The first
and most important piece of advice I can offer you is this: start getting ready
now. If you are in high school, you probably are already thinking about
college, and if you’re especially ambitious, life after college. Don’t just
think about it, do something about it. When I was in eighth grade, I decided I
wanted to be an engineer. I knew computers interested me, so I devoted my free
time towards learning about them. I taught myself to program. So much so that my
mom used to get mad at me for spending too much time programming (mostly cause
I was putting off my school). However, when I got to college, I was prepared to
meet what was required of me as an engineer. In fact, I was able to impress a
Microsoft talent recruiter during my second week of college simply with all of
the programming I had done in high school. So much so that he said he would
have given me an interview if they didn’t have rules about interviewing
freshman. The point is, nothing is preventing you from trying to figure out
what you want to do in college and preparing yourself to be ready for it.
I get it,
not everyone knows what they want to do in eighth grade, but that doesn’t mean
that you have to settle for being the next “average” student with good grades.
The key to succeeding in college is hard work, and there’s no reason you can’t
start that in high school. If you don’t know what you want to do, fine. Concentrate
on other skills that you will need in college, like good study habits, time
management skills, communications skills, and networking abilities.
Second, and
perhaps more important than the first if it wasn’t encompassed by it, have a
plan for how you are going to grow in your faith. My dad used to tell me that
if I went to daily mass in college, I was guaranteed to do the very best that I
could. He would say, “it put’s things in perspective.” Now, my dad didn’t go to
daily mass in college so I didn’t really believe him. Nevertheless, the first
thing I put on my schedule whilst trying to plan my classes were the mass
times. Unfortunately, due to reasons out of my control, I was only able to go
four times a week, but I spent so much time at the Catholic Student Center at
my college that I was able to go to adoration all the time.
Never underestimate the value of
spending time with Jesus in adoration. Every time I was worried, every time
things got difficult, every time I was ready to give up, or was completely lost,
I ran to Eucharistic Adoration, I ran to Jesus, and my dad was right, it kept
things in perspective. And one last
thing, you need to start preparing to take full control of your spiritual life
in College. I know many of my readers probably are thinking of going to
Catholic Colleges. It doesn’t matter, Catholic college or not, this world is
filled with sinners and you and me are both one of them. We need to be constantly
preparing ourselves for the spiritual challenges we will face, and college will
likely be one of the most trying times in that area.
Third, find
a schedule and stick to it. Eat at the same times every day, go to bed at a
specific time, don’t stay up late. A lot of people find the last one the
hardest, they fall into the trap of staying up late trying to get things done.
Trust me, it’s not worth it. If you have a lot to do, go to bed early and get
up early the next morning. If your reply to that suggestion is “but I won’t get
up,” then I think you need to learn some self control. You will always, and I
repeat, always, preform better after you rest than if you go long hours without
resting. The times where I was the most productive were not the times that I
got the most sleep, they were the times that I stuck to a schedule, got my rear
end in bed early (no later than ten), and hit the books around five the next
morning.
Fourth,
drink lots of water. We’re all used to living in our houses, whenever we start
getting thirsty we just walk into the kitchen and grab a glass of water. In
college it’s a bit different, you have to find a water fountain, and if you
live in College Station (Texas A&M) most of the water in the fountains
tastes horrible. You have to make a concerted effort to drink enough water.
Trust me, it’s not easy to get up early, or to think, when you’re dehydrated. I
made the mistake of not drinking for two days straight heading into an exam
week and suffice it to say I was miserable.
Fifth, go
to office hours. I hear a lot of people complain about their professors. They’ll
say, “Oh, he doesn’t lecture well. He’s really confusing. His tests are nothing
like his homework…etc.” My question to all of those people is: did you go to
office hours? And not just once, did you go as often as possible. To be
perfectly honest, there were times that learned more in office hours than in
lecture. Physics was my hardest class, and I went to almost every single office
hours after about the third week of school. As a result, I new the professor
and the problems that he was having us work well enough that I successfully
predicted what type the hardest problem would be on every exam. By the time the
first exam rolled around, the professor new me well enough that when I walked
up to him to get my test, he had it at the top of the pile for my section and
handed it to me calling me by name in the process. There were 115 students in
my class.
Sixth, sit
at the front of the classroom. Normally, the smartest people will sit in the
back, but they also won’t contribute in class, so they’re hard to find. The
people who will work the hardest are the ones that will sit in the front. Plus,
most of the time, you’re more likely to find that the hard workers are more helpful
than the really smart people.
Lastly, and
this ties in with the first suggestion, try to find someone you know that you
can room with. This isn’t always possible, which is why I’m mentioning it last,
but I was able to room with a friend from highschool, and while it doesn’t
always work out, I was able to find a good kid. Suffice it to say I know a lot
of people who took the luck of the draw and are really hurting because of it.
I hope this was all helpful. College
can be a scary thing to think about in highschool. But, to all you
homeschoolers out there, I say this: you are more than prepared. You have (for
the most part) learned good study habits, you know how to teach yourself, and
despite the stereotype you’re actually a lot more outgoing than most other
people. Hold fast to your faith, work hard, don’t stay up late, and you’ll do
great.
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