Seems like everyone’s got advice for college these days. So I guess I’ll join the club.
College is an exciting place, but it’s a waste if you don’t do your part.
That’s a lesson I learned the hard way. I went in without knowing what to expect and got blindsided my freshman year.
It’s tough to be without any direction those first few years on your own. And that’s why I’m here to help.
So take a peek at what I’ve got here and remember it when you get on campus. Your future self will thank you, I promise.
A Major Decision
I’ve already showed you how to choose a field on your path to become a “genius”. And choosing a major is a similar process.
Keep these points in mind when it’s time to make the decision:
1. Talents: Does this major use your natural skills?
This one’s pretty straightforward.
You can major in engineering if you want, but without a natural feel for math, it will crush you.
Most people have an idea of what majors align with their skills, but if you don’t know, search the major on your school’s website and look at the required classes.
If most of the class descriptions sound familiar, then you’ve got a potential major on your hands.
2. Return: What return will you get from this major?
It doesn’t matter how interesting a field is if you can’t get a return from it.
The reality of college is that it’s setting you up for work you could do the rest of your life. So it’s important to know what you’re getting into so you don’t waste all kinds of time and money.
That’s why you should look for majors that are in high demand with only a bachelor’s degree. Or to make it simple for you, choose something you can’t easily learn online.
3. Enjoyment: Do you actually enjoy what you’re doing?
You won’t be smiling every day of the semester, but make sure some part of your major fires you up.
Nothing you choose will ever be perfect, but if you can’t find any part you enjoy, you’ll feel nothing but dullness after graduation.
The main thing here is to know yourself.
Don’t fall for the hype you’ll hear from professors and representatives of your potential major. They’re paid to influence people to make the same decision they did.
You can’t let anyone else make such an important choice for you. So do the research, self-reflect, and do whatever else you need to do to make the decision.
What you choose at the beginning of your college years could end up being what you do the rest of your life. So don’t overlook the magnitude of that choice.
Schedule Building 101
Schedule building is both one of the most freeing and most stressful parts of college. But once you know what you’re doing, it’s a lot more freedom than stress. Here’s how you should set it up if you’re new to the process.
First, set your classes early in the morning. That will force you to get enough sleep to stay awake and it will give you time to do whatever else later.
Teachers tend to go easier on morning classes anyway since students aren’t the only ones who would rather be in bed at 8 AM. Those classes will be a breeze if you’re a morning bird. You’ll want to start later after 4 years of the high school grind, but this will keep you from forming a lazy streak freshman year.
After you gain a few semesters of experience, you’ll know enough to craft your schedule so you have a day or two off from class, but for now just focus on keeping classes early.
You should also note other factors besides class time.
Your teachers are more important than anything else. And getting into classes with good teachers is a higher priority than setting a dream schedule.
There are sites like Rate My Professors where you can pull up teachers by name and see student reviews for their classes. Many schools also publish grade distributions by class if you need some numbers to backup your choice.
Remember that people on the internet lie, but those grade distributions won’t. Checking those is one of the best ways to prepare your schedule.
And finally, make sure to check class locations. There’s usually not much you can do to set your classes close to each other, but if you can avoid running to the other side of campus in 15 minutes, help yourself out.
Once you’ve done all of that, pick the best options and then prepare to work on your end. Setting your schedule right will keep you from facing unnecessary challenges, but I’m sure you know that your grades are your own responsibility.
Aim High, Stress Low
Now it’s time to get to work.
Academics are the main reason you’re going to college in the first place. And you don’t want to waste thousands of dollars because of your own laziness.
The only way you’re going to reach high grades is by setting your sights on them. So aim to make dean’s list—usually a 3.5 GPA—every semester.
You’ll need mostly A’s to hit that mark, and yes, that sounds like a stressful goal. But it’s less stressful to aim for high grades because you’ll be in a good position even if you don’t get them.
If you drift through the semester without any goals in mind, you’ll struggle to pass classes you invested months in, and you’ll pull all-nighters for exams that wouldn’t be a problem if your focus was right at the start.
