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Strategies for Long-Term College Success
When college students look for the solution to the problems they run into in the course of their studies, they usually focus on dealing with issues as they arise, one at a time. It is a viable approach – it allows you to focus on one thing without spreading your attention too thin. You can pay your full attention to overcoming the obstacle that is currently in your way. However, this approach is essentially reactive and limits you to putting out fires instead of making sure fires do not start in the first place. If you want to ensure your long-term success in college, you have to apply long-term solutions, starting them early and continuing with them throughout your stay in college. In this article, we will cover some of such strategies.
1. Keep Your Goals in Mind
The reason why so many students struggle throughout their stay in college is that they approach the whole thing with a completely wrong mentality. They are afraid of college, and their primary wish is not to succeed but to get by somehow so that they can eventually graduate and forget their college years as a nightmare.
However, it is not how someone with a goal should perceive their years in college. College is important not as an end in itself (an academic degree does not hold any immanent value, especially if you do not care about it yourself), but as a means to an end. You need a college degree to find a promising high-paying job, build a career and earn money to get what you want from life: a pleasant lifestyle, a good house, the ability to pursue your hobbies, support your family, and so on. When you view college from this perspective, you get much more motivated to spend an extra hour writing an essay or working on a research paper. Remind yourself about your goals in life every time you hit a snag, and you will be much more likely to overcome your problems.
2. Learn How to Manage Your Time
If you did not learn some basic time management techniques so far, you may want to rectify this as you get into college, because this environment is not particularly lenient to those who cannot keep up. Compared to high school, you simultaneously have many more responsibilities and a much greater degree of freedom. In combination, it can lead to many unpleasant situations: when nobody controls your behavior, you are much more likely to put crucial tasks off or waste time on useless activities that do not move you towards your goals. In other words, in college, you have a great deal of work to handle and a very limited amount of time to deal with it. This means that you have to use every minute you have at your disposal with maximum efficiency if you want to succeed. Here are some strategies you may employ:
- Keep a list of all your tasks along with their deadlines. Work on your assignments starting with the most urgent ones;
- Keep a monthly calendar with all the important upcoming dates like tests, quizzes, assignment deadlines, and so on;
- Create a schedule and stick to it. You should always know what, when, and for how long you intend to do so that you can realistically arrange your time.
3. Know when to Ask for Help
No student is capable of dealing with all his/her tasks on his/her own. Sometimes you physically do not have enough time to complete all the jobs you are given, sometimes other circumstances intrude on you and you have to use limited time resources at your disposal with optimal efficiency. No matter what the situation is, the only solution is to hire somebody to help you. Fortunately, these days it is easier than ever – you can find plenty of academic assistance services online. All you have to do is to find one that seems reliable, contact its customer support and ask, “Who can do my essay for me?” After that, you will simply have to discuss the details of your assignment, what your helper is supposed to write, and pay the required fee.
4. Build Relationships with Your Professors
Many students find this approach to be rather detestable. “What? I do not want to ruin my reputation by becoming a teacher’s pet! How is it supposed to help me in the long term?” However, what we mean here by building relationships does not mean that you should become your professor’s yes-man; it simply means that you should work on becoming known to your professors. Ask questions. Participate in discussions. Look for advice during their office hours. Participate in their projects. All this will help both during your college years and beyond them. It always works in your favor when a professor knows you personally when he/she grades your performance. After college, these connections with your former professors can become a foundation for your future career network, so start working on them right now.
5. Take Care of Your Health
It is a good idea for any period of your life and for college years in particular. The thing is, it is in college where you are likely to learn many of the habits that will stay with you for the rest of your life. If you manage to ingrain a few useful, healthy behaviors into your lifestyle, you have a greater chance of keeping them for many years to come.
In addition, college is stressful and can take a serious toll on your health if you are not careful. So do not fall into the trap of either spending all your time studying or using your newly-found freedom to let yourself go. Pay attention to your health and well-being. Find time for physical activities. Eat healthily. Get enough sleep. These may seem like obvious tips, but all too many students find it difficult to follow them.
Achieving long-term success in college is a much more involved process than simply studying hard – but we hope that by now you know how to go about it!
