Yay! You made it to college. Congratulations. Now, if you're like me (or not), you're away for college, and it's a new ball game. Everything is grandeur in scale, and now it's Professor not teacher. Okay, cool. Let us delve into some key tips that may be useful to you having a more successful transition:
Friendships: There are huge lecture halls, and it seems like everyone already knows each other. Except, you can kinda pin point the freshman in the room, because they are quiet, usually head down in their phone before class starts, or they're up in the front, eager with their pens and notebook (this was me). Now, you start thinking to yourself, with your first day of school not even halfway through yet, "why did I decide to go away for college? I had so many friends in High School, and now I have to make new ones all over." Rule #1: Take initiative. From my experience, at least, people are really friendly in college. Everyone's sorta-kinda grown up. So, turn to your left (or right), and introduce yourself. You can tell who's friendly, or who's looking for a friend, or who's a freshman like you, so go for it! Rule #2: Pick up a new hobby, or follow your passions. And by that, I mean join an organization. In the beginning of your college semester there will be a ton of meetings and introductions by the organizations on your campus so try and attend the meetings that are most interesting to you. Soon, you will be surprised at who you bump into/meet/make friends with. Joining an organization (especially one that shares values similar to your own) is a great way to start socializing.
Grades: First semester, freshman year. The time for mistakes. The "make or break" you stage of your college career. The forgiven stage. The chosen one. But really though, my fellow Pre-Med, this is your time, and perhaps your only time to make mistakes. It's crucial for us to maintain good grades throughout our college career, or show great improvement over time. Hence, I'll stress how much grades matter. Extracurricular activities are great. Finding yourself is even better. But we want to be doctors someday, so we have to know our stuff. Utilize tutoring. Tutoring is life. Tutoring saved me over and over, and it's free in college, so take advantage. If you're still struggling, utilize your professor's office hours. Seriously though. We will need recommendations for med school later down the line anyways, so get to know your professors early. Help them, help you by attending as many office hours as you can!
Partying/ Having a life: So you want to be doctor? Okay. You can still party, hang out with friends, and sleep all day on Saturday (well, maybe not all day, but half the day). After a week long of studying, or taking two or three exams in the past week, reward yourself by going out or doing nothing. There's a catch, however: you have to strike a balance. You want to be a doctor, and as you know, our life is all about juggling. So, yeah go out, party, have a great time, but be prepared to study twice as hard. You can do it. I do it.
Sleep: So, I bet you heard the news. College= less sleep time. It's true. While some college students sleep for the recommended 6-8 hours a night, others are lucky if they even get 2. My advice to you: Don't procrastinate. And I know that is easier said than done, but you really have to plan and do things as much in advance as possible. Sleep is so pivotal to us learning, consolidating what we learned, and remembering things. Pulling all-nighters every night will NOT take you very far. Exams will not wake you up, and you do not want to sleep right through an exam either. Try your best to get that 6-8 hours of sleep at least 5 out of 7 days a week.
Studying: College is really different from High School. So you'll see soon, or you are already experiencing the difference. You can't study the day before or two days before an exam and expect to get a 90-100%. Depending on the class, the professor, and all the resources I have, I usually study at least 4 days in advance for a test. And of course, this can vary, depending on what kind of learner you are, but when I study, I study to learn, not study to take the test. We will need this information for our MCATS, and when we become doctors, so really try to learn the material. The earlier you study it, the more natural the information will come to you. I also recommend study groups!
Study groups: Study groups are the absolute BEST! My study group is literally the BOMB. We encourage one another to go to tutoring sessions, office hours, study, and help one another understand difficult concepts. We study by individually, studying together, if that makes sense? So basically, we would all be surrounding one another reading through our material, or practicing problems, without necessarily talking to one another. This can go on for hours. Periodically, we would ask each other questions, discuss some of the things we learned, argue (lol), and just bounce ideas around. This is my favorite studying mechanism, and I think the most effective. Studying with others is really inspiring and can help you to push yourself to new heights.
