If you are a new college student, you’ve probably questioned whether or not you are capable of learning how to be a successful college student. The answer to that question is yes. You can absolutely be a successful college student. You don’t have even have to be particularly smart. You just have to make school a priority and follow our tips on how to be successful in college.
1. Stay Healthy
It can be difficult to do, however, the healthier your lifestyle in college, the more energy you will have to stay on track in class, participate in activities, and study. If you are constantly lacking sleep, drinking to excess, and eating junk, it’s going to catch up to you. It takes some self-discipline, but you’ll find that it really contributes to success in college.
2. Schedule Classes that Work with Your Natural Sleep Patterns
There are times when you’re going to have to schedule an early morning or night class that throws off your sleep patterns. However, if at all possible, try to keep a course schedule that works with your body’s own rhythms.
3. Get to Know Your Professors and Advisers
Your instructors and advisers really do want to help you succeed. If you have any questions or concerns about a particular class, your instructors and TAs are always available during office hours. If you need help with selecting your major, your adviser is happy to help.
4. Get Involved
One of the best tips for college students that we can offer is to advise you to get involved on campus. If sports and spirit oriented events aren’t your thing, you have plenty of other options. You can join a club, volunteer at a campus fair, or help organize some fun events.
5. Go to Your Classes
This bit of advice seems to be on every list of college success tips. That’s because it works. Sure, you might have a specific number of classes you can miss before you are dropped, but why is risk missing out on important instructional time?
6. Stay on Top of Big Assignments
Procrastination is your enemy. It is so easy to put off projects and major writing assignments until the last minute. Unfortunately, if you do, it can be so hard to finish the work and maintain a level of quality that will help you earn a good grade. Instead, try breaking the assignment into chunks and doing a bit at a time. You can use an app such as Evernote to divide big assignments into projects and keep track of what you have finished.
7. Get Organized
One thing that you will notice as you start college is that you have a huge amount of things to keep track of. There are assignment due dates, class schedules, work, meetings with advisers, group projects, and more. It can be quite easy to lose track of things. Fortunately, there are many apps available that store to-do lists, organize your notes, and remind you of important upcoming events.