College is a new and exciting experience for freshmen. Lost in the confusion, excitement, novelty, and chaos of that first year of college is the thought of going to the classes you paid to take. It’s difficult for most new college students to remember that the reason for coming to college is to graduate. That’s why I have taken the time to address some of the issues of how we can be better students. Here are some basic steps one can take towards achieving this goal.
The biggest secret to having an academically successful college career is learning to manage your time well. Speaking from experience, I can say that my GPA could be nearly a whole point higher right now if I had learned time management as a freshman. It was a challenge for me as freshman. I missed many a class by sleeping in. I also found myself playing bass and losing track of time. Next thing I knew, it would be noon and I would then remember my 11:00 class.
The key to time management is developing habits. Wake up at the same time every day. Have a routine every morning. I always eat breakfast, take a shower, brush my teeth, and get dressed in that order. This repetition helps me develop a habit. That way, it’s not nearly as hard to wake up in the morning and get to class on time.
A key to being able to develop this cycle is not staying up too late. This is the hardest part for most college students. I believe there are definitely exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, it should be possible to get to bed on time if your time is managed well during the day. There are not a whole lot of productive things you could be doing past one in the morning. That is, unless your classes start after noon, but that’s a different scenario. In any case, you will have to eventually enter the real world where things start in the morning.
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