1. Let someone know that you are here
- Sometimes it helps to have an outlet, someone in whom you can confide, regardless of the situation
- It could be a roommate, a professor, mentor, classmate or any other person on campus
- Get to know your roommate(s), community leaders, and residence hall directors. You will be living with them for the next year
- Don’t just stand by and go with the flow
- Make most of the unique experience that you will have in college
2. Find the proper balance between work, school, and free time
- Prioritize what you have to get done (school work comes first!)
- Get a planner, use an on-line calendar, or the Outlook email calendar
- This will help you see how many meetings, class, or assignments you might have
- Generally during the first day of classes, professors hand out a syllabus
- Go through the syllabus and put all the assignments, tests, and everything that is due in your calendar
3. Get involved
- There are over 250 registered organizations at Baylor, ranging from service, academic, fraternity and sorority, and multi-cultural organizations
- With so many from which to choose, which one will you pick?
- If you can’t find one that you want to join, start one yourself (contact Student Activities for all of the rules and information on how to start an organization)
- 83% of students are involved in at least one organization
4. Study
- College is different than high school
- You came to college to get an education, for which you are paying
- Stay caught up on your assignments and projects. This will help you later on as finals week approaches.
- Each person studies differently, so do what is best for you.
- Some ways to exercise the brain include taking notes on what you read, reviewing notes after class, and writing chapter summaries
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions. When coming to college, you are in a new place, a new town (usually), and there are some things that you don’t know. A helpful tool is the Baylor Search bar on the Baylor website.
5. Find your stress reliever
- Find a way to reduce stress (especially during finals week)
- Stress relievers are different for each person, so find yours!
- A stress reliever gives a way for a person to vent their frustrations.
6. Don’t Procrastinate
- College is not high school
- Assignments, reading, and projects generally take a longer amount of time to complete
- Start studying a week or earlier before an exam
- Utilize a planner to stay on track and get ahead for weeks that are going to be busier than others
- All-nights are no fun; keep up with assignments and readings
7. Network with professor, upperclassmen, and alumni
- Sometimes it’s not what you know, it’s who you know
- Networking earlier in college will be helpful when looking for a job after graduation
- The more people you know, the better
- Be careful about Facebook and Myspace pages (future employers are checking your profiles!)
- Start becoming familiar with Career Services
8. Take Responsibility
- College is about growing into the adult that you will become
- Make a name for yourself
- In high school, teachers and parents usually do things that are now the college responsibility of the college student
- Taking responsibility at an earlier age will help prepare you for the real world
- Mom and dad will not be there the rest of your life to motivate you
9. Be open to new ideas, points of view, and thoughts
- College is about learning
- No person is the same, we all come from different hometown, have different points of view on politics, religion and life
- Be inclusive and open-minded, everyone is different
- Learn one another’s background and experience, and why they believe what they do
10. Stay Well – Mind, Body, and Soul
- When stress becomes overwhelming, a person can lose focus and health worsens along with many other adverse effects
- Get enough sleep and eat healthfully
- Exercise
- Find a church