Don’t be the student who’s scared to check grades after finals. Take the pressure off yourself by going hard from the get-go.
Write detailed notes even if you think you understand. Plan all the work you need to do for each week. Review new material after every week of class.
And don’t rely on classmates to study with you. I guarantee they won’t try to study until things get hard. Drill the simple stuff in your head so the “hard” concepts make sense later on.
Take advantage of the library and review your notes there. Do not, I repeat, do not try to study in your dorm room or apartment. You’ll be tempted to if you have a room to yourself—which is preferable to have by the way—but don’t give in.
You’ll get too comfortable at your own place. Your 15 minute study break will turn into hours of watching TV, taking naps, and playing videogames.
Just go to the library and save your time. It’s easier to study in an environment where everyone else is doing the same.
The Real World Before the Real World
Always do more than what’s required.
That’s your new motto for college (and life).
If your school offers some sort of cooperative education or internship program, take advantage of it.
I’m sure you know what an internship is, but a cooperative education experience, or co-op, is a little different. It’s pretty much the same thing as an internship but with a longer commitment. It usually involves a series of three work rotations with the same company.
Both internships and co-ops are great, but I recommend you sign up for a co-op to get the most experience as an employee.
It’s no secret that interns aren’t always treated the best, and most of that is due to the short nature of an internship. Companies won’t feel the need to invest in you if they know you’ll be gone in three months.
You’ll build stronger relationships if you go the co-op route. And the company will feel more obligated to hire you afterwards.
But either way, make sure you do something outside the classroom. There’s plenty of stuff taught in class that you’ll never use on the job. Professional experience will show you what to focus on.
Oh, and one more thing. Don’t ever work for free.
If you work full-time, get your money.
Your time is valuable. It’s one of the few resources you can’t get back.
Experience is great, but experience doesn’t pay rent. Employers will pay for what you bring to the table if they’re serious about you.
There are enough broke college students just trying to make it through. So don’t feel guilty about being paid for honest work.
Have an Ace Up Your Sleeve
What do Google, Facebook, and Reddit all have in common?
They were all founded by college students.
Take the time to see what you can start on your own while you’re in college.
Any business idea is a good start, but going online is the most time and cost efficient route.
The internet has opened a whole world of opportunity. And with the right amount of work, almost anything can blow up online.
Use the internet to find some way to produce while you have the time in college.
Upload music. Write ebooks. Create Youtube videos. Just put something online.
Your parents won’t tell you this because the internet wasn’t a valid source of income when they grew up. It’s not realistic to them.
Jobs were the gold standard back in the day, but nowadays the ceiling on your earnings and opportunities is much higher online.
Now don’t take this as me telling you to drop out. There are only a few cases where that makes sense and they’re very rare.
I’m telling you to do something on the side so you potentially have two sources of income after you graduate. Then you can decide which area to focus on.
Internet savviness outside of personal social media is a crucial skill to have. And even if your first venture isn’t successful, you’ll gain experience that will rival any internship.
Control Yourself
Self-discipline is a necessity in college.
People will sway you all over the place if you don’t have a strong moral foundation.
Some of the people you thought were goody-goodies in high school will turn into promiscuous, drug-dealing, alcoholics in college. That’s not what you want to be.
I remember nights where I just sat and read my Bible because I didn’t want anything to do with the “fun” going on around me.
Yes, that makes me sound like a self-righteous preacher’s kid, but that’s not my intent. I just decided who I was going to be, and you need to do the same.
Learn how to say no. That’s how you’ll keep your sanity.
And don’t even bother with the alcohol. The college culture will turn you into a drunk before you know it.
It’s sickening how kids think getting blacked out drunk is funny. There’s nothing wrong with having fun with your friends but if you need to be brain-dead to do it, just walk away. It’s important to stay sober-minded, especially with all the madness happening on college campuses lately.
You’re not paying thousands of dollars to drink and party anyway. You can drop out and rent a place near campus if that’s all you want to do.
But besides the moral aspect of discipline, it’s also important to control your health.
Going back to the drinking thing, people don’t realize the effect that lifestyle has on their bodies. I had classmates that were in great shape freshman year, but you could see the effect of all those beer calories later on.
