So you’ve finally gained college admission and can’t wait to kickstart your journey? Congratulations! Being a college student is an entirely different experience from your previous years in high school. Talk about the degree of freedom, workload, competition, and the endless list of friends? College opens up a whole new world of learning and development.
Amid all the joy and delight to pack your suitcases and dash out into your new citadel of learning, you might be thinking about what it takes to lead a successful life in college. For a fact, the joy of every college student is to succeed in flying colours as that can guarantee a promising future.
Contrary to what some students think, succeeding in college doesn’t mean only living between the pages of your book. Many other important aspects of college life can significantly contribute to your success in college.
Since we’re here to help you successfully manoeuvre through college and make the whole journey as smooth as possible, we have compiled these crucial tips on becoming successful in college. Keep them in view, and you’re sure to triumph as a college student.
1. Be Intentional About Success
The first step towards living a successful college life is to be intentional about succeeding. In other words, to be in the right mindset and set goals that lead to your destination. Schooling in college is like setting out on a journey. You need to have a destination at heart to know what route you should take. Otherwise, it’s practically impossible to tell whether or not you’re on track.
Being intentional about success helps you formulate a winning perspective on how to be successful in college. Also, you only engage in activities that will enhance your goals.
Truth be told, the level of distraction in college is staggering. Without the right mindset, it’s easy to veer off course and end up in the wrong spot.
Before resumption:
- Write down what you want to achieve in college and keep it somewhere within sight.
- Break down the long-term goal into short term goals to help you keep track of your progress.
For instance, suppose you want to graduate in top grades, set a short-term goal that focuses on achieving high grades every semester.
Obtaining high grades each semester will help you finish with excellent results. You may even take this a bit further by splitting your semester goals as well. Here, you’d focus on scoring high in tests and assignments, and subsequently, exams.
2. Live Healthily
Health is wealth, hands down. You need to be hale and hearty before you can achieve anything in college. How will you shuffle between classes, cover seemingly unending course materials, and sit hours of exams without being healthy? That’s how stressful college can be.
One huge mistake students make in college is paying less attention to their well-being. Besides increasing your chances of missing classes due to illness, a poor health routine can impair your productivity and body operations. A sound and healthy body will more likely grasp information faster and store them even longer than an unhealthy one.
To keep your physical and mental health in good shape,
- eat good food
- rest when you should
- exercise regularly
- socialize with positive people
- be happy, friendly and optimistic
- and keep off any toxic lifestyle or company.
3. Take Classes Seriously
Unless you’re running distance learning, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be physically present in classes. Even when you think you know more than enough about the topic or subject of the day, you still need to be present in class. Chances are your lecturers will mention something different from what you already know, and losing those few marks in the exam can be the difference between getting an “A” and a “B.”
Attending classes will help clarify any confusions you had from reading about the topic or listening to your lecturer. Your professors want to see the zeal and enthusiasm for learning in their students, and showing up early in classes is a great way to display that.
Besides, attending classes promotes collaborative learning, boosts your social and organizational skills, helps you benefit from your lecturers’ experience, improves your listening skills, and helps to develop important personality and career-building skills.
When you attend classes, make sure you do it with purpose. This helps you stay motivated and make the most of your time in the classroom. You should:
- Review notes before each class
- Arrive early and sit somewhere close to the front
- Actively engage in activities like discussions and questions
- Be present-minded throughout
- Record lectures if you can
- Avoid side conversations and distractions
- Summarize the day’s lesson and key points
4. Develop Effective Study Habits
You already knew we’d get here anytime soon. Studying is a core part of your success in college and life in general. By using the word “study,” we aren’t referring to merely looking into the pages of your notes. Instead, we’re talking about actual learning and development that emanate from reading, discussing with like-minded people, effective listening, and even teaching others.
Studying can be done in various ways, and the method you choose depends on what works for you. However, you’re more likely to achieve better results by combining two or more of these study methods.
Some students prefer to read first thing in the morning when the mind is fresh and free. To them, it’s easier to focus and make the most of one’s time when reading in the morning becomes a habit. To others, they’d rather do their thing at night when everywhere feels calm and less distracting. Some students grasp more when they read with a friend and feel motivated to work harder.
Whatever your study habits are, focus on developing what makes you learn more and less on what doesn’t work. Some other effective study habits include
- Creating a study routine
- Keeping your study area/ materials tidy and well-organized
- Using flashcards
- Reading out and repeating things you want to memorize
- Preparing all necessary materials to avoid distractions
- Recording lecture notes and listening to them when you’re “idle.”
- Pasting complex terms or formulas within eyeshot in your room
- Repetitive reading to foster easier recall of the information
- Writing out a summary of the key points in your own words
- Linking new information with what you already know
- Using mnemonics
- And so on
5. Join Helpful Groups and Clubs
As earlier highlighted, schooling isn’t all about reading alone. There are tons of extracurricular activities designed to help you enjoy your college life and build valuable connections.
In fact, some students built their careers and developed excellent skills through these extracurricular activities. Whether you’re passionate about science projects, crafts, interviewing people, or anything, you can locate and join groups with like-minds to help you refine your talent.
Being in groups and clubs can serve as a ground for applying theoretical knowledge from classes, thereby helping you better remember the lessons.
Finally, don’t limit your achievements to the corners of your college. Try new things, learn new skills, volunteer in social and community development tasks, sign up for internships, and network with people within and outside your space. You want to have both good grades and a fantastic skill-set to boast of a truly successful college life.