Megan Reynolds
Opinion Editor
Three Tips for a Successful College Career
These days, it seems like everywhere you look there’s some sort of article or blog offering tips that are sure to save your life in college.
Truthfully, this is just another one of those articles, but at least it’s self aware, right?
So, here are three tips, straight from the minds of students and alumni, that will hopefully give you some sense of preparedness for your college career.
Time Management, 100 Percent:
Tip number one is pretty simple—learn to manage your time in the most efficient way possible. This one comes from Reagan Zimmerman, a senior journalism and strategic communication major at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
“Without [time management], suffering is near,” Zimmerman said.
Time management is different for every student. The amount of time you dedicate to an assignment or to studying for a class is going to depend on you, your confidence in the content and the content itself. A senior pre-medical student is going to have different content than a senior accounting student, so the time they dedicate to homework is going to be different.
Analyze both your work style and your classes when deciding how much time you’ll need to set aside. When you set that time aside, stick to it. Throw off your schedule once and it’ll become a habit before you know it.
Stay Organized:
This next tip comes from Cayden Hernandez, a senior Japanese major at Murray State.
“Staying organized and making schedules for yourself helps you get things done better and more efficiently,” Hernandez said.
Organization and time management are two things that really go hand in hand. To manage your time well is to be an organized person. Hernandez recommends making a game plan for your semester to help keep you organized.
Before your semester even begins, lay out a plan, however that might look for you. If it’s as simple as setting out three goals, then that’s what it is. If it means writing out each week and what needs to happen in what week, then that’s what it is. Just make sure you have a plan.
Don’t let your organization stop with your schedule, either. Having your belongings and your school supplies in an orderly manner is not only going to cut down on your time looking for things, but your anxiety in your environment as well. Less mess is less stress.
Take Time to Reflect:
The last bit of advice comes from Kristen Creech, a graduate student in the business administration program at Murray State. She encourages students, new and current, to reflect on their journey to this moment.
“Hopefully your reflection time will give you the inspiration and motivation to finish strong,” Creech said.
No matter where you are in your college career, give yourself time to look back on what has gotten you to this point. Where you are right now, it’s an amazing place. It doesn’t matter where, you’re doing an outstanding job. You have carried yourself through life, ups and downs, successes and failures, and brought yourself to this moment. So, reflect on that journey, look at all of the work you’ve put in and be proud of it.
Once you have done that, use that pride to inspire yourself as you face this next moment of life, your college career.
