Secrets to a Successful Stint in College

Tyler Dartmouth
English 1213
March 29, 2011
College: Secrets to Success College is supposed to be a fun time in a person’s life. It is also a very important time, what a person learns during that time can help them succeed in the world. Many students struggle because they cannot separate their study time from their party time. Some students fail to make the transition from high school to college. This is the time of many people’s lives, but they forget how serious it is also. There are many secrets to getting a good college experience, which is having fun and making good grades. The top three things a student can do to get the best experience is to study in a group, learn to manage their time, and get involved in an extracurricular activity. Studying in a group is a great way to prepare for a test while having fun. Varying study habits can help keep the mind active. It can be helpful to get different perspectives on a material not seen or noticed alone. Being in a group can also help break the repetitive feel a person gets studying by oneself. People can also compare notes and fill in any gaps they might have missed. If a student has trouble with procrastination the best thing they can do is to join a study group. Students should try to join study groups with peers of equal knowledge in the class. If a student wants to be in a study group they have to meet at a certain time to participate, getting rid of procrastination. Procrastination is the biggest problem facing a college student. Allocating one’s time is a very important step to getting rid of this problem. If a person utilizes their time they can spend more time having fun. In Kate Zericke’s article about “The Harvard Guide to Happiness” she talks about students who said they could not study the same way they did in high school and succeed. College students cannot spend thirty minutes studying at a time like they did in high school and hope succeed. Students need to plan out hours in the day for studying. Keeping a journal that sets out specific times to study will help a student succeed in the long run. College students have so much free time on their hands that they squander it. One thing high school does not prepare a student for when going to college is how to best utilize your time. It is important for a student to get involved in extracurricular activities if they do not have any friends around the school. Students can get depressed being away from family and friends. Making friends and having fun is part of the college experience. Being involved in an activity will help ease and take a student’s mind away from studying; everyone needs a break. Even just exercising has been shown to help students in college, something to give the mind a break. A person will not learn as much if they are depressed about being there. People are there to study but to also have fun; the trick is knowing when to separate the two. If a person has nothing to look forward too after studying they can become depressed about school when it should be a fun time in their life. If a student wants to make the most of their time at college they should study in a group, manage their time, and get involved in an extracurricular activity. Studying in a group will help with learning a subject, managing time will help a student to utilize their time, and being in an activity will help ease the mind. College shouldn’t be a bad or boring time in a person’s life. Students should be meeting new people and making friends they might know the rest of their lives. They should also be learning a degree that will help them make a living after college. When a student gets older and has children they should look back and cherish the time they spent at college.

Works Cited
Zernicke, Kate. “The Harvard Guide to Happiness” Perspective on Argument. Ed. Nancy V. Wood. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2004. 513 - 16

Cited: Zernicke, Kate. “The Harvard Guide to Happiness” Perspective on Argument. Ed. Nancy V. Wood. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2004. 513 - 16