7 Tips for a College Student

1. Know What It Is You Want After College.

I did not know what type of degree or career I wanted from college but I did know what I wanted after college and that was a strong background for success in the pursuit of a job. And by wanting a job I really meant I wanted to become self-sufficient in providing for myself by having enough funds.

Ask yourself where you want to live, when you want to start a family, if you want to buy a house, etc. These should motivate you or keep you focused in why you are at college.

2. Determine What Degree You Want After College.

Like many you may be undecided and not know what you want to major in. You may even change your major several times within the course of your college career. The most important thing is to be exploring a major actively. What I mean is understand why you are taking the major geared courses and what it has to do with a career you could go into. If you're undecided then start researching the available degrees offered at your college. An easy way to do this is by just going online. A college's website should tell you what a person who graduated with your major could do and is likely to do. Ask yourself if it's what you would want to do.

3. Be Successful In Your Studies.

Do what's best for you in terms of studying and test taking. What has worked for you in highschool? Class attendance was a key for me. I never missed class and therefore I never drew a blank when it came to test time or paper time. When you studied did you have your mom, friend, older sibling help you? If you went away to college then you probably aren't within reach of who you used to study with so either find someone else or start learning how to focus on your own. My mom used to sit at the dinner table with me when I had a big test. She would read a book and I would study. For some reason this helped me concentrate. In college she obviously wasn't there so I had to study on my own. I found the best place to do this was the library as it was quiet and somewhat familiar in ways to the coffee table with my mom.

4. Don't Forget To Release In Between Studies.

Watch your favorite TV show. Play some video games. Relax with friends at the mall. Do whatever it is that you enjoy.

5. Celebrate Victories In Your Studies.

Celebrate making a B on that Philosophy or Calculus test. Go out and have fun, party. You made the grade and you deserve to celebrate it. Call up your mom or dad and tell them, they'll be happy to hear from you even more if you're doing well.

6. Don't Accept C's Ever.

Always aim for an A and if you must, accept the B when you receive it. Never accept a C as work that was your best because it wasn't. Another reason to never accept C's as they are not the midterm grades you want when you are going into your Final test. Cushion yourself with high grades early on when the material becomes thicker and the teacher might grow more tired of who they are teaching.

7. How Many Years Do You Want To Spend At College?

For me the answer was as few as possible. I went to college immediately after graduating highschool and I realized that I did not want to spend 4 more years of my life in a classroom when I could be making money in the real world. During my first semester of college I realized this while sitting in class. I took out a pen and paper, wrote down the total credits I would have after the semester I was currently in and the credits that had transfered from a highschool program with my local community college. I took the total (30) and subtracted it from the average amount of credits needed to graduate with a Bachelor's degree (120). I needed 90 credits. I took these 90 credits and divided them by 4 (semesters) getting 22.5. That's about seven courses a semester. But wait, does your school offer summer courses? Mine did I took four over the summer. I ended up graduating in what would have been my 2nd semester of my sophomore year.

If you could pick would you want to be 22/23 and graduating college or 20/21 already graduated in pursuit of a job?