Advice for college students
When you go to college, you meet all kind of people. Some are there to study, some are there to enjoy, and many are there but do not know what to do. In college, you can have many friends as you want. There are many people who have the same interests as you. If you like music, you can find many people who also like music. If you like partying, you can find many people who also like partying. If you like reading, you can find many people who also like reading. If you like sport, you can find many people who also like sport. If you like videogame, you can find many people who also like videogame. However, you must understand that you go to college to get educated and study should be the highest priority. The best friends that you need are to find people who are there to study.
If you go to college but do not know what to do or do not select friends carefully then you will easily get distracted from your study goal. These are many students who often stay up late at night to play video games than try to memorize some key concepts in a hurry with the hope that they will pass the exam. There are many students who go to parties all night and could not come to class then ask you to let them borrow your note to study with the hope that they will catch up. If you are spending more time with them, you will do the same. There are people who convince you to let them copy your homeworks or even do the homework for them. You must try to avoid them, so that when they are in trouble, you do not get in trouble with them.
No matter how good you are, you will never have enough time in college. If you are serious about study you will find that there are overwhelming materials that you must learn. Do not expect to learn everything in a week before the exam or cram everything all night before the exam. It is impossible so do not even try it. In college, you will not have enough time to even sleep because you will have so much works to do, more reading, more homeworks which takes a lot of your time. You will be busy going from class to class, from one room to another, so you must organize your time carefully. In college you may have few classes that require memorization, but most will require you to think, to analyze, and to practice. These classes are different from classes that you have in high school, so you must change your study habit. Instead of work “hard”, you must learn to work “smart”.
One important thing that few students pay attention is your family has certain expectations of you. You are no longer a child but an adult. Once you go to college, you are responsible for yourself so you must act responsibly. You must understand that for every behavior there will be consequence, good or bad. Your parents have worked hard to put you in college and they expect that you would turn out better. Of course, you may have your own expectation and sometime these two expectations are not the same. You need to distinguish what you can and cannot do when you are in college. Never forget that your parents do have expectations so do not disappoint them. Of course, no one would go to college with the intention of make their family feel bad but they often do not pay attention to this factor until it is too late. That is why I would repeat it here: “Do not disappoint your parents.” You do not have to be the best student; you do not have to be the top of the class; but you go to college to get educated then graduate and that is the short goal that you must consider seriously.
The first thing you should do in college is to organize your schedule. Knowing the classes that you must take and schedule time you must study accordingly. The simple rule is for every hour of class, you must spend at least two hours of study on your own and at least one hour of study with your friend. If you are serious about study, you will find that you do not have much time left for something else. It will be a lot easier if you plan your college learning according to this rule and stick with it. You will be surprised at how much you will learn.
Of course, there are friends, old friends from high school and new friends in college but you must select friends carefully and share your study plan with them. Create a small study group of three to five people (No more than seven) to go over class materials AFTER each has study on their own at least two hour BEFORE the study group meeting. The reason you study in group is to review the materials and raise questions on something that you do not understand. If the entire group does not understand well, you ask the professor to explain in the next class. That is how you and the group learn.
The second thing you should do is follow each course syllabus carefully. A syllabus tells you about your professor’s expectations for the course, the attendance policy, the textbooks, the grading policy, the assignments and the exams. From the syllabus, reorganize your study schedule to reserve at least a week before the exam to focus on preparation. If you follow the study plan accordingly, you never have to cram for the exam. Make a habit of arrive in class early and prepare to ask questions for something that you do not understand. It will get your professor's attention that you are there to study. Make a habit to sit in the front of the class as it is easier to see the blackboard or the projector. You will get more attention from the professor if you sit up front than in the back of the class. Remember that your classes will require a lot of efforts so by having the professor's attention, you will have some advantages over others.
You go to college to study and get educated. You do not go to college to play videogame or go to party so do not follow some pressures from friends. Your weekend is for rest and review weekly materials NOT go to party all night or get drunk. Your parents do not work hard so you can spend four years getting drunk, go to parties, get addicted to drug, or get expelled from school. I know a lot of students do not agree with my advice. My questions are: “Why do you go to college? What is your purpose of going to college? I am not saying that you go to college and study all the time but you do not have a lot of time to waste so you must spend your time carefully. You may go to a movie or go to a restaurant with your boyfriend or girlfriend. There are many things that you can do when you are in college but do not do anything that you may regret later and never let these things interfere with your main purpose: to get educated.
Every year, there are students who challenging me by asking the “What if” question. “What if I follow your advice but do not do well in school? My answer: “Are you studying for three hours or sit in front of your book for three hours but dreaming of something else? Are you sleeping in the library? Are your study group reviewing the class materials or talking about movies stars and rock stars? “What if my girlfriend or boyfriend does not like my study plan because I cannot spend enough time with her or with him?” My answer: “You may have a wrong boyfriend or girlfriend. Find another one that encourages you to study, not the one that encourage you to go to party with them. If they really care for you, they should support you, not interfere with your future.” I also have questions for them: “What if you fail in college or get expelled then what will happen to you?” “What will happen if your boyfriend or girlfriend finds out that you fail college or get expelled?” “What if you get addicted to alcohol or drug because you have many bad influences?” “What will happen if your girlfriend gets pregnant?” “What will happen if you get pregnant? “What will happen if you get arrested for using drug?” This is NOT the reason that you go to college for. Please THINK carefully, by going to college, you have a bright future. Your family expecting you to do well, your society expecting you to be an educated citizen, and your country needs your talents, so do not act irresponsible.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
