Surviving Your First Year of College

College can be daunting. Not only is it a whole new world (often the first time out from under your parents’ roof), but there is a whole new set of responsibilities. While it may be tempting to slack off for your first year, and then try to buckle down later, these first two years are extremely important to build that base of good grades, and to get in the good graces of your professors. Striking out on your own, even if you’re “just” living in the dorms, is a big step. And being prepared is the best way to make the most of your college experience.

Save Your Financial Aid

By signing a couple of papers, you suddenly have access to thousands of dollars. While a good portion of that will be spent on your tuition, there will be plenty left over. I know many people who have used this money to pay for vacations in Europe, eat out, throw parties, and all around blow the money on whatever they want. Keep in mind that every dollar you spend now, you will have to pay back. So calculate out what it will take to live, and put the rest in a safe place that is hard to get at. It will be there for emergencies, but you won’t be as tempted to spend frivolously.

Build Your Network

There are two important aspects to college life: social interactions and educational studies. While making sure you study hard and get good grades is extremely important, don’t neglect the social aspects of this time period. Now I am not talking hit up every kegger you can find, but rather develop a core group of friends. These friends will stick with you throughout your life and most of you will go into vastly different careers. As you mature in your career you will find out exactly how important it is to have this large network of people you know. Build it now, and save yourself a lot of trouble later in life.

Learn to Write

It is surprising how many people can go through high school without knowing the fundamentals of writing. When you get to college you will either have to learn quickly, or suffer through those essays. Putting words onto paper (or into a computer) is not a hard process, but it takes time to learn how to do it. Blogging is a great way to get practice, but make sure you know the proper essay writing format. There are different rules that apply to scholarly papers than to less formal writing; but the important thing is to be able to clearly convey your thoughts (and cite your sources).

Wrapping It Up

College life is a great time where you get to learn new ideas, new concepts, meet new people, and experience life away from home. It can be hard for many people to properly manage their time and money without the structure that was once provided by their parents, but with just a small amount of planning you can start, and finish, your higher education far ahead of your peers.