It’s August and it has been close to three months since I found out that I could graduate. There is that feeling of being too old as my second cousins (children of first cousins) are either in their third year of college, starting their second year of college, beginning to go into college, being in their last year of high school, and beginning high school. It is not only my cousins, but also a girl who is living with my family until she is done with college because of being in foster care. In preparation to send her off for her very first semester of college, I feel it is necessary to come up with a list of advice for new and continuing college students.

1. Plan as much as possible

This would obviously be something that your freshman starting class (whether it is called Freshman Seminar or Freshman Year Experience) will cover; for my college, it used to be Freshman Seminar, now it is Freshman Year Experience. One of the lessons learned from that class was managing our time to put down due dates for papers/projects and dates for tests in each of our classes. This was something I took to heart and it is better to learn about this as early as possible. From my previous article Must Have Essentials For The New Semester, find an agenda/planner that is right for you, have a notebook to plan weekly, print out any printables, or use Google calendar/calendars on your laptop to keep track of time. Planning is essential to be successful during college.

2. Go to your college’s Academic Center/Math Lab

It depends on each student, but some professors are great at helping and some professors are not the best. This is true because the professor already knows the material from the back of their hand and they would pretty much go too fast if we go to ask them for help. It’s helpful to get extra help from students who has had taken classes you are currently taking, who would go at a slower pace for you to see which area you are struggling with. If you are anything like me, who goes much slower than the average student, your public library might have a website to use free tutoring online. Since tutoring online would likely not cover business courses (like accounting), programming courses, or mathematics courses, it’s better to go to a math lab.

3. Find your niche in an organization

I am not going to be like “get involved as much as possible” as everyone says, but the point is college is really about finding yourself. You may be gone a majority of the time, only coming home for winter break and the summer, but you are really figuring out who you are without the safety net of your parents and those who are close to you. Try to find a club that speaks to you, rush Greek if you feel that you need to have the experience, or start a new organization if you can’t find what you’re looking for. It would take some work to get an organization going, but at least you would be working for what would be best for your interests.

4. Professors: the good, the bad, and the ugly

This is 100% true because some professors are awesome, some professors are good, some professors are okay, some professors are bad, and some professors are terrible. It honestly depends on how they are with their speed for every lecture and how they are with understanding certain circumstances that may come up. Some professors that I have had are terrible in refusing to wear a microphone, going incredibly fast, and even not allowing me enough time for a test that I need according to an accommodation letter. When choosing professors, do not just rely on ratemyprofessors, but ask classmates if they have had taken a professor for a class you are interested in taking/need to take for your major.

5. Your grades do not define your worth

This is also true. A bad grade does not define your worth, but it can tell you a message that maybe a specific major may not be the right major for you. This is something I took the hard way because I switched majors a coupe of times before settling into sociology. I did major in computer information systems before switching to sociology, but it took failing an advanced database class to think and realize “why am I torturing myself with this when I do not have the heart for going into programming?” The switch to sociology ended up being worth it because I was learning hands on lessons that I could end up using in everyday life. Maybe you might have high expectations in some semesters, such as making a dean’s list for a semester, but it is honestly not worth the time and extra stress if you cannot do it. You need to think about taking care of yourself emotionally and honestly do the best you can do. You only need to prove yourself to YOU, not your parents or anyone else, just you.