#this advice is from the perspective of a USian humanities major

[probablysomethingtm]

These are all good tips, here’s some more (most of which I learned the hard way):

Read the syllabus, figure out how much of your grade everything is worth, and budget your time accordingly. Know this stuff in relation to your current grade; if time is extremely limited (like during finals week), don’t waste it on stuff you don’t need to do to get a good grade

Don’t leave free points on the table. If the midterm and final are 80% of your grade, whatever that last 20% is 1) will make or break your grade in that class, and 2) is probably way easier than an exam/term paper

Take classes outside your major. You might just find something you love studying and talking about and thinking about and that completely changes your life

Take detailed notes during lectures. I used an outline format for mine because organizing stuff by topic, subtopic, etc. makes the most sense to me, but if you’re taking notes with pencil and paper it can be difficult to go back and add more notes to topics you’ve already covered. Find a method that works for you

Go back through your notes later on in the day/day after you took them to make sure they make sense. You really don’t want to take a bunch of notes, not look at them until finals week, and only then realize that you don’t know what you meant (it also has the benefits of helping you refine your note-taking and helping you retain information)

I don’t recommend using a laptop to take notes during lectures unless you’re confident that you won’t get distracted by the internet. I am very distractible and usually used a pencil and paper (which also meant I got to use a legal pad in a cool leather folder with the university’s seal on it; I still use that to take notes on at my job and in job interviews because it looks professional)

If your professor quotes something during lecture it’s probably important, so write down just enough of it that you can find it later (I recommend start of quote, end of quote, book, and page number). Don’t write down more than that because time in lecture is limited, and it’s more important to write down any analysis/discussion of the quote from the professor/class than the entire quote itself; you can look up the quote later, but analysis and discussion is harder to come by

If your professor repeats something during lectures it’s probably important

Oh yeah: GO TO THE LECTURES. You will miss stuff otherwise. Professors love to quote stuff during lectures, they love saying what’s going to be on the exam during lectures, and they especially love quoting stuff that will be on the exam during lectures

For papers: I highly recommend making an outline. Block out every single paragraph from intro to conclusion, list all the major points you’re making to support your thesis (each of which should be its own body paragraph), all the evidence you’re using to support those points, and all your analysis of that evidence. That way you can look over your outline and make sure that everything is in the right order, that all your points make sense, and that everything you’re arguing has all the supporting evidence it needs. Then you just take this outline, flesh it out, and you’ve basically got yourself a paper. I did this every time I had to write anything, I wrote all my papers in a single draft, and I never got lower than an A- on a single paper in my entire college career

When writing papers, don’t be overly wordy. Academic writing is about conveying as much meaning as possible using as few words as possible. If you’re not hitting the minimum length requirements, go into more detail or find more supporting evidence for your claims

DON’T USE GENERATIVE AI. I SWEAR TO GOD DON’T DO IT. Your TAs/profs WILL know, you WILL fail, you WON’T learn anything, and eventually you will come to a point in your life where you NEED to have learned things and you’ll be screwed. Do future you a favor, don’t use generative AI

If you tested out of something because of APs, don’t retake it thinking it’s an easy gpa boost. All of the premeds had the same idea as you, they work harder than you, and they will destroy the curve. I am speaking from experience here. This is a very bad idea

Generally speaking, your grades in college don’t really matter all that much unless you’re premed/prelaw or aiming for a prestigious PhD program. It’s not the end of the world if you fail or withdraw a class or two (I have some Ws on my transcript that aren’t much better than Fs, and I’m doing fine). Failing an exam or a class isn’t a reflection of your worth as a person, and it isn’t cause to give up on that class or on college. Try to take it as a learning experience, figure out what you need to improve upon, and keep going. If it ever comes up during a job interview you can say it was a learning experience and it taught you X, Y, and Z

Do extracurriculars. Studying during college can be stressful, and if all you have going on is your studies and your studies are stressful then your life is just all stress. That’s not healthy or sustainable. You need free time to relax

Don’t overload your schedule with extracurriculars. That’s also not healthy or sustainable. You need free time to relax

You might think that an 8am class is a good way to get your classes out of the way so you can have the rest of the day to yourself. That’s the devil talking, and he’s trying to make you tired all day. Don’t do an 8am class unless you have to

You might think that an evening class is a good way to make sure you can sleep in and have most of the day free. This is also the devil talking, and he’s trying to make you hangry and steal your study/relaxation time. What you want are those sweet mid-morning and early afternoon classes

If a professor says anything during the first week that in any way indicates that they take pride in having a hard class, drop the class and take something else if you can. This is a sign that they either don’t like to do their job or fundamentally don’t understand their job; either way, you should avoid them if at all possible

Classes with silly names are fun, highly recommend

Study abroad. One of my few regrets is not doing this

Actual good first-time college student advice:

Wear jeans/pants that “breathe” and bring a sweater, even if it’s scorching hot out, until you know which building blasts the AC to 60 degrees F and which feels like a sauna

Backpacks with thick straps are your friend!  Messenger bags are cool and all but if you’re commuting with a lot of stuff, symmetrically styled backpacks are better for your back

You are your own person and you can walk out whenever you need to or want to, so long as you’re not disrupting the class.  Meaning you can go to the bathroom without permission, take a breather if you’re anxious, answer an important phone call, etc.

If you don’t like the class on the first day, if you can- DROP THAT CLASS AND TAKE ANOTHER ONE!  It’ll only get worse from there!

If you can, take a class outside your major; it’s a good break from your expected studies.

You are in charge of your schedule.  Your adviser and guidance counselor is there to ‘advise and guide’ but if you don’t like certain classes and you can substitute for others, that’s your choice.

Consequently, if you are changing anything drastic in your plan, talk with your adviser and instructors.

Pay attention to your credit hours and grades.  Never leave this to the last week of school, you will be sorry and stressed beyond belief!

Unless it’s a lab book or otherwise specified, go to the class for a week or so before buying an expensive textbook.  Some classes, while having it on their required list, do not actually use the textbook a whole lot and you might find some of it scanned online.  Rent if you can or buy used online (schools actually don’t give discounts).  Use your best judgement on what you think you need.

Tell the people who go up to you selling or advertising things you are not interested in that you are in a rush to class and don’t have time to listen to them.  It’s less rude and they’ll leave you alone.

The smaller the class, the better it is to have some sort of acquaintanceship with a couple classmates.  They might save your ass if you are absent one day or need to study.  And talking with them makes the time go by faster without it being so insufferable.

You don’t need to join a club or sport, but internships are cool and useful!

If you can afford it, take a day off once or twice each semester if you’re too exhausted.  Just be aware of what you missed and if it was worth missing!

Your health is the most important, this goes for mental health too!!  Note: College-age/upper teens is when mental disorders like depression and anxiety are most commonly diagnosed.  Most schools have therapy services, especially during exam time.  Look into it if you need to!

Communicate with your professor if you are having trouble with something.  Anything.

Eat and stay hydrated.  Bring a water bottle and snack to class.

All-nighters will happen but never go over 36 hours without sleep.

It’s going to be hard and there will be times you might think about giving up.  This WILL happen.  You just have to make sure what you’re doing isn’t making you absolutely miserable and/or there is something rewarding and positive to look forward to at the end!