College Admissions Help Blog

It’s getting close to acceptance season! Did you get in? I sure hope so. But in any regard, I’d like to offer congrats to any and all students applying, accepted, or thinking about applying to college. It’s a big step, but first, there’s some stuff you should know (but might not)

1. It’s all up to you: For most of us, bridging that gap between high school and college has more than a few hiccups. And by far the biggest of those challenges, weirdly enough, is that no one is there to tell you what to do! You’d think this could be the best part about going away to school. But it’s ALL on your plate to pick classes (and attend them!), do your homework, figure out the idiosyncrasies of your professors, make friends, stay physically and mentally healthy…the list goes on and on. And if you’re attending a cold weather school (like I did), it’ll take an extra dose of motivation to trudge out to those 8 AM classes.

2. Go to class:You’d think this was a given, right? But man, you’d be surprised how many kids skip out on the classes that are easy to go unnoticed in — big lectures. But let’s just think about this concept of skipping class for a moment. Say, you go to a private institution that costs $30,000 a year. Let’s say $23,000 goes directly to tuition (meaning not housing or food). That’s $11,500 a semester, or $2300 per course, and let’s say a class only meets once a week…in a 16 week semester that translates to over $140 per class!! Your education and your home are the two biggest investments of your life. Doesn’t it make sense to get what you pay for?

3. Most of the work is outside the classroom: Really? Really. Don’t get too wrapped up into just the lectures (but for gosh sake’s, GO to them!). But this isn’t high school. You’re expected to be prepared BEFORE each class, not just take what the teacher tells you and go about your business. You’re expected to continually review material and spend lots of time on papers, tests, research, etc. I know I scoffed at my freshman orienation when I was told I should be spending about 5 hours a day outside of class doing the readings, preparing, reviewing notes, and more. And to be honest, this is a great rule of thumb. As you make your way through your college career, you’ll undoubtedly get “better” at it. But when you’re first learning how to be a college student, you’re only hurting yourself by not putting the time in.

4. No A’s for Effort: It’s all about the finished product people. If you spend 3 weeks writing the perfect essay but fail to follow one of your professor’s strict requirements, don’t go crying to him/her when you don’t get the grade you planned on. If high school is the minors, you’re getting in the big leagues now – and performance matters (and pays!)

5. While we’re talking grades, don’t get C’s: Things happen in life. You break up with your significant other, your cat dies, someone posts embarassing photos of you on Facebook…but don’t let your grades suffer! If you’re having a real emergency, alert your professors and they’ll understand. You clearly have the capacity to get into college which means you have the ability to do well there. A C (or worse) isn’t the end of the world. But just know that at many schools, the average GPA is a little better than a 3.0 or B average. And I know you’re not just average!

6. Understanding is not the same thing as memorizing: Put it this way, professors like to be challenged. And while many of your mass lecture intro courses will have a good deal of memorization involved, this stuff is going to be assumed that you know it come test time — and what matters is how you apply that information to your essays (trust me, there will be LOTS of essays) in a unique way. Regurgitating raw data of what you learned may get you a B, but don’t expect nearly as many ‘gimmies’ in the college as you had in high school.

7. Don’t bring your fancy new laptop to class: It’s more than likely that your new college laptop has joined the ranks of your bestest friends. But keep it safe and sound and locked up at home in the dorms during class. If you really, truly, honestly think you can take terrific notes, pay attention to your professor and be an active participant in class while buying stuff on eBay, playing online games or poking people on Facebook, then more power to you. But don’t say you weren’t warned…

8. Major Shmajor: There’s no shame in the term, “undecided.” Your institution may pressure you into a major early on over something like a shortage of class space, but don’t give in! Talk to 10 of your parent’s friends and ask them what they do for a living. Then ask them what they studied in college. If they’re all accountants and they studied accounting in school, well…then this example doesn’t quite work! But I guarantee you’ll find some English major who runs her own business or a History major who works as a medical doctor. The key to picking a major is to find something you find interesting, challenging, and won’t pigeon-hole you into something you may be having second thoughts about. If you decide you’re not quite “passionate” about any particular subject when you first start taking classes, that’s okay! You’ll be taking anywhere from 10-15 courses on your major subject, so make your decision(s) count! Oh, and be prepared to change that decision at least once

9. The professors are on your side: Lectures can be boring, readings painful, and exams unreasonable. Despite this, I swear, your professors want to see you do well. They’re there to challenge and guide you. This is what they signed up for. Take advantage of their office hours (your professors will appreciate your extra effort, these office hours usually go unutilized), e-mail them, and make sure they know your name even in a class of 100 students. It will only work to your advantage.

10. College is awesome (in case you didn’t already know): You’re getting the chance to learn about things in the world from some very smart people. You’re getting the chance to learn about personal responsibility on a very real level. You’ll make good decisions and terrible ones; you’ll get to figure out who it is you want to be and what you want to do with your education. And dagnabbit, it’s going to go FAST. So enjoy it!

(and if you think you’ve got something major I didn’t cover or got totally wrong, by all means leave me a comment!!)

-Captain J

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