And speaking of calories, don’t go overboard with the eating either. Many schools have buffet style cafeterias now which are a nightmare for anyone trying to stay in shape.
That’s why I recommend only eating two times a day to stay in control of your weight. Anything beyond that and you’re asking for trouble.
Eat a granola bar or something in the morning if you really need it, but save everything else for your two meals.
Eat when it’s time to eat and stop eating when it’s not. There’s no need to have snacks all up in the dorm.
If you can handle that, your weight shouldn’t be a problem. But if you do find yourself needing to lose, see this article here.
Walk Away from the Screen
Social media is another area where you need to plan beforehand.
I for one am not the biggest fan of social media. And I found that the less I used it, the more I enjoyed my college experience.
I honestly think it does more harm than good, but I do understand that it has its benefits. And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a useful tool to have.
What’s important to remember though is that it is just a tool.
A good rule of thumb is to focus 80% of your social media use on logistics and keeping connections. Then focus the other 20% on having a presentable extension of yourself online.
Don’t allow it to grow into a daily distraction though. You need to have limits on how much time you spend online.
Don’t be the funny guy who always posts memes. Don’t spend hours trying to think of a witty post. And don’t turn a helpful tool into an ego-building machine.
Use it to meet up with friends and find where social events are taking place so you can talk to people in person.
But don’t use your phone as a means to build relationships on its own. Too many people get wrapped up in their online presence only to realize that they formed empty relationships later.
Invest your time in things you can learn from or potentially earn from instead.
When you start doing that, you’ll see that spending hours to get a perfect profile pic is a waste of time. And out of the thousands of online “friends” you have, only ten really care about you anyway.
It’s all about return on investment. And there are plenty of other outlets more deserving of your time.
Don’t Get “Married”
You’re going to run into all kinds of people in college. So chances are you’ll like one of ‘em.
It’s okay to have a significant other, but use forethought here too. Don’t just “do what feels right”. Life isn’t like the movies. Things rarely work without a plan.
If you’re in a relationship, limit the amount of time you see each other. Three to four times a week should be the max. That way you won’t burn out on the relationship and you’ll have time to focus on your work, your friends, and any other pursuits you have.
A lot of students make the mistake of acting like a married couple when they’re in a relationship. Then they realize how foolish it was when things don’t work out or if they missed opportunities because they didn’t have the time.
Remember, don’t do married couple things when you’re not married. Don’t sleep together, don’t hangout constantly, don’t plan your life out together.
Slow your roll.
College is a time when you’re finally on your own and you can focus on personal growth. But it’s hard to do that if you always attach yourself to someone else.
What you do in these four short years will have a huge impact on the rest of your life. So get yourself in order before you start building with others.
Just Goof Off
There’s plenty of fun to be had without lying unconscious at a party.
I know most of this post has been all business—and that’s because it’s important to take college seriously—but don’t just focus on your work. I was guilty of that before and I can tell you it’s not fun.
Schoolwork is the first priority but you don’t have to neglect everything else.
The college environment is one of the most unique ones out there and you won’t see anything like it again. So take time to enjoy it.
Play harmless pranks on your roommate. Dance in the middle of class. Run on the field after a big game.
If you feel the need to do something silly, just do it. Unlike most jobs, colleges won’t kick you out for having a sense of humor.
Don’t take anything or anyone too seriously. That includes yourself.
If you can find joy in boring situations, you’ll have friends all over campus. Happiness and laughter are contagious like that.
There’s something special about people who take childlike fun into old age. And if you can take the good side of childishness into college, you’ll be on the right track.
Make it Count
So that’s all I got.
College is a great experience—a life-changing one at that. Hopefully you can use this guide to head towards the right direction while you’re there.
A lot of people say college is the best four years of your life, but I say it’s the start of what’s to come. So stay focused and you’ll be in a great position for the future.
And don’t forget to enjoy it while you’re there. I know everyone says this, but soon you’ll be walking across the stage wondering how it all happened.
Time flies.
So make the years count.
-Drew
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