Five Rules for College Freshmen

Nearly all the college students who make it to their junior year successfully complete college. That is a very telling fact because it reflects a more than 40 year higher education trend.

In fact, get through your sophomore year successfully, and you’ll almost certainly return for your junior year, according to a large body of research.

It is the freshman year that students find most challenging, and it is the freshman year when they are most likely to drop out. It’s not too hard to figure out why. The first year of college is a time of transition and adjustment, and neither is easy. However, if students follow a few simple rules, they’ll be OK. Here are five.

1. Do not miss classes. If you do, you’re sunk, even if it’s not obvious to you at the time.

2. Make a schedule for yourself and follow it religiously. Study time, study breaks, and adequate sleep time are especially important to schedule. Make adjustments as necessary, but stick to the times you set…it’s good insurance against slacking.

3. Don’t get behind. Review the syllabus in each of your courses, be aware of when assignments are due, and know when the busiest periods of the semester will be for you. That way you can do your best work without having to cram or be under the kind of stress students feel when they have not stayed on top of their coursework.

4. Remember the “all things in moderation” speech that your parents or teachers gave you? If not, as painful as it may be to hear again, ask them to repeat it. That’s because it’s true. If you stay up all night, drink too much, and spend more time seeking romance than looking for the answers to your math problems, you could be joining the work force before you planned to, and in a different position than the one to which you aspired.

5. Get involved. Don’t return to your hometown every weekend. Take part in events and activities on campus. Be open to new friendships. Join at least one student group. Be an active part of the college or university community. You’ll never regret it.

The five rules above aren’t very complicated. And, they shouldn’t be terribly hard to follow. Yet, if everyone adhered to them, the average six year college graduation rate in the United States would probably jump from its currently disappointing 55% to the 90% plus seen at some of our most selective institutions.

Daniel Z. Kane has created highly popular websites offering information on online college degrees and online degree programs which can be earned without interrupting your career.

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