Nine Tips to Succeed in College

Learn these 9 things and you won't be caught off guard your freshman year!

1) Expect to be homesick. No matter how much you hated living with your family with all the rules and siblings bothering you, it is normal to miss home and feel lonely. You are in totally different surroundings, with different people and a lot of stress. Don't beat yourself up when homesickness hits; rather expect it and give yourself permission to feel sad and lonely, knowing it will pass.

2) Expect to be overwhelmed. It's okay to feel freaked out. Everything is new and you will feel like you are overloaded with new things. Again, don't worry about it: expect it and it won't take you off guard and knock you off your feet.

3) Remember that it's a totally different game with different rules. It will take a while to learn the ropes, and that's okay.

4) Get plugged in socially. Join a club and watch the bulletin boards for "freshman mixers" or other events that will introduce you to a lot of other people.

5) Find a mentor. If you are living in a dorm, there will be an upperclassman who is an RA (Resident Assistant) whose job it is to give out information and be a contact person for you. Don't be shy about going to the RA with questions, and see if you can find another upperclassman that you can go to with the millions of questions you are going to have.

6) Attend the orientations for freshmen. Yes, they are boring, but they have a lot of important information. You will have enough questions and concerns even if you do attend, so don't blow this off!

7) Plan on everything taking more time than you think it will. If you could crank out a 3 page paper in 3 hours in high school, expect it to take 4 or 5 hours now. Everything is different, and as the saying goes, 'the thing about ignorance is that you don't know what it is that you don't know."

8) Make a friend or acquaintance in every class. If you miss a class or think of a question afterwards, it is important to have someone in the class who you can ask to share notes with.

9) Ask "dumb" questions. Every freshman is intimidated, and many will be glad that you asked the question so that they didn't have to!

Going off to college can be frightening, as there is a huge adjustment to be made. For a great way to prepare academically as well as socially, visit http://www.CollegeExamTutor.com/7-Keys.htm and find out how to get some peace of mind during that difficult and critical first semester.