Staying in Touch

College is an exciting time in which you get to meet a ton of new people and do a lot of networking.  However, you need to stay grounded and keep in touch with your roots.

Obviously, you should be contacting your parents often.  You should at least make an effort to send them a text once a week, even if it’s a simple “thinking of home” it will mean a lot to them.  No matter what your parents say, they will miss you a lot.  They will want to know what you’re up to, whether you are 30 minutes away, or 3 hours.  Parents are going to be concerned for your safety every time the news reports of something bad (weather or crime related) anywhere near your school.  They will want to know that you’re doing well and that you still care and still want them to be in your life.

If you have younger siblings, depending on how young, they will want to hear from you every now and again as well.  If your siblings are close in age, and you’re close with them like I am to my sister, you leaving is going to be an adjustment.  There will be one less bed slept in every night, one less seat filled at the dinner table, one less load of laundry to be done.  Your siblings will miss you and they will be happy every time you contact them.

If you are in a relationship, time apart will be hard.  It’s not going to be easy, especially if you go to the same high school.  You will go from getting to see your significant other whenever you want, to only on holidays, breaks, or times that one of you makes the trip to the other.  In our modern day world, keeping in contact will not be a difficult task.  You can text and call each other.  You can videochat, snapchat, etc.  However, the separation will take a toll.  Before technology, people had to write letters to their significant other when they missed them, and that’s not such an outdated idea.  Don’t be afraid to send a little note in the mail, it will mean a lot more.  Being apart will make your time together more special, though.

Even though you will make plenty of new friends, don’t forget about your old ones.  Everyone will have completely new lives, but making time to text your hometown friends shouldn’t be a taxing thing to do.  You’re going to miss them, especially at first.  You should make plans to meet up during holidays and breaks just to catch up.  In your new crazy and fast paced life, it’s important to remember where you came from and all of the people that helped mold you into the person that you are today.

Declining an Acceptance…

Yes you read that correctly, declining an acceptance.  You got into your first choice, congratulations!  Now you need to tell those other schools that you got into that you won’t be attending their schools.  This can be very awkward, but it has to be done.  You may have been tucking the letters and invites to their open houses away or even throwing them out, but you need to be upfront with the school and let them know that you will not be attending.

There are a couple ways that you can do this, one way would be to call the admissions office and tell them that you have chosen another school.  You could also send them a polite email stating that you will be going elsewhere.  No matter how you handle things, they will ask you to explain your decision and to tell them where you will be attending.  Obviously, be honest with them.  If you think your school has better academics, tell them.  If you think that your school has a better campus, tell them.  You’re not trying to impress them anymore, just be honest.  It’s very awkward and uncomfortable, but thank them for their interest in you and move on.  You’re going to a school that you picked out for yourself.

Budget.

BUDGET YOUR MONEY.

Do not spend all of your money at once.  Do not buy your textbooks at the school bookstore.  Either rent or buy used textbooks.  They are so expensive and you will only use them for one class (most likely).

Don’t go out and buy food/ coffee all the time.  Buy a coffee maker.  Instead of making endless purchases on cups of coffee, make one purchase on a coffee maker.  Invest.

You should only be buying things that you absolutely need.  Splurging is okay every once and a while, but you can’t just impulse buy everything that you see.  You can pass on going out for dinner and eat in the dining hall instead.  You should have some snacks in your room so that you don’t have to go to the campus late night cafe to kick a craving.  When you do spend money, save your change in a jar for laundry.

When you go back-to-school shopping, go with your parents so that you don’t have to buy your dorm supplies.  That sounds sort of underhanded, but they’re your parents, they want to help.  The money that you would have had to have spent on your dorm stuff you can now add to your budget for college life.

In the case that you do run out of money, you’re going to have to survive on the cafeteria food and wait to go shopping until you have money again, but you will survive.  Your friends will still like you, but make sure that if they cover for you that you pay them back in some way eventually.

