The 2021 Fall Semester is officially underway. Everyone has been anticipating getting back to normal, and in some regards, we are. Things are beginning to open up. However, the COVID-19 Delta variant is still a major concern, which makes readjusting to school life all the more complicated. No worries, we got you! No matter where you are in your educational journey, here are a few things to keep in mind in the coming school year, whether you have classes online or offline.
Online: Keeping Focus
As we’ve seen from 2020, doing school at home can be frustrating due to the potential for distractions. Many of you may already be familiar with ways to focus, but I cannot stress this tip enough: Keep your study spot only your study spot. If you routinely watch Netflix while lying on your bed, don’t try to read for class there. The result will be: falling asleep or falling asleep watching Netflix.
When in your Zoom classes, make sure your attention is focused on what’s being discussed in class. You might have your phone, tablet, or anything else available to you at home. Turn them off. It’s tempting to do as you would in a normal classroom, maybe set them to the side. But unless you’re expecting an important phone call, like a job interview or family emergency, turn it off. I know this is a harsh assessment many of you may not agree with, but zoom classes can be extremely difficult to learn from and you may not always know how relevant the material will be to your grade.
There’s also the subtle desire to treat a virtual class as though it’s not a true class. Try to check yourself for this. See if you blow off assignments more often or skip readings assigned more often than not.
If you don’t have Zoom classes, good for you! Remember to social distance! (See more below)
Both: Keeping Schedules
Taking classes online is a lot like being homeschooled. You can choose the hours you want to do the bulk of your work. You don’t have to wake up two hours before school starts to get to school on time. But that doesn’t mean you should do whatever whenever. Find a routine that will allow you to get all your work done, and stick to it. Consistency will make it easier for your brain to differentiate between “school mode” and “relax mode”.
Make a to-do list or agenda.
This will help keep you organized and may force you to actually create time to actually complete part of the agenda. If an item is absolutely urgent, complete that one first and continue down the list in order of urgency. For long term projects, try to break it down into identifiable parts and complete one part each day or every other day as your schedule allows. This creates a sense of completion and the satisfaction that comes from completing a task. A lot of people have fatigue from unfinished tasks which serves as a deterrent to completing future tasks.
Offline: Keeping Away
Don’t hug people. Sad but true. You never know who might be a carrier. In fact, you could be a carrier and not know about it. Even if you and everyone around you look healthy, take precautions. Keep in mind social distancing. If you do have to socialize, try to do it outdoors, if possible. Try to stay in your social bubble with the people you are quarantining or social distance with, or anyone else you know who has been applying social distancing guidelines.
Both: Keeping Positive
Yes, there’s a pandemic.
Yes, some events have been canceled.
Yes, things have changed.
However, stewing on the negatives doesn’t solve anything. We’re already on the second lap, so don’t be discouraged. Live, learn, and adapt. We’ll make it through together.
There are two polarizing types of sleepers in the world:
Rising and falling with the sun, those who follow “early to bed, early to rise” from the day they are born, are the Early Birds.
Staying up long into the night, never willing to until the sun is brightly hanging overhead, are the Night Owls.
The feud between these two extreme lifestyles is a matter for another time. For now, here are five tips for Night Owls who are forced to work an Early Bird schedule.
Prepare in Advance
When trying to function at a different time than normal, your mind won’t be at its sharpest. Prepare everything you’ll need the night before when your mind is still clear. Pack your bag, choose your clothes, pack a lunch, etc. That way, when you stumble around getting ready in the morning, you won’t even have to think about what you’re doing. Everything you need will be right where you need it.
Eat Wisely
What you eat can affect you greatly. If you need coffee to get you through the early morning hours, have some ready. Don’t rely on a donut or two to provide the sugar you need for your morning. You need to eat a hearty meal. After all, you’re eating breakfast earlier than usual, so lunch is probably farther off.
Sleep Early
For those who are used to staying up late, it can be hard to fall asleep early. But if you want to function at your best, you need to force yourself. If you’re not feeling tired enough to sleep, do some late-day exercise an hour or two before bed. That way, your body will be more willing to rest. Even if you don’t fall asleep right away, getting an extra hour of rest will be helpful to being energized in the morning.
Stay Positive
Your mind can dictate your your body works. If you tell yourself you’re tired and cranky, you’ll remain tired and cranky. Find ways to motivate yourself through the morning, and always look on the bright side, even if the sun isn’t out yet.
Keep Going
Don’t even try to think about going back to sleep. If you want to wake up early, snoozing the alarm and going back to bed isn’t going to be much help. It doesn’t matter if you have to roll or crawl your way around your room, you need to keep going and get ready to start your day.
Fellow Night Owls, the morning may be an eternal struggle, but these five tips will guide you towards the path of success. Spread your wings and fly off into the dawning light!
