Before starting my freshman year here at the University of North Dakota, I really didn’t know what to expect. In high school, I rarely studied or did my homework. Picking a major was a hassle because I had no idea what I wanted to do.

So, like any reasonable incoming freshman, I looked up majors with the highest salaries. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to go with computer science; the average salary and the future potential of a C.S. degree seemed too to pass on.

With that being said, I knew coming in it was going to be a hard major, so I looked up tips on surviving college and getting good grades on Google.

After reading through the links for an hour or so, I came across a book called "How to Win at College"written by Cal Newport, a renowned computer science professor at Georgetown University. In his book, he talks about 75 tips that could help college students improve their overall experience.

I picked out a few of the tips mentioned by him that I have personally implemented in my life and have seen its benefits.

1. Befriend a professor

This will really help you. Most of us go through our college courses trying to keep our interactions with our instructors to a minimum, but we shouldn’t. Most of our instructors are there to help us. If we show that we are willing to put in the required effort for their course, they are more than willing to help us and work around our schedule if necessary.

2. Do not take naps during weekdays

I know this sounds really harsh, but you should really work on maintaining a good sleep schedule so you don’t have to waste precious hours of the evening or afternoon sleeping; instead, you can use this time to keep up with your school work.

3. Sets goals

Staying motivated in college can be really challenging sometimes, and having multiple assignments and tests in the same week or day, can make this worse, but there is a way to keep up with these. Set goals for yourself; convince yourself that doing all these will help you obtain your degree and get your dream job.

4. Get to know your major’s department

Many of us receive emails about events going on in our major’s department. Here is an idea: attend the ones that seem interesting to you. You are spending four years of your life and a lot of money to go to school — make the most out of it. Attending these events can help you get some ideas about what you wish to do with your future after graduating.

5. When it comes to long assignments, give yourself enough time

If you are assigned a big assignment, chances are you won’t be able to finish it in two hours the night before it’s due and still get a good grade on it. So, here is a tip: space it out, give yourself time to do a decent job. Start out fast and slowly finish before the due date. It’s always good to ask your instructor for advice along the way.