From High School to College
Going from high school to yet another educational institution may be a daunting experience for some and an easy process for others. This doesn’t detract from the fact that many students, in general, would say that after their first semester of college, their habits from high school would not be as suited for the classes they attend now, or their campus life in general.
The stress of being a successful student can easily get to people, especially when transitioning into a new environment, and experiencing more responsibility as an adult can be a difficult adjustment. So here are some tips and tricks to adopt into your own lifestyle when going into college to better prepare yourself:
Quick Tips
- Read your school email at the beginning of each day. While checking emails can be an annoying task to deal with, there’s a lot of vital information that gets sent out by the school and professors alike that you need to be up to date on. It can be anything from canceled classes to free food at a new event that day to even deadline reminders for scholarships.
- Check your calendar. For the different sites that your campus may utilize (i.e. Canvas, Blackboard, etc.), there are features attached to it where you can link the calendar inside of it to a Google Calendar or other kinds so you don’t have to constantly log into the college site/app to check. The calendar will help notify you of any upcoming due dates for any assignments, exams, etc. that your professors listed — although checking the syllabus may be more thorough since not all professors may set specific dates due in the system.
- Stay hydrated. Unlike most high schools, many college campuses are much larger and require you to take upwards from 5 to 15 minutes to travel between classes because of the distance between the classrooms. There are usually plenty of refuel stations that encourage students to refill their reusable water bottles and go about their day, so be sure to drink plenty of water.
- Wash/sanitize your hands. Although many people consider COVID-19 to be a thing of the past, it doesn’t excuse the fact that it still exists in the world alongside many other viruses, flus, and what not with the spread of bacteria in the environment. In college the foot traffic can be even greater than that of high school, especially in a university, and you have no idea who has touched what and where spreading their germs. It’s better to exercise caution and take advantage of the different stations around campuses to wash and/or sanitize your hands to decrease the likelihood of getting sick.
Extra Things To Do
- Send out an email to professors introducing yourself. A very scary thing to do for many people is socializing, especially in a professional setting with an authoritative figure who is in charge of your grades while paying tuition to be able to take their classes. For many students, they learn that their college professors can be a lot more easygoing and flexible with grading and their syllabus than their high school teachers, and many of them would be more than happy to write recommendation letters in the future. To get started on that process, introduce yourself so they can know you beyond your grades!
- If you are not a morning person, don’t test that. Many college students believe that they are all ready to go taking early morning classes beginning at 7 or 8 AM because they woke up even earlier than that back in high school. However, they are easily confronted with daunting tasks that overwhelm them with taking a class that early in college compared to high school. If you know that you are not explicitly a morning person, not necessarily even being a night owl, try not to test that limit for yourself by signing up for courses that early in the morning. Many college students from their own experience believe the lack of sleep easily influences GPA and their energy the rest of the day — you deserve the sleep and self-care from sleeping in.
- Contact your campus’ disability services. Please check if this resource is available and try to take advantage of it, since it is something that many campuses may have but don’t advertise properly. You deserve to be able to do schooling properly and shouldn’t be hindered by general rules that would just negatively affect your academic career. Invisible disabilities, especially those of the mental and emotional kind, are valid and should be properly recognized and respected!