Dorms Made Easy in 10 Steps

1. Keep it organized. Buy the closet shoe hangars.  Get the plastic drawers and get labels.  Label what everything is and keep it neat.
2. Miniature Refrigerator.  Yes.  You will need this.  It is very rare that you will have enough money for going out to dinner, so saving leftovers will be a must.  You also want drinks and snacks that you can have whenever.
3. On a similar note; Microwave Oven.  For those leftovers and popcorn.  There are also tons of different microwave recipes that you can make for those late night study sessions.
4. Loft your bed.  This will give you way more space, even if you only loft one bed, it will free up a lot of floor space.
5. Get decorative area rugs.  Dorm floors are bland, boring, and uncomfortable.  You’re going to want the padding as well as the homey feeling that they bring.
6. Pictures. Posters. Paintings.  Decorate your walls.  Make your room as homey as you can.  Bring pictures of your friends, posters of your favorite band, celebrity, sports star, cute Pinterest DIY projects, etc.  Leave room for new memories.
7. TV+ either a game console, Apple TV, or ChromeCast, and a DVD player.  Netflix is almost as essential the mini fridge.  Study breaks, roomie bonding, or just hanging out with friends, you’re going to want to watch movies.  It is completely essential.
8. Christmas lights are fantastic lighting.  Putting them around the edge of the room and around the doorways (to the hallway and the closets) will bring a really warm feeling to the room.
9. Make a temporary headboard.  Pick a pretty fabric and make a temporary headboard for your bed with a piece of cardboard.  It will just help you feel more at home.
10. CALENDARS.  Use a wall calendar to keep track of your events.  You and your roommate can put stuff on it so that way you each have an idea of what days neither of you will be at the dorm.  (Communication is also a good way to do that.)

Time for Yourself

Obviously in college you get caught up in homework, studying, tests, friends, parties, etc.  In this crazy and fast- paced life, with no parents telling you what you can and can’t do, it may be hard to catch your breath.  College is definitely time for fun, as well as studying, but you need to make time for yourself as well.

You can’t just be on the go 24/7, you need to a breather.  Take some time, like on a Friday night, to just relax.  You and your roomie should set some time aside to bond and watch Netflix, or just hang out.  You don’t need to be going out every weekend and you also don’t need to be studying every second of everyday.  Taking a little time out for yourself to relax, or workout, or catch up on a TV series, whatever appeals to you most.  Giving your brain a break from studying (and your body a break from anything else) will essentially help you in your studies.  I know that sounds kind of backwards, stop studying to help my grades?  Psychologically, your memory is better with longer periods of relaxation in between.  You will have an easier time recalling.  Physical exercise helps get that blood flowing, the endorphins pumping, and helps your neurons regrow, which will also help your studies and your mood.

You just need to have some quiet time, and don’t forget to keep in contact with your family back home!

Working in College

You don’t want to fall into the broke college student stereotype, do you?  Maybe there are jobs off campus, maybe there are some on campus, maybe you qualify for Works Study.  Either way, money is super important, especially since you can’t just ask Mom and Dad for money to get dinner anymore.

For me, since Eastern University is a small private school, there is a town not even a mile off campus with plenty of babysitting opportunities and plenty of restaurants and stores that will hire college students.  If that is the case at your college, babysitting, as juvenile as it may seem, is a great way to make some spending money.  Of course, with babysitting there isn’t much job security, and no guarantee that you’ll get any work at all.  Around most small schools (at least in PA, DE, and NJ) there are Panera Bread stores and Chipotle franchises that are willing to hire the students from the local university.  The same goes for local shops and grocery stores and restaurants.  All of which are way more definite than babysitting.

Jobs on campus are good, too, because you can have your check split between your tuition and your pocket.  You could work in admissions and give tours/ call prospects.  There are no doubt coffee shops and cafes on campus as well as the cafeteria where they will hire students.  You could also work in the book store.  If you live on a large campus there are outside restaurants (not run by the school) where students are allowed to work as well.  Work Study is a financial aid program where you get a job on campus and your paychecks go towards your bill.

Scholarships

Paying for college is the scariest part, I think, about getting that higher education.  Many people take out way too many student loans and end up in debt for just about ever.  That’s why there are so many scholarships made available.  Most likely your college will have a “merit scholarship” which is the amount of money that they think that you deserve based on your academics.  You may play a sport, and if the school is not a D3 school, that will also get you some scholarship money.  Maybe you got a music scholarship, or you got into a special program at your school.  In most cases, you probably didn’t get a full-ride.  If you did, then I’m not sure you really need this information.

There are tons of websites that have lists and lists of scholarships.  Some have essays and supplements that you have to write, which are often very similar questions and you may end up re-using the same essay over and over.  College Board and Scholarship America are two very useful tools in your search for a college fund.  You should really apply for just about every scholarship that you find because all money is helpful, plus you never know which ones you may end up getting.

