YOUR COLLEGE REALITY DOSE (ADVICE FOR FRESHMEN STUDENTS)

YOUR COLLEGE REALITY DOSE (ADVICE FOR FRESHMEN STUDENTS)
by: FATEEN AL-JONARA PANGARUNGAN

Getting wasted and dilly-dallying is what teenagers are all about these days. Most of these young people don’t think of their future. Apparently there’s nothing more serious than cutting classes and tripping with friends.I’ve been there, done that. How could I forget? My first year in college was a blast. College meant like a total freedom from the usual dependent me. Complete freedom from the usual uniform, free from the pesky eyes of my school teachers who made my life a little bit more colorful. Enjoyment was my life like there’s no tomorrow. Alas! The fun was only short-lived. Later on everything I was doing turned humdrum. I came to realize that what I did totally came to nothing, just wasted. I flunked two of my major subjects. The worst part was facing my parents and telling them about it. I had so much regret – should have, would have, and could have – last words of a fool. Sure have lots of friends but none of them could even help me. It felt like I was in a wrecked ship and no one’s there to help me. I came to realize, I’m the only one who can fend for myself. Yes my own life jacket — Myself! Well, that’s how I felt. The next best thing for me at that chapter of my life was to give myself a second chance and find that success that mean most to me.

I’m sharing my experiences to affect change in other young people’s life. It is from other’s experiences that you can learn. I remember a teacher telling our class that the world is like a big classroom and the only teacher is our experiences. Two wrongs can’t make any right. And if you feel like your ship is wrecking, then bail yourself out. Where your life leads you is, in every respect, your choice.

My own experience of college life is highly common situation to most students. Maybe in reading this, you can’t help but hide that smile on your face coz once you’ve gone through my experiences too. But to those who never keep themselves out of mischief, trust me they are regretting it. The next chapters of our life are unwritten pages. There is no class or book that will guarantee things that will happen in the future. No one will ever be able to prepare perfectly for what will happen in the future is to be well grounded in the basics of your chosen career. In this article are strategies that will help you succeeding to college – to cope, survive and prepare yourself for your future. Find that success that mean most to you!

Dose # 1 Get Motivated

All the strategies in the world won’t help you unless you learn to use them. More and more people seeking any kind of job—let alone a meaningful and successful career in demanding job market—know that only the skilled and highly motivated person will succeed in the adult world. How can you become motivated to succeed in college?

Have a positive mind and push back those negative thought that stops you. Get over with “I’m not good at this” notion. You are only adding fuel to the fire. Instead say “I’m going to make it. I can do it.”You will gain the confidence and enthusiasm to get things right in college. Surround yourself with motivated people. Ask those people who are successful for an advice how they motivate themselves. These people can give you tips in setting your goals and planning– a good start in college. The longer you drift through school without setting any specific goal, the harder it will be to keep up your interest in a boring class or your enthusiasm to continue doing papers for some instructor who seems satisfied only with unreal amounts of outside reading and research.

Dose # 2 Create a good Impression

Being a college student, we are already expected to posses’ academic common sense. And knowing how to develop positive classroom relationships with instructors is an important part of that common sense.

Here’s how to make good impression in school. You need to:

Buy the right stuff

Have a copy of the required books in your subject. Do not fall into the trap of emphasizing a single book. Use your initiative. Read other references! Your instructors need not to remind and encourage you all the time on what to do.

Be prepared before class
Do your homework a day before the class and read in advance.
Some teachers have a habit of announcing the next discussion a meeting before and some teachers are not. Use your initiative—study your lesson beforehand. This will trigger you to ask better questions and impress your teacher with your willingness and eagerness to learn. You may need to review your past lesson incase your teacher make a follow up test.

Be conscious of deadlines
Deadlines are serious in college and teachers are not as flexible and considerate as they were in high school. Giving much effort on a paper work or project but handing it overdue would mean minus points on your work or much worse it won’t be accepted. It will be unfair advantage over students who do their work on time.

Check the syllabus for guide.
A course syllabus describes how the instructor expects the course to proceed. This can help you see what lies ahead and give hints about the instructor’s unique point of view and insights about what is most important.

Speak out with respect
Many instructors regard student question as an essential part of classroom learning. However, all the instructors expect participation to be civil (calm, polite and efficient rather than prolonged, pointless or profane.)

Dose # 3 Commit to class

The freedom in college can be alluring and intoxicating especially when instructors do not require attendance, you may be tempted to skip classes. Skipping classes frequently is dangerous to a student’s well-being in a class. One problem a student may encounter is to over-rely in borrowing notes from others. Remember: Class notes are highly personal. What the instructor says in class is filtered and perhaps distorted by the note-taker. Even when you know the student who took the notes is a superb listener. Your instructor will come to believe that you put your learning at risk by losing the chance to participate in active learning experiences, missing hints about which information is most likely to show up on test and preventing the instructor from getting to know you.

