From High School to College: 7 Things You Need To Know

You don't have to pick a major in your 1st year

If you know what you want to study, and you even have a 4-year plan such as going to med-school, nursing, or law-school then, yes, go ahead and declare a major. However, if you are not sure what you want to do in life, wait until you take a few classes, maybe a couple of semesters, and then choose your major.

If you have to declare a major at the time you apply for college, or during orientation, go ahead and pick something "general" so if you are into sciences but haven't decided a specific field, choose General Science as your temporary major. If you are totally not into sciences but rather into humanities or art, then choose something like Liberal Arts or Arts as your major. By doing this, you will be taking care of your core and pre-requisites for the final major you really want.

College papers are not the same as "reports"

Right. In college you will be expected to do some research to support your paper. You will have to read not only texts but also research articles, newspaper articles, etc.

There is nothing to worry about, trust me. If you take the time to gather your information and, most importantly, start working on your paper as soon as it is assigned, you will be ok.

You might also have to do some reports, such as book reports or article reports, but this is not very common in college.

You are expected to be more independent and do a lot on your own

Definitely. You will be expected to keep a good schedule and manage your time. If there is something that needs to be taken care of with any of the administrative departments, you will be expected to go in person to the department and address the issue. For example, if a hold is put on your records because you have to meet with an advisor, or because you have to submit a waiver, you will need to make arrangements in order to take care of this issue without missing class.

I've seen this happen so many times and students usually let it go for weeks and months, and then they panic when the holds are keeping them from registering for classes. If you wait until the last minute to take care of this, guess what? many students will do the same and then you will have to wait in long lines for hours until you get to see someone to lift the hold.

Make sure that you submit all the documentation required. If you need to talk to one of your instructors, make sure you contact them to set up an appointment.

Note: In college, you do not need to bring your parents with you to take care of all these responsibilities. Many parents get concerned about their children not getting the support they need, but in college you will get all the support you need if you are proactive and take the initiative to gather information, ask questions, and become familiar with this new environment.

You can choose your courses every semester

In college, you are able to choose the classes that you want to take. You can decide whether you like your instructors or not, and change them during the add/drop days in your first week of classes.

Make sure that you choose classes at your right level. Having a good combination of classes is key to success. For example, during your first semester you can choose History I, English Composition I, Speech, and College Algebra (if you are college ready). If you need to take some remedial classes, be happy about it! Remedials are not a waste of time or money. If you need some college-prep then it's great that you have the option to do so. Imagine that you are not ready for college but are thrown into college English (which is writing intensive), college math, and a science class with a lab, can you imagine that? In college level courses, the instructors do not go back to teach the basics/foundation, but they assume that you are "college ready" so they teach the level appropriate content. If you do not have a good foundation in math and English, you do not want to start with college level courses. 

College-prep classes (remedials) are not a waste of time and/or money 

As I mentioned in the previous point, college-prep classes are a strategy for success. I have seen so many students feel disappointed, upset, mad, and cry over the fact that they are not college ready. Some students try so hard to test out of these classes, and I want you to be aware of the consequences of doing this. If you decide to test out of remedials, for example math, you can prepare all you want for the test and take it and get the score that places you in college math. However, does getting the score means that you have the required math skills to pass college algebra? Big no-no. Most likely, you will not have the skills, you will feel that the class is going too fast and it will be very difficult to catch up. You will need to spend several hours a week in the tutoring lab trying to learn the foundation in order to catch up with your college level class. So, in short, let's look at the advantages of taking college-prep classes:

Advantages

1. They prepare you for college level courses.
2. The provide a good foundation for the rest of your courses
3. If you don't pass them, you can take them again and again
4. Sure you pay the same for these courses, but if you drop them or fail them, they do not count against you.
5. Sure it takes longer to finish your degree but, what do you prefer? to fail a college-level course, which affects your GPA, appears on your transcript, and keeps you from taking other classes or even graduating? or, fail a college-prep (remedial) class, take it again, while taking other college-level classes, and learn the foundation that you know will help you succeed in the courses to come?

Attendance is very important

Every class counts. You want to take your classes seriously. Nobody will be telling you that "you need to go to class," but you have to make it a habit to go to your classroom and be in class. Attendance is not the only issue to be concerned with; some instructors are very strict about attendance and they might take points off from your final grade if you miss more than three sessions; some of them might even drop you from the class. But you also have to be concerned with missing the lectures! If you are not there to listen to the lectures, you will have to learn it on your own. Even if you get the notes from a classmate, it is not the same as being there, taking you own notes and asking your own questions during class. 

You have more resources. Use them!

Maybe in high-school there is one office that takes care of all the student services, and your teachers do a lot of the work for you, but in college you have different academic departments, advisors, counselors, and administrative staff to take care of different student services. You have access to tutors and learning labs, clubs and organizations, academic advising, personal and career counseling, student life, honors societies, fitness and recreation centers, health clinic, and more!

Become familiar with your Student Life office. Get involved with groups, organizations, and on-campus activities, and make use of these resources. A lot of these services were added to your tuition, so you are paying for them, and some of them are completely free!