1. The Challenge/Adaptation
College is an interesting place to be after high school or even as a transfer student. It seems to be another storm of life to endure. It is a new educational transition. Freshmen year is a moment of rhetorical questions and uncertainty. You are the master piece of your daily academic situations at this time. You have to be on your feet for success all four years. No one can make your college experience better than yourself. So try to endure the hard times and enjoy the good moments of college, knowing somehow, someday there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. But in all, you must set your mind high to face and adapt to the new environment you come to embrace. Mom is not there to tell you, “son or daughter wake up, it’s time for school.” All is you!
2. Register for Classes on Time
After orientation, the first important thing to do is class registration because most required classes might get full sooner than you expect. However, if you are lost on which class or professor to pick, “Rate My Professor” can aid you with the help of comments from past students in that class. Rate My Professor is a website that helps students to determine if they would like a certain class or professor for a subject. And, never forget contacting your advisor when it comes to this crucial time.
3. Know The Campus Map
Campus is the new environment where you will be spending your entire four years of undergraduate education life. So get time to know it better. During the first week of orientation give yourself time to know some, or most of the important geographical areas on campus, such as the: student union, fitness center, Pat Walker health center, library, entertainment centers for fun times, dining halls and most importantly your lecture halls. It is true that you can’t know every place within the first week, but some places are urgent to know first. This will ease the pressure during the first few weeks of classes.
4. Make Friends/Socialization/Campus life
Grades and academic success are the top most priority for you coming to college, but second most important is creating links through friendships, which includes your favorite professors or advisor. This will either break you or make you a better person in future. Making friends will aid you in times of class difficulty and job searching or internship opportunities. And remember, you will need help sometimes with class assignments. Plus, if you never make friends or get involved you will have no good stories to tell after graduation.
5. Student ID Card
Your student ID card is your passport for access entry to most areas at the U of A campus. You can memorize your ID number, but you still need it to swipe at certain centers like the HPER building, library, game or IT centers, and in most of the dining halls. Your valid student ID is the key to all accessible entries on campus. You might pay double the price if you misplace your student ID card.
6. Academic Calendar
This is the calendar in which you plan all your academic schedules during the four years in college. The academic calendar is the college’s time navigator, so try to draft your own calendar and follow it. Avoid procrastination and stick to the time clock of your classes. Some lecturers often give unannounced quizzes first thing before lectures; hence do your best to always be there on time. Your class syllabus can help you in planning.
7. Read through course syllabus
The syllabus is summarized information of what will take place in the class for each semester. It helps you in preparing ahead of classes or before and after lecture hours. Some professors will not tell you again about what will take place in the class after the first day or week of lectures. They assume you should know better. So make sure you go through the syllabus to know all required information, books to buy or borrow from the library the first week of classes. Remember you have already paid for everything you use in the college, so take advantage of the resources available!
8. Know When To Drop A Class
Ultimately, if you are not performing well in a class after several consecutive occasions, it’s better to discuss your chances of improving in the course with your course advisor or professor of that class before dropping. You can always book an appointment with your professor. But, be sure to check the university academic calendar to know the last dates of dropping a class without a ‘W’. Remember: failing just one class can pull your GPA down!!
9. Buy Books or Borrow from the Library on Time
Understand college is for studies and reading. You will need books: either soft or hard copies to aid your education and maintain a good GPA. You can get most of the books on Amazon at a cheaper price, or get USED ones at the University Bookstore. Further still, you might be lucky to borrow the required books or similar ones from the library for either 3 months or a day use. These can help you save some money: Chegg, BookSwim, Campus Book Rentals, Amazon, Half.com, getting your textbooks for free (or cheap), Uloop, Craigslist, and EduBookSwap.com
-Joshua, Ghana