Dose # 4 be heard, not just seen

Participating in class will develop your academic skills. Asking or responding to questions can make a class much more worth while for you and your classmates. It may be intimidating to ask question but after you have done it once, it feels less scary to do it again. Think how good it feels at facing challenges rather than avoiding it.

Dose # 5 Stay focused

There are many distractions inside and outside the classroom that will distract your concentration. Your classmate may be too noisy, you find yourself daydreaming or you are using the class time to make up for assignments, report, studying for the next class.
The key to concentration is staying actively involved with the subject. Ask your instructor about the discussion and give your own ideas. Capture the key ideas in your own words while taking notes and come up with your own examples. Avoid doing other work not involved with the subject, you cannot risk in letting your instructor catch you. We’re already big enough for us to be scolded in front of the class You cannot serve two masters at a time.

Dose # 6 Take Notes

Successful students take good notes. Less successful tend to take notes verbatim (taking notes word for word, period for period). They don’t give much thought to how to make note taking serve their learning.
Provide a separate note book or compartment in a binder for each subject which will help you improve your efficiency. There are variety of note-taking style that may work better depending the instructor’s style and organization. Adopt a format that suits these factors and the subject’s degree of complexity. Be sure to include the topic or title of the lecture with its date to make it easier for you to track down specific information when its time to review. Use abbreviation to record information more quickly. When a test is returned examine your note taking style to see what accounted for your success and continue to practice the strategies.

Dose # 7 Taking Notes from the text

Do not just merely read, read and read. Our minds are not computers to store all the information. Not all those words are retained and remembered after we close the book.

Here are 4 strategies in taking notes from text:

Be selective when highlighting text.

Write notes in your own words.

Select note-taking format that makes it easy to review and succeed. Get help with learning how to take more effective notes if your system does not work.

Do not just copy what is written in the book. Understand what you are reading before writing down.

Dose # 8 Use time effectively

Many college students feel they are overwhelmed with all they have to do. Yet some of the busiest and most successful students get good grades and find time for play and leisure.

How they do it? Here’s how:

·Control life by controlling their time.

·Set goals.

·Develop systematic plans and follow them.

·Set priorities.

·Don’t procrastinate. ( avoiding the task that needs to be accomplished )

Dose # 9 Study

Some lucky people can memorize everything in sight while others deal with memorization. However to do well in college, you still have to do a lot of studying. Studying accomplishes many objectives. It makes it easier to recall the core material of the course. It helps develop richer insights. It also facilitates good work habits that will carry over into your career.
Some students work effectively in the morning. Others do their best in the afternoon or evening. Evaluate yourself. Study at this time of the day you are most alert and most focused. Choose also an area that is conducive for studying: away from distractions; comfortable temperature and well- lit room. Take a five minute break to clear your mind so you can focus better when you return to your studies. Avoid getting too comfortable with the area you are studying. You might accidentally fall asleep and wake up the next morning with nothing in my mind. Stay involved with what you are doing to avoid sleepy feeling. And get enough sleep so you won’t end up sleeping in your classes.

Dose # 10 Commit to Reading

Not all learning takes place in the classroom discussion. We also have to do the part that is to read. Genius people still likes to read books because they feel they have not learned all the things they want to know. How much more for average thinking people?
Reading will give the benefit of learning more vocabulary and knowledge. And learning these things is a great factor in helping you develop your word power and the ability to speak and write. College is a great place to expand your vocabulary and knowledge.

Here are some tips for effective reading:

·Avoid places which disturb your concentration in reading.

·Clear obligations from your mind so you can concentrate.

·Experiment which setting’s work best for your reading session. A quite room maybe or near a beach so you can travel your imagination.

·Carry with you a dictionary or thesaurus to help you on some words not familiar to you.

Dose # 10 Budget your Money

No matter how hard we try, we can’t anticipate every little thing that crops up: Someone might break in your room and steal your money; your part time job might end; friends may ask you along for gigs.Here’s a piece of advice – Keep extra cash so you won’t pinch pennies when you really need it. Borrowing might not be a good idea after all. This will only add to your problem at pay back time. Break away from spending money on less important things. Buy things that you need most and lessen your wants.

EARN A DEGREE — YOURSELF!

If you make it through to graduation, your diploma will say you’ve achieved a certain amount of skill in arts, in business…or in some particular field, yet it is you who matters most. One of the healthiest things any graduate from college should be able to say is “I did get a degree in that particular course, but I also earned a degree in myself.” That diploma, the goal of these four years, isn’t any great insurance that you will have higher income than someone who has never earned a college degree. Develop as many skills as you can; diplomas don’t get jobs, capable people do!

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