Exercise is important for students. I know this isn’t the first time you’ve heard this, and it won’t be the last. But it’s true. Exercising regularly helps your ability to study. Here’s how:
Focus
Everyone’s familiar with the phrase, “Get the blood pumping”. This is very true for your brain. It doesn’t do anything if you don’t give it something to do. When you first try to get started on a task, it takes a while for your brain to get into a high enough gear to focus and accomplish it. But if you do some exercise before hand, the blood is already flowing, and your brain is quicker to pick up on what you need to do.
Health
Your personal health matters, physically and mentally. Your mind can’t function properly if your body wasting away. Take thirty minutes out of your day to do some push ups, squats, or just go for a jog. Bike or walk to places a short distance away. There’s not need to look like a bodybuilder, but the regular exercise will help your mind stay primed and ready.
Energy
When you’re staying up late trying to finish an assignment that’s due the next morning, don’t rely on coffee and sugar. Those will get you on an energy high, and then you’ll crash. Take a few minutes to stretch and do a few low intensity exercises.
Exercise gives you a boost of energy, and as long as you don’t overdo it, you won’t get burnout. Need to be able to function for your morning class after staying up late? Jog to class. If you get there sluggish and sleepy, you’ll stay sluggish and sleepy. But if you force your body to wake up, the jump start will carry you. Just get some sleep afterwards.
Memory
Exercising also helps your brain’s ability to retain information. Studying for a test? Get a quick ten to fifteen minute workout, then hit the books. Attempting to study by sitting perfectly still and focused will burn you out. Give your eyes a break and let exercises revitalize you. When you’re sitting at your desk taking the test, your mind will reward you.
It’s always good to have friends by your side. But sometimes you need time and focus to get your studies done. What do you when your friend(s) won’t stop talking to you while you’re to study?
First, make them aware that you’re busy:
Be Blunt
Be upfront about it. A firm, “Sorry, I’m busy right now,” should work. You’re both students. Your friend should know that if you’re busy, you can’t afford to chat or hangout.
Calm Explanation
Maybe you don’t want to sound harsh. Maybe your friend is sensitive to being pushed away. If either of these are the case, calmly explain that you’re trying to finish your work. Maybe offer to catch up some other time.
Are they still there?
Then it’s time to take it up a notch.
Insist
Repeat yourself and make sure they understand that you really need to finish your studying. If they’re going to be pushy about sticking around, you can be equally pushy about sending them away. Just don’t take it too far, they are still your friends after all.
Ignore
If you friend or friend group insist on being near you, you can ignore them. It sounds rude, but they’ll rather get the hint and leave, or you’ll just have to tune them out while finishing what you have to do.
Invite
Invite them to study with you. Turn your casual chat into an impromptu study session. Maybe they’ll still try to strike up a conversation from time to time, but you both have your books out, you have a better chance of being productive.
Friendship can vary a lot between people, so don’t look at any of this as hard and fast rules. Stand up for yourself when you need to focus, but there’s no need to strain your friendship while doing so.
Whether it’s for writing a paper, studying for an exam, or simply getting homework done, a study space is a must have for every college student. Finding your ideal study space takes time. You need to scout out different places and know which works best for you. Your study space should be very accessible, have all your necessary amenities, and have minimal distractions.
Accessibility
Can you be there as much as you need?
A study space is best if you can reach it at any time, very easily. If you have to make a long trek every time you want to study, you’ll lose a lot of time in travel alone. Decide whether you want your study space closer to your dorms or your classes. Depending on when you want to study, the difference in proximity can have a major impact on your decision.
Also make sure that your study place is available at all the times you need it. How early and late in the day can you be there? Is the place usually open to the public, or is frequently used for events? Look at the availability hours to make sure it will suit your needs.
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Amenities
What does the study space offer you?
Everyone has some preference when it comes to studying. Some people prefer places like a coffee shops. There’s a steady supply of food and beverages, nearby people, and a constant background noise.
However, other people prefer studying in a small study room or their own dorm rooms. Isolated, quiet, and able to be set up however they want. Wherever you choose to study should have the amenities you value the most when studying.
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Distractions
Are you going to be able to focus while you’re there?
There’s a big difference between a relaxing space and a study space. In a relaxing space, if the place accessible and has all your amenities, that’s all you need. But if you’re trying to study, being too comfortable can be a bad thing.
- Are the people next to you having an interesting conversation that you can’t help but overhear?
- Is your mind wandering as you stare blankly at your laptop?
- Do you find that you keep focusing on something nearby instead of your work?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you may need to reevaluate your location as a suitable study space.
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Overall
Wherever you decide to study should be based on your personal preferences. It should be in a location that’s conveniently located and open at the times you need. Everything you need to study comfortably should be accessible. But you shouldn’t be too comfortable, make sure you’re able to use the space to get work done and take your down time elsewhere.
