College Survival 101

It is November. This commonly implies a start of a new semester for college students. As such, being a college student presents a fun side of being one. On the other side of the coin, this also presents trials, hurdles, disappointments and the like. Earning a degree for yourself is no walk in the park. And most importantly this is one phase in your life that you should not overlook as you are about to build yourself and also your credentials for a future career or job.

I have been a teacher for quite some time and I have seen students who passed with flying colors, merely passed and worst failed in my class. As such, here are some key college survival tips that I have used before in college and acquired through time. You may embrace and implement such or you can simply brush these on the side.

1. The right friends. College is made more fun if you are surrounded with friends most importantly your classmates. However in order to survive college you need to have friends who have the direction of passing the subjects and do not procrastinate. In here, you need to choose your friends wisely. I am not saying you befriend the smartest one in class so you can leech answers and copy from him or her. Truth be told, that would be the fastest ticket anyone could resort to but what will happen during individual exams? How much more if you will be working alone? Befriend someone that can help you pass yet help you learn at the same time. Graduate students know the essence of this one.

2. Do all requirements. Teachers provide you with assignments, quizzes, exams, recitations and the like. Oftentimes, this gets overwhelming especially if the semester is about to end. As a student, it is your responsibility to do all these. A common reason why a student would fail is that they didn't pass their project. Much more a single quiz that you missed or a recitation you did not answer could be a big downfall on your end and it can literally pull your grades down.

3. Do not hesitate to ask. Students have their own pace in understanding the lessons. Some may be able to grasp a lecture in an instance while others take some time. In this case, it would be best to ask most especially your teachers if you tend not to understood a specific part of the lecture. It is evident that some students are relatively shy to ask questions in class. There are many reasons for this such as the question may be wrong in the first place, classmates might laugh and the like. In cases like this, it would be best to consult with your teacher after class or during their consultation hours.

4. Study. Every student is obligated to study. As much as possible you need to develop a study procedure that works best for you. There are many approaches in studying. One could study before an exam, others study with TV or what not, while others study slowly. Make sure you identify a studying approach and work from there. Always set aside a time for studying regardless of how hard that subject could be. Above all do not procrastinate.

These survival tips are but a few of the many possible tips you could do in order to survive college. As much as possible do not waste your time in failing a subject and taking it all over again. Much more, do not waste your parent's money in investing for your college education. Above all, this is your future that we are talking about.