Transitioning from High School To College

High school and college are as different as Denny’s and a fancy Las Vegas buffet. Just like Denny’s, high school is something most people just endure and find something good to eat. College has a ton of different choices, and just like a buffet you have to go out and find what you like and what you don’t. In high school there was the structure of a ringing bell to head to the next class and a gentle reminder that your term paper on Of Mice and Men is due next Friday. In college, instead of classes of 20-30 like in high school, you’ll be in classes of 200-300 students.

How do you maneuver around this new world without ship-wrecking yourself? Here are the ways to make your first year at college full of success and create more time for fun and socializing.

Set Your Schedule Early and Often

In college, you get to pick your schedule. You want only afternoon classes? Nothing at 8:00 AM? That’s workable. But a lot of college students will try to just schedule their classes for Tuesday and Thursday! Four day weekend! But that’s a rookie move. The students I’ve seen succeed block their classes. They put them one after another so they can get the classes done and out of the way. This way they keep their brain focused on studying for that amount of time. If you have a class in the morning, head down to the resident halls, and then back up to class, it starts to deplete your willpower. You have to change gears to get back into studying mode.

If there are 1-3 hours between classes, use that time to stay on campus, head to the library and get work done. Stay on campus until you’re done with studying and then head back to the resident halls when you’re done for the day.

Find the Sacred Place to Study

Most freshmen college students attempt to study in their resident halls. Those halls are designed for students to socialize, have fun, and go to events–they are normally not built for quiet, writing and retention. Find a place that offers some solitude from the tempting “just watch this show with us for a little bit.” You won’t go back to your studying and you know it. Most of my students found the top floor of the library to be the best bet for a studying haven.

Quiet, cool, great views and plenty of table space. Other students needed a “coffeehouse” vibe so they’d find a restaurant or coffeehouse that offered free refills and Wi-Fi and they’d camp there. But whatever you choose, make sure you choose the same place over and over. It trains your brain to get “ready” to study. It remembers that this is where the studying happens. Let’s get this done.

Pick the Right Tunes to Study To

If you’re going to study to music, make sure you pick music that either has no lyrics or lyrics you’ve heard a million times. If you listen to new music and are trying read or write something, your brain is going to have a hard time. Here’s why–your brain can’t parallel process well. It can’t generate and remember new information.

It can’t come up with words to remember from a book and a song. It will do neither. Also, when you are writing, you are literally trying to find the words in your brain to write down. New music wrecks that process. You earn bonus points if you choose the same music when you study so when you know the playlist is ending, it’s time for a break!

Keep Your Go Bag Stocked

There is nothing more frustrating than sitting down to study and you don’t have what you need: pens, pencils, index cards, highlighters, flash drive, etc. Make sure you keep everything stocked in your backpack (and I had a rule that I only used one backpack for studying. I didn’t use it as a gym bag.) so when you’re ready to study you don’t have to spend time looking around for things. I also had two chargers for my laptop: one in my room and one in my bag. Nothing like trying to start a term paper at 12% battery life.

Study During the Secret Hours

If you can get to bed at a decent time on either Friday or Saturday night, you can find a great time to study. It’s when colleges aren’t really up and about yet. There aren’t many activities, and the cafeteria probably isn’t open yet. The quietest, calmest part of the week on a college campus is between Saturday and Sunday 7-11 AM. If you can get studying done during those times, you will have a lot more fun during the weekend and get a better start on the week.

Technology is your Friend

In high school, there are gentle reminders that you have a paper due or a presentation. In college, there is no such safety net. You have to remember all of that information from the syllabi, the due dates, the term papers and the final exams.

Or you could just put all of that into a digital calendar.

Use Google Calendar or a program such as Calendar on a Mac to remind you of all the papers due. Simply gather all of your syllabi, grab a Mountain Dew, and put every due date into your calendar. Everything the syllabi mentions put in there. Then if it’s a major project, set a reminder every week for three weeks that it is due. If it’s a minor project, set a reminder every week for two weeks back. This way you get constant reminders of what you need to start working on.

Once you complete the task, delete it from your calendar and then you can start completing tasks before the night they are due. Make it a habit to keep all of your appointments in that digital calendar and you will be more organized than most of your fellow students.

Back Up Your Work

Ever lost a 15 page paper the night before it’s due because the file got corrupted? It’s a terrible feeling having to write your professor and explain how the paper is gone. Use Dropbox or an external hard drive to continually back up your work. When your roommate spills his soda (ok, beer) on your laptop, you’ll still need all of your files. Take the time to set up your computer to automatically back up your work; save your headaches for your hangovers.

Ryan McRae has served as Resident Director for nine years and been a college instructor for eight years, working with college freshmen. He can be found at The ADHD NERD and has written the book: The ADHD Guide to Conquering the College Campus: 5 Minutes to Great Grades, Better Concentration & Student Success available on Amazon.