College can be one of the best experiences of your life. I mean, I enjoyed my time in college. But, I remember first starting out and not exactly sure what to expect. Now, there are so many resources for college students, and I wish I knew I about them. So, today's blog post is going to be a checklist for surviving college. Here are some of the things I found useful or absolutely necessary in order to be prepared while I was in school.
Set your class AND work schedule: Don't wait until the last minute to create your weekly schedule. It's truly a life saver! If you can, make one using an Excel spreadsheet, print a couple out, and tape one to your desk, one in your planner, and one on your closet/wardrobe.
Set up your planner: Write in when your midterms/finals will be, add in major assignments, and add your professor's emails and office hours.
Look over your syllabi: What are the professor's expectations? How many classes can you miss? What's the rule on laptops/eating in class? When are the exams? What days will you have off?
Know your advisor: Know their office hours, email, and phone number.
Some advisors are crappy. I understand that. BUT, if you can, try and keep in touch with them and make sure they're on top of your graduation status/registration status as much as you are. If you attend a small school like I did, it can be easy to catch up with your advisor. If you go to a larger school, it might take a little more effort on your part. And, if you continue to have advisor problems, talk with your favorite professor and ask for their advice.
Know your financial aid situation: What loans are you taking out? What are the amounts? Do you NEED to take out that amount? I didn't understand financial aid at all. I just didn't bother with it until second semester of my senior year, which was a mistake. Frequently check out studentloans.gov for your student loan amounts.
Will you be working during the school year? What are the required number of hours?: If working an on-campus job will help your parents/guardians/family out, take it. Jobs in the library or in your major's department are usually the best because they're desk jobs and usually allow to do your homework when the office is slow.
Do you have an 8 AM? Do you NEED to take it that early?: DO NOT think that you can take an 8 AM during college like you did it high school. I promise that it's not the same, and you will wake up very regretful in the middle of the semester. If you absolutely NEED that 8 AM and can't take it at a later time...I'm so sorry.
What is your financial status? Checking? Savings?
Is your bank near campus?: This is something that some students forget about. My bank was a 7 minute walk from campus, which wasn't bad. If you don't have a car, public transportation is scarce, or if your bank isn't walking distance from campus, try making an account at a bank closer to you.
What's your meal plan, and will it work for you?: Do you really need a 3 meals per day plan even though you only eat 1 or 2 meals per day? Do you need to increase your meal plan?
Do you have time to join clubs on campus?: Go to the RSO (Registered Student Organization) fair in the beginning of the year. Even if you don't end up sticking with those clubs, it's still a nice experience.
What classes do you need in order to graduate on time?: My university had a print out with how many credits each school (Liberal Arts, Music Education, etc.) needs in order to graduate. Each major also had a checklist of the courses we needed to take in order to graduate. KEEP TRACK OF THIS EVEN IF YOUR ADVISOR DOESN'T. There's no worse feeling that realizing that you don't have enough credits to graduate on time. (This almost happened to me, and I almost had a panic attack.)
Have you declared your major? Minor?: My university required us to declare our majors and minors by a certain point in our school career. Make sure that you get the forms and signatures in order to do so.
Call your family at least once a week. Yeah, it can be annoying, but they miss you. I can't stress this enough.
This post is going to be part of my "Surviving College Series." If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free to contact me! If you know someone in college that this list may be useful for, send it to them. They'll thank you later.
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