Adapting from high school to college courses can be overwhelming. How do you come prepared for the first day, a little less frazzled about how you can succeed? There are plenty of recommendations on what you can practice before starting your college courses. Read on to see a few suggestions I have on how you can incorporate new habits during high school and be prepped way in-advance!
Brush Up On Your Reading
A no-brainer here: college has a ton of reading. The change from reading minor 100-page novels to 300-500 page textbooks will be extremely discouraging. But fear not! Brace yourself by doing some extra readings during the summer before you head off to college. The more you read, the better you train yourself to read efficiently. Spice things up by picking up books related to what you are particularly interested in majoring in at your college.
Something small that you can begin incorporating into your daily habits is calendar up-keep! You can start by including major assignments and projects that you are assigned, whether that is in a hardcopy version or a digital calendar. Personalize your schedule and make a note of important events or deadlines. This habit will be extremely beneficial once you are in college with various assignments from a multitude of courses. Start this habit early-on while in high school to develop useful organizational skills.
Notes, Notes, Notes
Are you taking smart notes during your lectures? College professors fly through power-points on a weekly basis, filling our minds with a lot of information. It is valuable to refine our note-taking skills as such. Try color-coding your jottings for easier studying once midterms and finals season approaches! As you take more effective notes, the material taught by your teachers are better understood as well. I personally love to take my notes on my laptop since professors can run through the lectures fairly quickly in classes but never forget that hand-written notes have a higher retention in your memory than digital notes.
AP College Credit Classes, Oh My
Truly prep yourself for the college coursework by taking AP credit classes while in high school. These classes are (1) free, (2) give students a taste of what college courses are like, and (3) fulfill potential prerequisites at universities! You will be taking on the heavy readings and studying conventions for examinations that a regular college student is doing before you’re at your dream school! Not only do AP credit courses provide practice, there are over 30 AP subjects that you can pick and choose from — if you are super into the Japanese language and culture, take the AP course for some challenging fun!
