Good Management of Time. The common high school schedule manages your time for you. Then when you go to college, supposedly there is all of this “free” time. But every college will tell you that for each hour you are in class, a student will need to devote two hours of time in preparation for class. Successful students plan ahead by not waiting until the night before a test to study or when a paper is due. Time management is a skill we all need to be successful in college and in the world of work. You need to prioritize tasks and do the most pressing tasks first.
Regularly Check Email. Colleges have a mountain of work to do with fewer and fewer people to do it. Colleges today are very computerized and automated. Automated systems commonly send emails to students to notify them about financial aid, grade information, and balances due. Most colleges have a student portal in which a student can log in and see private information in regard to their financial aid, monetary balances due, academic deadlines, and a host of miscellaneous information. You must check your email and the student portal of your college to make sure you are aware of what needs to get done. Also, develop a system to keep track of the numerous logins and passwords that you have. Making all your passwords the same is not a good practice. If someone discovers your password, they can access a ton of your information.
Good Problem Solving Skills. You are faced with a lot of problems in college. Maybe it is an email you received from financial aid that you don’t understand. If you ignore the email, the problem will not go away. But what do you do? Ask yourself where on the college campus would there be people who could help me understand what I need to do? Go there as soon as you can and get help. Are you struggling in a class? Go to the academic support center of the college. Learn to solve problems by getting the help you need. Don’t forget about ICAN as we can help you with free assistance on your FAFSA and calculating college costs.
A big part of college life is learning to be more self-reliant. Develop the traits that will help you get things done and help you move down the road of being more successful. You will use the skills listed above in any job or career you choose.
Steve - ICAN Council Bluffs Center