It is almost certain that your guidance office has tons of intimidating pamphlets and flyers and packets about a million and two different scholarships.  You should ask your counselor to help you to pick out the ones that are best suited for you.  There are also bunches of obscure scholarships as well.  For example, I heard of one for girls with blue eyes.  There are plenty of companies that have different scholarships for the most random and obscure things that you can imagine.  No matter what it is, you should apply to all of them.  You may end up coming out of college with no debt!

Stay Healthy

In college, you have access to a cafeteria with tons of food; it’s so easy to take advantage of.  Sure, the weight room in the gym is always open, but your bed is way more comfortable and Netflix is totally calling your name.  The freshman 15 is just a myth anyway, right?  Wrong.  With all the new freedom and stress, your appetite grows larger and your pants grow smaller, how can this be avoided?

Start by making smart food choices.  Eat three balanced meals a day.  Get protein and carbs, fruit, vegetables, the whole ordeal.  When you snack, try to go for the fruit and protein bars, and unbuttered popcorn instead of the potato chips and candy bars.  Don’t sleep through breakfast just because you can wake up, eat a poptart, and run to class.  Wake up and give yourself time to make it to breakfast.

Provide yourself with enough sleep.  Don’t stay up all night trying to cram for that test.  Don’t procrastinate and that won’t be necessary.  Sleep deprivations not only has physical consequences, it also has mental consequences.  Your brain will start to shut down and your metabolism will slow down and it’s all around very unhealthy.  Try to count on getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night so that you can function properly.

Take advantage of your school’s weight room.  It will most likely be open everyday.  Go to it.  Create a workout plan or find one online.  Lift weights, squat, run on the treadmill, run outside, just get some sort of exercise.  Taking care of your body is very important and if you don’t work it out, you’re going to absolutely gain the freshman 15.  Working out and staying fit will help your mood, your brain, and your systems (like your immune system, metabolism, respiratory system, etc.).  You pay a large sum of money to be at the school, you might as well take advantage of the facilities and keep your body healthy.

Procrastination

Senior year makes it so easy to fall into the habit of procrastination.  You’ll get to it eventually.  However, in college procrastination is about as deadly as rat poison.  If you procrastinate in college, you will be up all night scrambling to finish your 30 page English paper and putting the finishing touches on that project that is due in your 8 A.M.  You will need about 4 times the amount of coffee you usually drink and you can forget about learning anything at all the next day.

There is really no point in waiting until the last minute to do all of your work when you have ample amount of time to do it.  Professors will tell you about due dates in advanced, they won’t spring things on you last minute.  Use your planner to plan out these projects and papers.  Mark out small amounts of time every day to work on them and spread it out over a period of time.  Make sure in these plans that you give yourselves a day off from all of the work so that you don’t burn yourself out. Give yourself enough time to get work done.  If you can’t work in your room, go to the library.  If you need help, contact your professor and ask them questions when you need to.  Go to the writing labs and get someone to read over your paper or look over your project for any detail that you may have missed.

After every finished product, reward yourself.  Watch that movie you wanted to watch, go out for dinner at your favorite restaurant, go out with your friends, do something that will make you happy so that you feel great about finishing your assignment early and then you will want to do it again.

If you do find yourself in a situation where time really go away from you, do not panic, that would be the worst thing to do.  Yes, you will have to pull an all-nighter to finish, but there are tactics that you can use to help you get through it.  You should drink some coffee and plug in your lap top, sit back and get started on that essay.  Map out your time throughout the night, after you finish a portion of the assignment, take a break.  Pour some more coffee, take a shower, take a power nap, eat some brain food, etc.  Do this periodically throughout the night so that you can finish the assignment and stay motivated while doing so.

Be Ready to Plan Your Life

Start now, get a day planner and start using it everyday.  You may think that this will be a waste of money, but you will thank me later.  In college you don’t have teachers who put the homework online or give you an online calendar of projects and tests.  You won’t have announcements every morning reminding you of upcoming events and you won’t have your parents reminding you of when you work next and what your hours will be.  You need to be prepared to keep track of everything yourself, and practice makes perfect.  Get in the habit of writing out all of your assignments and writing out due dates, tests, and when your clubs meet.  Add in what days you work, and any other fun activities that you may have planned.

Keep this thing organized and it will be your lifeline.  Mark off the days that you’ve completed and cross off the tasks that are finished.

Starting this practice now will help you later when you have to actually manage your time and keep your schedule under control.  You’ll be able to balance classes with working and any clubs that you’re in and anything you want to do that’s outside of all of that.  This is a very key thing that as a young adult you will need for your entire college career.