Roadmap for College Life 

August 22, freshmen arrive at Longwood University and Hampton Sydney.  Orientation at UVA begins August 23.  Virginia Tech classes begin August 25.  August 27th is the first day of class at William & Mary.

Great, college is starting, are you ready?

You are in college, so you must have figured out the key to success in high school.  However, college is different.  Your high school schedule, class times, homework and extra curriculum activities, were based on decisions made by school and your parents.  Answers to your high school questions were also based on parental approval and input.  What classes should I take?  Can I spend money on this?  Can I go to a concert tonight?  What do I need to do today?  Do I have what I need to finish this assignment?  When do I have to be home?

Now, you face a major life transition; living away from home, friends going to different schools and parents not there to make sure things don’t fall through the cracks.  College life is a brave new world.  Yes, I know you can hardly wait; your theme song is “free at last”.

The good news may be that you have 100% control of your time, no parents looking over your shoulders.  The bad news is that many freshmen develop a bad habit of procrastination.  It is easy to put off “to-do’s” even past the last minute.  You have to learn to balance school requirements with your social life.  “All things in moderation” is the key to balancing spending, partying, and relationships with studying.

College life means handling performance expectations, organizational demands, all with autonomy, little structure, and probably no supervision.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a roadmap that would tell you on how to navigate college life successfully?

Believe it or not, the keys to success in college are not that different from high school.  Some of the keys are: keep a calendar showing assignments, tests and due dates; break down large projects into smaller parts, spread the work out over time; develop symbols and shorthand for note taking; find the atmosphere where you can concentrate best; use outlines to help write papers; take brief study breaks by doing right brain activities like taking a walk or playing catch.  Need specific ideas?  Read on.

Design your study area.  Find a specific place for your books, notebooks, calendar, and computers.  Develop a system for organizing your notes and papers.  Add to your schedule a specific time to un-clutter and organize your school files.  If you have problems with taking lectures notes, consider recording the lectures.  Give yourself lead- time; schedule your time to stay ahead of class assignments.

Find a study group that is motivated to stay focused and on track.  Alternatively, develop an accountability partner; a friend with whom you regularly check in.  Help each other be accountable for staying on schedule, encourage each other during struggles, and recognize each other’s successes.

The ability to control your study time, free-time, and socializing may be a new adventure for you.  Use your calendar to help you set boundaries on the amount of time spent studying, on right brain activity and on student life.  Most cell phones have the ability to set alarms to remind you of the boundaries you have set.  You will now be the only one responsible to get you out of bed.  Figure out what is the best noise that will make you get up:  maybe an alarm, talk radio or a music station you really don’t like.  Your motivation to get out of bed on time may be the the BeeGees, first thing in the morning.  Find what works for you.

This roadmap will help you be academically successful by helping you develop your autonomy, grow your organization skills and develop a pattern of task completion.  All skills you need in college and will form a great basis for the rest of your life.

Rise up; this matter is in your hands.  We will support you, so take courage, and do it.  Ezra 10:4