Comments on: Ten Things Any College Student Can Do To Prepare For Success In Life

By: Marie

Marie — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:27:28 +0000

When my parents stopped paying for college, I was forced to figure out how to get my BA degree on my own. I was working, but I also wanted to do well in school. So I dropped my course load down to 12 credits. I found out what the tuition bill would be each semester, so I made it my goal to save that much before I treated myself to anything. I became very frugal. After 3 years, I owed only about $11,500 in student loans, which I took out only when necessary, e.g. when I had to do my student teaching and couldn’t work.

Now that I’ve gone back to grad school, I am trying to be frugal, too. It is not so easy when there are more things to juggle in life. I am working, and even moved into a “closet” of a room rather than a studio apt. to save about half the cost of rent. I want to buy a house or adopt a child in my next big endeavor, so I don’t want to be prevented by extravagant debt amassed in my additional college years.

Hey, I even brought juice boxes to class! (The prof. said we could bring a cup of coffee…close enough, eh?)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:01:31 +0000

*Work hard on scholarships
Who would say no to writing an essay and getting paid hundreds/thousands for it? In this way, it is possible to piece together a free ride from many smaller scholarships.

*Take as many classes as you can, don’t study abroad, and get out early
People say that college is about “finding yourself”, and it is. But you can’t “find yourself” throughout your twenties/thirties? Your educational/personal/spiritual journey, if you will, ends the day you graduate? Just get in, get out, and take out as few loans as possible.

-Sarah, a second-year junior, Advertising/Public Relations major

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:39:03 +0000

I went to a pay by the credit school, so taking multiple gym classes was definitely not an option. My advice is to get that required gym class out of the way in your freshman year. I put it off and ended up having to schedule my important teaching classes around gym class. It was very frustrating to have to prioritize something as trivial as aerobics over senior level coursework.

By: Jake

Jake — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:26:05 +0000

I definitely agree with your suggestions. However, I think you are not explicitly stating the #1 recommendation for college students. Get out of your comfort zone…this is the number 1 sure fired way to develop yourself. This can be anything from joining organizations to going to college on the other side of the country or studying abroad. If you don’t push yourself to get out of your comfort zone, your development and growth will not be anywhere near as significant as it could be. Additionally, I do agree with your suggestion for finding a job, but I think that on-campus jobs are completely underestimated. In many on-campus jobs you can get relevant work experience, build transferable skills and have supervisors who respect that you are a student first. Obviously this is not always the case, but if you look, you can find these on-campus jobs. I would also recommend building a relationship with the career services office on campus. These individuals will be invaluable when looking for an internship or job after college. Many of these individuals can be the best connections you ever make. I’d also recommend that students get to know the non-teaching faculty and staff at their school. Whether these individuals are their Residence Directors, or student activities staff. These individuals can speak more to your work style than any professor. I’ll let my bias be known as these statements are coming from a non-faculty student development staff member at a large research institution.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:10:24 +0000

I gotta agree with Elaine. With a couple of exceptions, your first year or two the classes will be a lot easier, and you can take more of a load.

I had a lot of “Introduction to X” and “Beginning Y” classes my first year that I was required to take in order to get into the ones I really wanted. I could max out my schedule and still get decent grades. I tried that once in the advanced level classes and realized I was going to have to decide which project to fail and re-take.

There will probably be some “freebie” classes (that may or may not be required courses) where you already know the material from high school or previous work experience. Take advantage of these, and mix them with some that will take more study.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:34:09 +0000

I’d say work your ass off your first year. Each course is worth the same amount when it comes to determining your GPA, but when you’ve taken more of them, then each one is a smaller percentage of the total, and a higher or lower grade will make less and less of a dent in your overall GPA as time goes on. So set the bar really high in your first year, because a) it’s harder to raise it in your third and fourth year and b) if you have a bad case of senioritis, it won’t bring you down too much. Although if you will ever want to get into grad school, it will help to have a stellar fourth year.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:07:53 +0000

I ALWAYS tried to check out the text book from the library. They didn’t always have it, but often times they did. I would make calls to the bookstore to find out, just as soon as possible, what textbooks are required for upcoming classes. Profs have to have their book orders in 6 months before the class starts so bugging the bookstore for the titles was easy. Sometimes I ended up buying the text because I saw it as being beneficial to keep on my bookshelf after the class was over.

