Now that summer has started, I am starting to see several people going through the worry stage that precedes College. If you’re a recent High School graduate starting college next semester, then I totally understand what you’re going through. You’re confused, excited, worried and delighted all at the same time. And it’s understandable.

College is considered to be the beginning of your adult life. It’s the gate to real life, in a way, so of course it’s scary.

Questions like “Will I make it?” or “Am I ready for it?” will pop into your mind a lot and believe me, the best way to get over them is to take action. Taking action and starting a plan for how to be ready for college is always comforting.

I'm a college a student and a mentor for freshmen girls, so I thought that it would be nice to share some tips here about college and college life. If you or anyone you know has something to share, feel free to post here.

I live in the US, so the tips I am going to give are related to the US. I also know a friend who is Egyptian and can help with information about colleges there. If you have other experiences, share it here!

Aaaanways, back on topic...College…



How different is it compared to High School/ School in general?

Well, in high school, your teachers lead you through the educational process. They tell you to study this chapter this week and not the next one. They have quizzes to make sure that you HAVE to study. If you missed an assignment or did bad on a project, it’s very likely that the teacher will allow you to make it up somehow.

In college, you have more freedom. You choose which courses to take each semester and in each course, you are told from the first day when your midterms, final, projects, assignments are going to be. It is up to you, however, to plan your schedule. Are you going to study all the chapters this week or the next one?

With more freedom comes more responsibility, so time management is somewhat critical.


How do I choose my courses?

In the US, you get to choose when and with whom you want to take a certain class. Sometimes you have little choice because certain courses are prerequisite to other courses, while at other times, the possibilities are endless.

When I started college, my advisor told me that in the US, one credit hour will need 3 hours of personal studying.

While it’s a good general rule of thumb, it didn’t apply for my major.

Here’re some tips for you:

• Don’t take too many courses of the same style. For example, don’t take three or four courses that rely heavily on projects at the same time. Instead, try to take one or two that way with a History course that depends on reading and writing as well as a Spanish course which relies on watching and hearing.

• Make sure to ask about other people’s experiences in the courses you are considering. Is the professor a tough grader? Is the course actually harder than you thought? Personally, I ended up taking two semesters when I wasn’t even a full time student…Mainly because I knew that two  of my courses are very heavy. So, I combined them with one or two easy courses and just used that for a semester. Of course that might not always be the case for some financial aid cases.


How can I survive?


1. If you have time before classes, read and prepare for the course on your own. An hour or two every day during the break will save your grades and save you from a terrible headache during the semester.

2. Time Management! Again…Critical. The first thing I buy every year is the daily planner. From day one, I put stickers on important dates like exams, projects, reports and so on. I also add in dates for activities I am enrolled in. Every evening, look at the day after’s schedule and make sure you’re prepared for everything. And every weekend, plan your studying schedule for the week ahead.

3. Pull off the plug on internet when you’re studying ( as much as you can)…Stay focused!!!

4. Don’t forget yourself. Have a ten minutes break every fifty minutes of studying. And reward yourself every night with an episode of your favorite show, or a chapter of your favorite book!

5. Something very very very important!!! Don’t buy books from the bookstore unless you absolutely need to. Check Amazon and Ebay since they are usually at least 50 dollars less. You could also find used books which will save you more money. Consider renting, it’s a very good option, too…Especially that many of those books, you’ll never even open up again!



Well…That’s what I thought about for now. If you have any questions, post them here and I am sure that someone here on OMD will give you some advice. Till later, take care!!

Last edited by darkelfqueen (2013-06-19 19:34:37)