Hey Everyone! It’s Courtney from A Little Craft In Your Day, stopping by to share some college advice! That day that you have been waiting for your entire life, but recently started dreading, is fast approaching for all of you recent high school graduates. You are about to step into the world of college and things are going to be different, but not in a bad way! College is a life-changing experience and understandably nerve-wracking. Building a future for yourself while living on your own and being surrounded by people you don’t know yet can be daunting! I was nervous too, but I learned so much my first year, and now I am super excited for sophomore year. Today I’m teaming up with Office Depot to share some real advice for your first year of college.
1. Get on a schedule. Waking up at the same time every day was one of the best things that I did in college. I designed my schedule so that my classes started at the same time each day. By the end of the year, I almost didn’t need an alarm. Key word: almost.
2. Stay organized with the TUL™ for School discbound notebook. I love it because of all of the attachable organization accessories, like page flags, rulers, pocket dividers, graph refill papers, and storage pouches. This line is the ultimate organizational tool for school. It has literally everything you could ever want, and it all snaps into the discbound notebook effortlessly. The amount of customization possibilities is killer. Even the cover is interchangeable, so you can change it up to fit your mood. The notebook comes with seven planning pages and five subjects. That means that this one notebook can get you through all of your classes. Plus, if you take a lot of notes, just add more refill paper.
3. Sleep is not for the weak. Pulling an all-nighter here and there will most likely be a thing you have to do, especially if you are a procrastinator. Never pull two or more in a row — you will regret it. Most nights you should be getting 7+ hours of sleep.
4. Use colors to get organized. Assign each class its own pen color. That way when you look at your planner at a glance, it will be easier to visualize and stay on top of things. I especially love the TUL Brights Retractable Gel Pens for their smear-resistant ink.
5. Leave campus occasionally. Feeling like you are trapped on campus is not a good feeling. To be honest, there were days that I didn’t want to be in college. On those days, I would sit at a coffee shop like I used to in high school, and I always felt better when I went back to campus.
6. Be yourself and personalize your supplies. My favorite way to personalize my supplies is probably using the TUL Discbound Hole Punch. It allows me to put anything I want in my notebook, like little coloring book pages for when I’m having trouble focusing, as well as handouts and worksheets from class. Don’t focus too much on how everyone else is personalizing their school supplies. Just be yourself and do what you like.
7.Keep in touch with your old friends and family. You may be entering a new season of life, but there is no reason to leave behind the good from the last season. College will bring its difficulties, and your new college friends will probably change a few times, so it is important to have that true support system. At the very least, it will make things less awkward when you go home. I even added pictures of my family and childhood friends to my notebook using the TUL Discbound Hole Punch. It always made my day when I flipped the page during class and saw my friends and family smiling back at me.
8.You might not be best friends with your roommate, but it is still an important relationship. I learned so much from living with my freshman year roommate; I could write a whole post about it. Be as easygoing as you can be, always be civil with them, and focus on their positive qualities.
9. Go to office hours. I try to ask all my questions in class, but sometimes the professor lectures the whole time and doesn’t entertain questions. Other times, I just have too many! Office hours will be your saving grace. For some reason, professors tend to be nicer during their office hours too. I think they just get excited to see students that care about their class and will talk to them! Bring a little task pad to their office to write notes on, and add it to your TUL™ Brights discbound notebook later.
10. Be spontaneous. Take a weekend trip to the beach with your friends, get milkshakes at 2am, go off campus for lunch between classes. These are the things that you will remember.
I hope that this advice helps makes your transition into college a little bit smoother. You’re going to do great! Be sure to share this post with anyone you know going off to college in the fall.
Have any tips to make college life easier? Share with us on Twitter @BritandCo!