Once I checked out one that I already owned just so I could keep one on campus in my locker and not have to lug the book back and forth from home (it was >1200 pages long). Sometimes, having the library text was good until my cheap copy from ebay/amazon arrived.

Just as important, being in the library and looking over the section of books on the course topic (because they were all were on the shelf together) was very helpful. I often checked out another book or two on the course topic to help me understand the class (eg: an easier text to understand, a text with more sample problems, etc.) and to use as references for the end of course term papers.

By: mike

mike — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:07:33 +0000

Somebody might have already said this, but your advice regarding taking a light load your first year and waiting to decide on a major doesn’t take into account the general curriculum requirements most colleges have. If you have to take a ton of classes to satisfy GCRs and you have to choose a major by second semester sophomore year, there’s not much time for taking light loads and dallying about between majors. Just my experience.

By: DrBdan

DrBdan — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:19:18 +0000

In regards to textbooks, depending on the course it’s not always even required to buy the textbooks. Obviously this doesn’t work if you have to read the books (like say in a Sociology or Psych course) but in my degree (Computer Science) much of the time the book was more a reference and a lot of the information could be found on the internet or at the library. In some cases you could actually get the textbook from the campus library. In other situations we would buy one book and share it between a few friends.
In regards to office hours, when I was a teaching assistant hardly anyone came to my office hours. The only time it was busy was the week before assignments were due. However, a few people came almost every week and I was basically a free tutor for them.

By: Kit

Kit — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:10:25 +0000

I agree with so much of the comments – especially the semester (or year) abroad. I didn’t, and at the ripe old age of 42 my job sent me to live in Japan for a year and in a couple of weeks I’m on my way to Santiago for a year. It’s much more difficult to do this when you own a home and have put down roots so GO DO IT NOW while you’re in college. Living in another country for 6 months or a year is worth 4 years of college.

Also, follow your heart and passions but be smart about what your passions are. I majored in theatre and have 2 degrees in acting and directing. While I did learn many useful skills (foremost amongst them how to think creatively and outside the box) I really wish I had searched around. Turns out this creative artist has a good solid mind for technology – go figure. I probably would have a better savings/retirement fund if I had known that in college.

Also, if you are even slightly unsure take a year or two off and get a job or travel or something else. I taught college for 3 years fresh out of grad school and 80% of the people I taught had no business being in higher education at that time. The attitude was that they were “paying my salary” and so I “owed” them high grades. If you don’t want to buckle down and do the work take some time off. When you go back you’ll have a greater sense of yourself and the cost of college and you’ll want to do the work.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:40:09 +0000

It seems to me that number ten negates the previous nine. Frugality and wise consumption require a level of self-discipline and restraint which would seem anathema to “If it feels good, do it.” For me, shopping makes me feel good, but it may not be good for me, in terms of being frugal. Spending money, whether you have it or not, can feel good. I agree in large part to your list but would modify the last one to: “Do what’s good for you and you will feel good.” Promoting healthy and wise decision-making will get you a lot farther down the road of life than fulfilling every fickle dilettante of youthfulness. Some are benign and harmless, but establishing a pattern of wise choices never hurt anyone. Sorry to wax philosophical on you – just thought I’d add another perspective. Excellent blog Trent – keep up the good work!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:15:50 +0000

Look into getting a certificate (esp if in your area) so you can work at a better payrate. Phlebotomy, Pharmacy tech, nursing assistant, all pay better than min wage and can be worked around a student’s schedule.
I’ve heard of pre-med students getting a AA in Respiratory Therapy while taking pre-med classes so that they can work for bigger bucks during summer breaks etc. It would cut loans down.

By: Scarfish

Scarfish — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:01:04 +0000

“Find a job connected to what you’re doing, even if it doesn’t pay well.”

I cannot agree with this statement enough. While most official internships are limited to students at the junior level or higher, it’s amazing what you can find that’s even sort of related to what you want to do…and you’ll have a much easier time finding work right out of college. I spent almost every summer and semester working in fast food or at the mall for clothes (30% discount!), but did do one stint at a local AM radio station. It was that job and that job alone that got me my first real job out of college, and I’m disappointed that I was so short-sighted at the time to not get more jobs like that while I was in college and really experience what I was studying in my broadcasting classes. What did I have to show for the jobs I did? A fun spring break trip and a closet full of clothes I’ve had to replace since entering the real world. Looking back, I’d rather have had the work experience.