If you guys want anymore transitioning tips, comment below! There's so much to say but I actually want you guys to read my post :) So, for now, adios!
Friendships: There are huge lecture halls, and it seems like everyone already knows each other. Except, you can kinda pin point the freshman in the room, because they are quiet, usually head down in their phone before class starts, or they're up in the front, eager with their pens and notebook (this was me). Now, you start thinking to yourself, with your first day of school not even halfway through yet, "why did I decide to go away for college? I had so many friends in High School, and now I have to make new ones all over." Rule #1: Take initiative. From my experience, at least, people are really friendly in college. Everyone's sorta-kinda grown up. So, turn to your left (or right), and introduce yourself. You can tell who's friendly, or who's looking for a friend, or who's a freshman like you, so go for it! Rule #2: Pick up a new hobby, or follow your passions. And by that, I mean join an organization. In the beginning of your college semester there will be a ton of meetings and introductions by the organizations on your campus so try and attend the meetings that are most interesting to you. Soon, you will be surprised at who you bump into/meet/make friends with. Joining an organization (especially one that shares values similar to your own) is a great way to start socializing.
Grades: First semester, freshman year. The time for mistakes. The "make or break" you stage of your college career. The forgiven stage. The chosen one. But really though, my fellow Pre-Med, this is your time, and perhaps your only time to make mistakes. It's crucial for us to maintain good grades throughout our college career, or show great improvement over time. Hence, I'll stress how much grades matter. Extracurricular activities are great. Finding yourself is even better. But we want to be doctors someday, so we have to know our stuff. Utilize tutoring. Tutoring is life. Tutoring saved me over and over, and it's free in college, so take advantage. If you're still struggling, utilize your professor's office hours. Seriously though. We will need recommendations for med school later down the line anyways, so get to know your professors early. Help them, help you by attending as many office hours as you can!
Partying/ Having a life: So you want to be doctor? Okay. You can still party, hang out with friends, and sleep all day on Saturday (well, maybe not all day, but half the day). After a week long of studying, or taking two or three exams in the past week, reward yourself by going out or doing nothing. There's a catch, however: you have to strike a balance. You want to be a doctor, and as you know, our life is all about juggling. So, yeah go out, party, have a great time, but be prepared to study twice as hard. You can do it. I do it.
Sleep: So, I bet you heard the news. College= less sleep time. It's true. While some college students sleep for the recommended 6-8 hours a night, others are lucky if they even get 2. My advice to you: Don't procrastinate. And I know that is easier said than done, but you really have to plan and do things as much in advance as possible. Sleep is so pivotal to us learning, consolidating what we learned, and remembering things. Pulling all-nighters every night will NOT take you very far. Exams will not wake you up, and you do not want to sleep right through an exam either. Try your best to get that 6-8 hours of sleep at least 5 out of 7 days a week.
Studying: College is really different from High School. So you'll see soon, or you are already experiencing the difference. You can't study the day before or two days before an exam and expect to get a 90-100%. Depending on the class, the professor, and all the resources I have, I usually study at least 4 days in advance for a test. And of course, this can vary, depending on what kind of learner you are, but when I study, I study to learn, not study to take the test. We will need this information for our MCATS, and when we become doctors, so really try to learn the material. The earlier you study it, the more natural the information will come to you. I also recommend study groups!
Study groups: Study groups are the absolute BEST! My study group is literally the BOMB. We encourage one another to go to tutoring sessions, office hours, study, and help one another understand difficult concepts. We study by individually, studying together, if that makes sense? So basically, we would all be surrounding one another reading through our material, or practicing problems, without necessarily talking to one another. This can go on for hours. Periodically, we would ask each other questions, discuss some of the things we learned, argue (lol), and just bounce ideas around. This is my favorite studying mechanism, and I think the most effective. Studying with others is really inspiring and can help you to push yourself to new heights.
If you guys want anymore transitioning tips, comment below! There's so much to say but I actually want you guys to read my post :) So, for now, adios!