7 Ways Freshman Can Prepare for College

This guest post is provided by Elizabeth C. She contributes to FindCollegeCards, a student credit cards / college blog helping students gather tips, tricks and more.

There’s a first time for everything and what you’re going to find out with college, it’s going to no different than anything else that you have done for the first time. Sure, you can read until your eyeballs fall out, but you’re going to find out is that until you experience it first hand, you will never know what college really entails.

To help you get on the right path, as well as avoid some pitfalls, I wanted to give you 7 tips that really helped me out with my college career. Every college campus, as well as student is different, but if you find yourself at least attempting to follow these, you may find yourself on a better path.

#1 Attend all orientations: You will want to know as much as you can about your college. If your college is going to hold an orientation, or a tour of your college, you should take advantage of these to learn more about your school.

#2 Make a checklist: If you’re going to be staying on campus, make sure that you work up a checklist, so that you can get everything you need for your dorm. You can usually find some good checklists online by searching.

#3 Create a plan: What are you going to do once you start up college? Are you going to work? If so, where do you plan on working? What is your budget going to be? College takes up a good chunk of your life, so you will want to able to balance everything the right way.

#4 Make a budget: Even if you’re going to stay at home, it’s essential that you make a budget. Know where your money is going to go toward. Think about food, your loans, as well as more. It’s always best to know where your money is going month after month.

#5 Connect with students: The Internet is a fantastic place to connect with just about anyone. Places like Facebook.com, MeetUp.com, as well as others are a great place to meet with future students. Make friends, or even find study buddies.

#6 Get involved: Your college is going to have a ton of clubs that you can join. Not only is this going to look great on your resume, it’s going to keep you busy. It’s also a great way to meet other people that you can connect with.

#7 Work on a schedule: You’re probably going to want to visit family and friends. Since you’re going to know when you have time off for the holidays and more, this is a time to plan for the future to know when you can go home to visit with those that are close to you.

The more you know about the college, as well as the more you’re prepared, the easier it’s going to be for you. Make sure that you work hard, as well as strive on getting good grades. After all, this is why you’re in college. It really is a great experience and hopefully, by following these tips, you can get on the right path to succeeding in college!