Meet lots of people, not just to have lots of friends but to get used to being around lots of different people. For many students, this is your first time away from home, first time in a different environment, maybe first time around people who aren’t mostly like you–take advantage of it.

Take classes that give you personal satisfaction in addition to those you are required to take. I wound up taking an auto mechanics class as an elective, and it was probably the BEST class I took in four (ok, five) years. I was given tools I can apply for the rest of my life–I’ll save myself money by doing work myself or knowing when someone’s trying to rip me off, I’ve already been able to do some emergency roadside repairs when out with friends, and frankly, it’s just fun to startle people that this cute little girl knows how to replace the exhaust system or flush the radiator.

Oh, and live in the dorm for at least one year, if possible. It’s a good experience.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:15:02 +0000

I’ll agree with Kat– if you know what you want to do, that’s fine. I came in as a history major and graduated with a history degree and I’m glad. For students who aren’t sure– yes, take this time to explore.

That being said, however, do explore. I wrote art off as dumb prior to college, but as a result of an “Art and Society in the Renaissance” class, I got very into art history and took a couple of classes. Now I love the stuff.

Yes to study abroad! It’s often a once in a lifetime experience. I spent a semester and Egypt, and really, there is so much that you can’t just learn in books or the internet or research.

Don’t worry about getting applicable experience while in school. Shoot for summer internships instead. It can be difficult to schedule work and school, transportation can be an issue, and often, undergrads aren’t offered the same options when it comes to research as grad students. Even if you’re shelving books or working fast food, those references will be as important as professorial ones. Your bosses can vouch for work ethic and it will demonstrate that you are able to balance responsibilities.

Have a bit of fun, too. Make friends, party a bit, join clubs. It’s college and it too is a once in a lifetime experience. Yes, you can always go back or go to grad school, but it’s not the same experience (take it from me- I’m in grad school now and whoo is it different!).

By: nancy

nancy — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:37:51 +0000

I would advise taking at least one more class than needed to maintain full time status each semester. This allows you to fail one, and still maintain full time status and continue to be carried on your parents health insurance. This is of course after you have determined the total credits needed for graduation within a four year period, then divided the total credits needed by four, then divided by the number of semesters your school uses each year.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 08:36:37 +0000

I agree with going abroad if you can. If you can’t study abroad, spend a summer working abroad, the experience will be amazing and it will stand out on your cv – there are several programs that you can take advantage of, like BUNAC.

If the lecturer in you course is not so great at explaining things, try speaking to one of the TAs if you have them. I went from understanding nothing, to getting some of the best marks in the class because I made an effort to get additional help any way I could. The TA was good because he remembered what it was like to take the course as an undergrad.

Try many random things. You may never again get the chance to join a Mornington Crescent society, or do a subsidised skydive, or a boat race.

By: Peter R

Peter R — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 04:59:10 +0000

Great Post and Comments.

I wish I was given this advice before I left High School!

By: Wabi Sabi Me

Wabi Sabi Me — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:06:29 +0000

Don’t forget to take advantage of the free/low cost sports and exercise facilities. I’m back in grad school and will be training with a personal pilates trainer (inexpensive and practical too!) next month to jump start my regimen.

By: catherine

catherine — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 01:21:07 +0000

In “Keep your studies up” you recommend “in smaller [classes] ask questions if for no other reason so that you stand out to the teacher.” As a former prof, I say Absolutely NOT to this suggestion! Do NOT say things to try and stand out – you may succeed but for all the wrong reasons. I was far more impressed by students who might have said little but when they did speak, they made a really insightful comment or asked a pertinent and intriguing question. Quality is always better than quantity, substance better than style. If you’re too shy to ask in a large class, ask during office hours. Genuine interest and curiosity are far more impressive than asking because you want to impress. Profs aren’t stupid, they know a try-hard when they hear one.

By: The Editorialiste.

The Editorialiste. — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 01:08:03 +0000

I can see the impulse to suggest not taking on a credit card to avoid racking up debt, but allow me to pose the question: For the financially responsible student, won’t failing to create a credit history end up costing the student in the longer-term?

Cheers,
The Editorialiste.

media criticism blog at:
http://editorialiste.blogspot.com/