Top 6 Tips to Prepare Yourself for College
Thinking to enroll to college this year? If you’re like most students, you’re almost as excited as your parents are about your impending move away from home. It’s been now more than 10 years since I graduated from college and here are some recommendations to make it an easy transition. College can be a time of great excitement and new discoveries for some and anxiety and stress for others. Regardless of your feelings about leaving home and making new friends, you’ll probably agree that you are a times a bit anxious about the transition from High School to College life. Here are a few ideas I wish someone told me when I was starting college.
Make a plan
Creating a plan for your time at college can help ease your mind and give you something to focus on. While you don’t have to write your plan in stone, it can help to have at least an idea of what you want to do during your first year of college. Knowing what you want to do will help you to organize your time more effectively and make sure that you don’t over- or under-commit yourself.
Make friends easily
Finding your friends at college can be a crucial step in making it a successful year. Why? Because your friends will likely be the ones who help ease your transition to college life. Having friends to turn to when you’re homesick or having problems with your parents is an invaluable source of support. Keeping in touch with your high school friends can be a great way to make friends at college. You can keep in touch with your old friends through social media, or you can create separate social media accounts for your college life. Having friends can help you to feel less homesick and more excited about starting college.
Take advantage of online resources
There are so many online resources available these days that it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out on something if you don’t use them. Take advantage of online forums, social media groups, and video chat to stay connected with your friends and make new ones. You can also use online resources to keep up with your schoolwork, meet new people, and further your education. For example, most colleges and universities offer online programs. This can be a great way to complete your education without having to sit in a classroom every day. Online tools and apps provide you a much balanced life and quality education, without the pressure of having to attend class.
Learn to balance work and play
It’s important to remember that going to college is a time to have fun too. You can’t just study all the time or you’ll end up with poor social skills that could negatively impact your future. You’ll also end up unhappy and stressed out if you don’t find a way to balance work and play. Make sure that you don’t let schoolwork dominate your life and take advantage of the many resources available on campus to balance your studies with fun activities.
Take a few minutes to yourself every day
Taking a few minutes to relax every day can do wonders for your stress level and mental well-being. Try to schedule some quiet time in your calendar each day that you won’t be disturbed. Even five minutes of quiet time can help you to clear your head and get ready for the day ahead.
Don’t forget to relax
College is a time to relax and have fun, not worry and stress. You’re going to be busy studying and getting your work done, but you don’t have to stress yourself out about it. College is a time to experiment with new activities, meet new people, and make friends. You’ll be busy, but you don’t have to stress yourself out about it.
Bottom line
As you can see, making the transition to college isn’t easy for everyone. Especially if you’re a first-time student moving away from home. Luckily, there are ways to make this transition a bit easier.
