Now that I’m in college, it’s easy to look back and wish I’d learned a few more things in high school. Between studying for midterms and meeting new people each day, I realize I’m playing catch up. There are some basic skills and habits I could’ve learned in high school that would’ve made my transition to college a little easier. It’s never too early to study the tricks of the college student trade.
People don’t just go to Ivy League schools for the architecture. After spending about two weeks at Yale, I am beginning to realize why I’m here: infinite opportunity. I had my share of anxiety this summer, wondering if I would fit in at Yale, wondering if Yale would be all they say it is. Is the Ivy League all I’d expected? The truth is: it is and it isn’t.
Have you decided on your major yet? Given any thought to your career plans?
If you haven’t, don’t worry. However, consider at least taking some core classes that will help you in practically any career you choose. Don’t wait until you’ve chosen your major before diving into these. Most colleges have these courses as freshman-level classes, so you can start laying your foundation now even if you haven’t decided what to do after you get your college degree.
I’ve been counting down the days until my freshman year of college for a long time. I think I started it over 100 days to go. Now, as I write this, I have 20 days left before I pack up my life and move 130 miles away from my childhood home. (Okay, I realize 130 miles doesn’t seem like a long way to go, but the drive seems to take forever. Plus, a bus ticket from there to here costs me a pretty penny.) For someone who has always lived in a small community and never moved in her whole life, this is a huge step for me. Huge.
(Photo by spaceoddissey.)
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve suddenly become terrified of the Ivy League. In two weeks I’ll be at Yale. I’ve written about my general college fears before, but now I’m worried about the Ivy atmosphere. What if I don’t fit in? What if all those Ivy stereotypes are true? In my paranoia, my mind begins to drift to a bad place. A place where expensive polo shirts are plentiful and money grows on trees. My mind leads me to a worst-case scenario of my first day at Yale and it goes something like this:
In less than six weeks I’ll be leaving for my freshman year of college at Yale. College is that thing all my friends are doing. The word I’ve heard fifty times a day for the past year. The place I’ve stared at on websites and in brochures. The thing I’ve been planning on for years. The thing is, I’m possibly not ready for it at all. When someone asks me how I feel about leaving for school I respond with one word: scared.
When someone says “valedictorian,” you probably think of somebody who has it all together. But just because they have a great grade point and worked their tail off during the last four years, doesn’t mean they know everything about the admissions process. (more…)
Getting a second degree (or finishing your first) can be a great tactic during a recession. You make yourself more employable and sit out the worst of a lackluster job market.
But there’s another secret recession-buster that works especially well for students–networking. Creating a strong network of “who you know” is one of the best ways to find a great job more quickly. And students are in a unique position to start creating a great network that you can rely on throughout your professional life.
I am one of the co-founders of myUsearch and I graduated from the University of Colorado- Boulder in 2003. If I would have read this before I went to school, I would have saved myself a lot of pain and heartache. (more…)
One student from Santa Clara gives advice to high school students preparing for college.
Whatever you can do or believe you can, begin it. Boldness has genius magic and power in it. –Goethe
There is nothing easy about being a first generation college student. Let me just say that up front. Honestly, there is nothing easy about being a college student period, but a first generation college student has it a little more difficult.
Whether you’re going back to school for a better job, going on to college from high school or just taking some classes as self-enrichment…starting at a new school can be SCARY. There’s a new campus. New peers. New professors. The best way to manage all the upheaval is to be prepared. Going back to school after summer vacation, a long-term hiatus or whatever the situation, it’s still intimidating.
People may hand-out loads of advice about what to do to get into school, financial aid, scholarships, classes to take, etc. But what happens when the admission parade dies down? And you actually have to…drum-roll…ATTEND?
There are many ways to make sure your college career is long-lived. The keys: (more…)
I had a great time in college and I don’t have too many regrets. But if I could go back in time and do a few things differently with my undergraduate degree, there’s one that stands out in my mind: I’d diversify.
I was a classic liberal arts major–I put off my science and math requirements until the last possible second, so I didn’t take a geology course until I was a senior. If I’d known how cool geology was, I probably would have majored in it. But I let preconceptions about what I thought I was going to like (and what I thought I was good at) get in the way. (more…)
If I could go back in time, the first thing I would change is my college major. During my time in school I changed my major five times. In my struggle to ”find myself”, I bounced around from graphic design, fine arts, international affairs and german, until, much to my parent’s relief, I eventually graduated with a very practical, applicable marketing degree. But there is only one problem. I don’t really like marketing.
