Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Your College Survival Strategy

Few students go through college without encountering a few bumps in the road. However, with a dinky bit of forethought and planning, many of those bumps and difficulties can be prevented. In detail, prevention and preparation should be part of every student ' s strategy for college survival. Survivors take the following points seriously.

1. Take College Seriously - In midpoint every case, the students who spot college as an opportunity will be the ones who thrive in college. During the college years, students have the opportunity to learn, grow, mature and prepare for the future. When students fail to realize and take advantage of this opportunity, their survival is far from certain. Few students can find success when they do not use the college years to learn, grow, mature and prepare for the future.

2. Do Your Best - Waiting until the last minute, winging it and entreaty for forgiveness are not strategies that work well in college. The best results are usually achieved by students who understand the requirements, develop a logical strategy, allow enough time for the work to be done and try to do their absolute best. Uninspired and halfhearted efforts will not impress your Professors.

3. Establish A Schedule - Wise students create and follow a schedule that includes their classes, study time, part - time work, college activities, time for fun, meals and a good nights sleep. There is so much to be done, students who devote too much time to any one area or to the wrong things will decrease their chances for survival. The most successful students understand their capabilities and their limits.

4. Find The Time - Time can either work for you or against you. Therefore, to make time work for you, students should strive to start early and finish early. If you get up early and take early classes, you will also be able to begin researching, reading and studying earlier in the day. Furthermore, when you start your projects and papers as soon as they are assigned, your chances of doing a good job and finishing early are greatly increased. All of this works to help avoid pulling all nighters and suffering from last minute panic attacks. This approach can also enable you to get to bed earlier to get more rest each night.

5. Make Friends - Friends are important. They join in your activities, talk and listen to you and have fun with you. They care about you and are there to pick you up when you are down. Friends want you to succeed. They study with you, help you find answers and offer encouragement. Loners greatly limit the information and support that is available to them.

6. Take Care of Yourself - Your health can affect your performance in college. Since your health affected by many things, students must be mature enough to eat enough of the right things, get enough exercise, get enough rest and avoid the things that can stress them out. Students who ignore their health issues and burn the candle at both ends will burn out.

7. Get Help - At some time during the college years, you will need help. Although there are many areas where help may be beneficial, in most cases, you must ask for that help. Depending on the issue, you can get help from a trusted friend, professor, tutor, parent, advisor, doctor, employer and others. When you need some help, it is wise to ask for it immediately. Problems usually get worse when they are delayed or ignored.

At many colleges, 20 - 30 % of each freshman class either drops out or fails out of college before the senior year. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for students to build these seven points into their college survival strategy. Since the financial costs of college are so high, savvy students do everything possible to ensure that they make the most of their college experience.