When it comes to higher education, it can be a daunting proposition. You’ll be away from home for the first time, for one thing, and that can be scary. Also, you’ve surely heard that college is harder than high school, and that’s definitely true, though people may have a habit of talking it up. You’re going to have more freedom, of course, which is a blessing and a curse. After all, while you or your parents can’t be arrested for truancy, i.e., you can miss all the class you want, there are still consequences for missing classes, and the temptation is huge. However, college isn’t as scary as it may be made out to be. It’s certainly going to require some work, but I’m firmly of the belief that everyone’s a genius in their own way, and with hard work and dedication, you can overcome college. Here are some things to keep in mind.
First and foremost, as mentioned above, you’re now allowed to miss all that class you want. However, you’re going to want to practice some moderation and miss class only when you have to. This is for a few reasons, not least of which is that many professors have attendance policies and can fail you for missing too many lectures. I would argue that this is largely unfair, but I’m a bit of a medical anomaly and I’m sick way more often than most. However, you shouldn’t even want to miss class. Because, going to as many classes as possible negates a lot of the difficulty of the college experience. I’m of the belief that all those people who’ve told you how hard college is were probably the type of people to miss a lot of class and party way too much, but that’s just me.
Speaking of partying, this is a pitfall to be avoided. You’ve probably been looking forward to this facet of college life, but let me just nip that in the bud right now. While partying in moderation is fine, it’s a slippery slope, and before you know it, you’re missing classes because of a hangover, or just showing up to class hungover, and that’s going to tank your grades. There is some value in it, however, but it’s best replaced with stress relieving activities that don’t entail substance abuse. For example, simply grabbing tickets for you and your roommate from Ticketmaster and catching a movie once in awhile can make a world of difference without affecting your academic efficacy. (Sorry. English major here.)…
