When you are going to college for the first time it can be confusing, scary, and intimidating. If you have some basic knowledge of a few simple things, it can go a long way toward making your first year at college easier, safer, and more productive. 

Understand How Student Loans Work

Before you ever sign your name on a paper, it is vital to understand exactly what you are agreeing to. Student loans can be confusing and hard to understand, and it can be tempting to just sign everything and trust that it will be fine. However, school loans can add up to crippling debt and can follow you for life if things go badly, so this is the most important item on the list. Make sure you and your parents understand and if you aren’t sure about something, ask questions until you feel confident. This is not the time to be shy or unobtrusive.

How to Manage Your Time

Time management is going to be very important in college. You may only have one or two in-person classes a week for each class you are taking and the rest of your study and assignment time is independent and up to you to plan and execute. Time management is vital for planning when to study, work on assignments, and write. Studies show that students often spend much less time than expected on their classes, and if they spent more time they would likely have higher grades and learn more. 

Make Friendships

Don’t neglect your social life in college. While it can be hard and feel intimidating to put yourself out there and make new friends, you will be in college for years, and having a social life is important for your mental health. If you aren’t clicking with your roommate or other people in your dorm, search out clubs that work with your interests, a part-time job, volunteering, and other social activities. 

How to Take Notes

Note-taking will help you a lot in college. While actual lecture time might be shorter than it was in college, the material is important. Taking useful notes during class can make a big difference in how well you remember the material, understand the concepts, and fulfill assignments. When taking notes, make sure that you jot down your thoughts in an organized way, making an outline of the lecture as you go and filling in important facts such as names, dates, and ideas. Equally important is writing down any questions you have and anything that you didn’t understand, so you can study those points more later.

How to Relax

You will spend a lot of time reading, memorizing, and writing in college. You will probably get at least a part-time job as well. Don’t forget to take downtime for yourself amid all this work. Plan your time so that you can take a day off from all work and school, if possible. Make sure that your work is done ahead of time so that you don’t have anything to work on during that time. If you can’t take a day off, at least schedule an afternoon or two for recreation or relaxation. If you find you can’t enjoy an afternoon in your dorm without feeling driven to study, leave for a while and find your relaxation somewhere away from home.

How to Budget

You should learn how to budget your finances before you get to college. You will probably find you have more freedom and more choices than you are used to, and that can be overwhelming if you don’t have a plan for it. In addition, you will also have more responsibilities and bills than before, which is also a challenge. With a budget, you can track what money you are spending and what you are making, and you can work toward goals like savings, trips home, and vacations. If you have a job, a budget is even more important. If you don’t learn how to budget before you leave home, make sure that you understand it as soon as possible. 

It’s Okay if You Change Your Major

Changing majors is very common in college. It’s hard to know exactly what you want to do and many people have a wide variety of interests. High school career counseling is often lacking in scope and depth, and many great career options aren’t even considered. There are so many majors and future careers we haven’t even heard of, it’s not surprising that young adults have a hard time choosing one and sticking with it once they arrive at college. In fact, very few people now choose one major, get a job in that field, and continue in that same career path for life. Since the first year of college is made up of a lot of general education credits and prerequisites, you can often transfer all your credits over to your new major. 

Domestic Skills

Domestic skills should be learned before you start living on your own. There are things we all have to learn the hard way but the more domestic skills you have, the easier it will be. You will be responsible for your own laundry, dishes, housekeeping, and other skills once you are living in a dorm or house at college, and the more used to “adulting” that you are, the better you will fare.