And if you can’t find one place that is perfect for you, find two or three different study spaces and use them as the situation calls for it!
The transition from high school to college is a tough one. The environments are quite different, and it takes time to adjust. Here are four common environmental adjustments of college freshmen:
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Size
In a small high school, it doesn’t even take you four years to memorize every nook and cranny. You know the place like the back of your hand. Going to a large college, that familiarity is replaced with confusion. Instead of you being able to navigate with your eyes closed, you may need to take a bus to get from class to the next.
If you went to a massive high-school, and you end up going to a small college, you’ll be bored and cramped. This gets worse if you’re used to being in an equally large city and your college is off to the wayside. You’ll need to find a way to make the most of the space you have.
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Location
I could say a lot about the differences in the location of college campuses. City vs Country. Warm climate vs cold climate. Beaches vs mountains. Some of your favorite outfits or hobbies may be ill-suited for the environment of your college. If your college is in a location you are not familiar with, ask some local students or upperclassmen for advice on how to adjust.
Socially
Meeting up with friends take a more work in college than high school because of people having different schedules. The good news is that your schedules will be more flexible depending on your classes and activities. Coordinate schedules with your friends for lunch or to hang out.
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Academically
College is hard. Even if you made straight A’s in high school, don’t think college is going to be easy. Never assume that your grades will immediately transfer to college. Keep your wits about you and make sure to study hard and complete your assignments.
Are there any other major differences between college and high school environments that I missed? Leave a comment below!
All high school students know that college has some significant differences from high school. But what are those difference? Let’s find out.
Attendance
If you’re in high school, unless you are sick or have a documented reason to miss class, you should be in class. Cutting class is usually only done by people who don’t care about the material.
College classes usually keep attendance, However, there are some that do not. If you are capable of learning the material on your own and don’t have mandatory attendance, you can skip class. That said, skipping class for no reason will hurt your grades.
Eating in Class
In high school, there is a set time for lunch. In most American schools, this time is a paltry 25-30 minutes, which includes the time to walk to the cafeteria, wait in line, eat your food, and get to your next class. Most teachers won’t let you snack on a granola bar in class, and for good reason. No teacher wants to pick up after a student who leaves a mess in the classroom.
In college, professors understand that there isn’t always enough time in a student’s schedule to eat lunch between classes. Depending on the type of class professors allow you to eat snack bars or sometimes your entire lunch in the classroom. They also expect you to clean up after yourself, something college students usually have learned by that point.
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Free Time
For a high school student, that’s in the evening when their homework is finished–unless they procrastinate and do it right before bed. Also, there’s free time on the weekends, assuming they don’t have weekend homework or a test on Monday.
College students, since they usually spend less hours in class, typically have a more amount of “free time”. However, due to a larger amount of out-of-class work, this time requires even more careful management.
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Punctuality
In high school, there is no “good” excuse to be late to class. You have five to ten minutes to go from one class to the next. Sometimes you have time to exchange books in your locker or take a quick restroom break, but usually you go straight from point A to point B.
In college, Students can have 10-15 minutes between classes, or 4-5 hours. They may have to cross an entire campus in order to make it to class on time. Some professors don’t like getting interrupted by students walking in a few minutes late, but if you explain your long route, they won’t be so as unreasonable as to suggest you fly or teleport to get to class on time.
MLA Format
In highschool, MLA format is required from almost every English teacher. As there are few other classes that require citing sources, it’s unlikely that high school students will even learn to use other citation formats by the time they enter college.
While the MLA format is used by college English courses, freshmen will be surprised that the majority of courses use APA format for citations.
Have any other comparisons that I didn’t include in this post? Leave a comment below!
Picture a scenario all of us have experienced. We’re meeting someone for the first time. They ask what grade you’re in or what do you do, and you inform them your a college student at so-and-so. From that point, the next question is “What are you studying?”
Deciding a major in college is very important. Even high school juniors are pressured to have a career path lined up for themselves. Whether you are feeling pressured by your lack of preparation or just want some reassurance, here’s some tips for choosing your college major.
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Find your interests
What do you like to do in your spare time?
What are your favorite subjects?
Do you have a dream job?
These question will push you to where your interests lie. From there, you can start finding fields that suit your interests. There are surveys online that take your interests and show how many people in certain fields have similar interests.
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Play to your Strengths
Is there any subject you’ve really excelled at?
Do people constantly compliment you on certain activities?
Have you ever thought it would be easy doing a certain type of job?
If you’re good at something, make a career of it! Several type of unusual careers are sources of income (including blogging).
Do your research
If you’re going into computer science because it sounds cool, find out what you can about programming first. Think the medical field is the way to make a lot of money? See how your biology and chemistry classes are going. If you want to dedicate four years of your life to studying something, make sure it’s something you actually want to do.
