For many students, loan checks seem like free money while they are in school–but once you get out they become an obligation you may regret.
If you are trying to make some extra money when you are away at school and do not want it to interfere with your studies you should check out work study. Most of the time you will be able to get a position within your area of study and you can actually learn something.
School
Don’t rely on your high school reputation. College is so much different. You might find yourself struggling in college, and you didn’t in high school. Make yourself work harder than you ever have and give new things a try instead of thinking everything will be just like it was in high school.
You should have fun while in college. Not only are learning about your future career, you are also learning a lot about who you are. By taking what you learned here, you will have a fabulous experience in college.