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Don’t overthink it
If you find yourself enjoying some of your electives, don’t be afraid to branch out. You could take up a minor, or maybe a double major. And if you’re doubting your original choice of major, you’ve got some time to adjust. One in three college students change their majors at least once. One in ten change it twice or more.
In Summary
Your college major is an important decision to make. It is up to you to decide what you should study. Find your interests, play to your strengths, do your research, but don’t overthink your decision. It is up to you to decide what you want to major in. Just chart a course and sail on ahead!
College comes with expenses. Not just the tuition and board, but also the daily necessities. Because of this, most college students end up taking a job at least at some point in their college careers. Whether it be for income or the experience, if you’re in college, you’re probably going to get a job.
Every college has available on jobs on or near campus. Some will be available through work-study, and others will be open-market. While colleges usually try to make it easier for students to get jobs, it’s still a competitive environment that runs on first-come, first-served. And for those who worked minimum wage jobs in high-school, it’s a tradition to jobs that usually require more responsibilities.
If you’re new to finding a job, here’s a few tips:
Apply to as many places as you can
- Unless you have guaranteed spot on a job, you’ll need to keep your options open. You can always turn down a position if you get more than one, but remember to get at least one in the first place.
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It’s not about “what” you know. It’s about “who” you know.
- If you want a job in the library, find any excuse you can to talk the head librarian. Want to work for IT? Visit the IT office and talk to people. Want to work as a lab assistant? Find some science professors and talk to them. As long as they like what they see, you’ve got your foot in the door.
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Dress smart when being interviewed job
- Business casual is the dress code for a traditional job interview. If you’re squeezing in the interview between classes and don’t have time to change, don’t panic. Just wear something nicer than jeans and a t-shirt to make a good first impression.
If you’ve had a job before, here’s some differences you’ll want to note:
Job consistency
- While jobs in college are “seasonal”, they tend to keep their employees. Unless you burn down the building or lose some master keys, you should be able roll over most jobs you get in college for several semesters.
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Opportunities
- Work on a college campus usually leads to you talking to people in higher places, or those who are used to dealing with people with high potential. If you nail a job that relates to the industry you want to work in, do well, and you’ll have an excellent recommendation in life.
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Getting a job is almost a staple for your college career. You’ll get some cash. You’ll get some experience. And you may make some connection that will make your post-college climb a lot easier. Happy Hunting!
Eating is one of the most fundamental aspects of daily life. When you’re new to college, you’ll quickly find that your eating options come will be coming from one of these places.
The Cafeteria
If your college invests in its food, you’ll be able to consistently get good meals. Otherwise, you’re out of luck. It’ll provide some nutritional value, but it probably won’t be tasty or healthy.
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Local Restaurants and Takeout
While this depends on the area the college is located in, most of the time your high-quality meals will be coming from off-campus. Fortunately, local businesses tend to make themselves accessible to college students. Unfortunately, unless you’re in the heart of a big city, you better hope you like the kinds of food they provide, because you aren’t getting much else.
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Your Kitchen
This can include anything ready-to-eat you’ve stocked up or meals you’ve made yourself. Preparing your own food is usually the cheapest option, but the time, skill, and energy it takes to cook leaves many college students cooking nothing but ramen in their kitchens.
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Cafeteria food will get boring fast, and unless your budget can take restaurant and takeout options for the next four years, you’ll need to learn some basic cooking skills. But fear not! For the art of cooking for yourself is a simple three part process.
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Prepare
Find out what you want to be eating, and find recipes and ingredients for what you’ll be making. Sometimes you’ll need to substitute ingredients if you can’t find what you need. If you need to do that, make sure to look up the proper substitutions online.
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Follow
The instructions! I don’t care if you’re doing as simple as following a cake-mix recipe that has the instructions spelled out for you on the side of the box.
Follow the instructions as close as possible! If the instructions say one cup of warm water, get a one cup measure and make sure your tap water is running slightly higher than room temperature.
If you try to make a small cup of coffee with a huge mug of cold water, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t come out how you want it.
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Repeat
Practice.
Practice.
Practice.
They say practice makes perfect. While that’s not always entirely true, it’s a good motto when it comes to cooking. After you learn how to follow the instructions, it comes down to experience.
When you first start making, say, muffins. follow the recipe to the “T” for the first two or three times. After that, you’ll probably start transitioning to making it by memory.
Eventually, there’s a point where you won’t even have to use formal measurements. You’ll be able to add the ingredients and amounts by memory. Through sight, feel, and taste, you’ll know which ingredients to use to improve the batter.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you’ll start innovating. You’ll mix recipes, add new ingredients, experiment with different techniques.
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To Recap
Don’t be scared to try, and don’t be discouraged if the result doesn’t come out quite as you wanted on the first try. Cooking is an art, one that requires preparation, instruction, and practice. And in the next four years of your college career, you won’t be short on time.