Starting Early For Future Success

College is more than just grades and hanging out with friends. The value of a college education is all about learning and preparing for the competitive job marketplace. However, college students can easily find excuses to not make any efforts that could potentially contribute to future success. By preparing yourself early on in college, you will not only have more money in your pocket during college, but also be better prepared for the real world once you leave.  Here are some tips to get you started:

Manage Your Budget Wisely

As they adjust to living in a new environment away from home, most students find it really hard to effectively budget their spending. Additionally, students who do set a budget plan typically take more than a month to do so. Clearly, then, it is important to be organized and to have a smart budget strategy in order to efficiently save money in college. The earlier you learn to budget, the less likely your money will be to escape you.  When you first start allocating your budget for each expense, try to be as strict as possible.  However, impulse purchases and unnecessary spending happen, so just try to slow the pace of another expense if you accidentally over spend on certain items. 

Learning to Budget in College Will Be Useful for Years   TaxCredits.net

Other common money saving tips in college include recording expenses, taking public transportation over cabs, trying not to dine out too frequently and renting cheap textbooks. Building smart spending habits and learning budgeting basics will help you form a strong foundation for money management.

Start Networking Early

College is the ideal time to start networking for your future career. A misconception about networking is that only seniors and recent graduates network. However, it is never too early to start making new connections. Unfortunately, many college students do not take advantage of the networking resources offered by their career centers. The career center is always a great resource to connect you with professionals from a wide variety of industries because of its established links with past students, who can then put you in contact with potential employers. Moreover, acquaintances who you meet via networking can be very productive by providing you with a diversity of knowledge and backgrounds than people with whom you are already familiar.

Before you start meeting people, you need to be well prepared and make yourself worth getting to know. Networking is a mutual gathering and sharing of ideas. If you consider yourself a valuable resource then everyone can get value from meeting with you.  Do not just lead with self-interest; you are also a great resource of information, ideas and connection for others.  So, attend every networking event or career fair if possible. Even if you are not currently searching for a job or internship, networking never hurts.

Social networking has becoming increasingly important in addition to face-to-face networking when it comes to job searching. For example, LinkedIn is a fantastic professional networking platform that connects you with people who share your interests.  Also, more and more companies are using LinkedIn to find prospective candidates. The beauty of a social networking platform is that it provides you an easier way to connect you with a potential employer or a direct referral.  An internal referral gives you a higher chance of obtaining the job offer. Keep in mind that even if there are no current openings available, these connections can possibly help you in the future. So, keep in touch with the people you meet and do not miss out on any networking opportunities.

Excel at Excel

Computer skills are fundamental to many businesses. Microsoft Excel is one of the most useful, powerful and utilized product in the workforce. Being proficient in Excel is a basic qualification on most job postings because Excel can be used for so many different ways. Almost every industry employs Excel in everyday activities such as data tracking and report generation. No matter what company or position you are going for, there’s a good chance you’ll be working with Excel documents. If your university offers a course or workshops in Excel training, just to take it.

Author Bio: This post is contributed by Skyo, an online site that helps college students save money with cheap textbooks and flexible rental options.

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Tips to Help Freshmen Adjust to College Life

Going off to college for the first time brings about a variety of emotions among freshmen. The range of emotion often starts with excitement, since most if not all teenagers cannot wait until such time to get away from their parents. The independence and freedom it affords can be quite intoxicating. The other perks that freshman year brings about are the opportunity to meet new people and to stay up late from partying all night long. However, college life is not all about parties. And, a freshman who is unable to cope with the changes and work required may crumble from the pressure.

According to psychology experts, the adjustment period of most freshmen typically involves a five-stage process. Living on campus is fascinating for students during their first year away from home. At this point, the level of excitement is high. However, as time passes and classes get going, many start to experience severe bouts of homesickness. Quite often, this feeling of melancholy leads to the third stage of adjustment. At this point, a freshman may become critical and start finding fault with everything.   

Adjusting to College: Stockvault

But in due time, a student will eventually find the humor as he or she goes through the process. In realizing the funny side of the situation, a freshman is able to embrace college life for all its positives and negatives. Consequently, everything falls into place. 

Professionals offer the following tips to help freshmen on how to deal with college life and eventually survive their first year away from home.

1.     Be sure to attend classes. Without any doubt, attendance in class is a must. Though college may offer a certain degree of freedom, it does not give a freshman the right to skip class without a justified reason.

2.     Get to class on time. If college should teach young adults anything, it would be punctuality. Keep in mind that professors do not take kindly to students who waste their time by coming into class after the lecture has started.

3.     Practice time management. The ability to manage one’s time in college can give a freshman the advantage necessary to stay on top of the semester. It would be a good idea to buy an agenda book to jot down schedules. Fortunately, in today’s technology savvy world, keeping schedules can easily be done with an app installed on a mobile device.

4.     Ask for help. Though it may be intimidating to approach other people particularly faculty personnel or staff at a university, they are there to help. Just remember to ask nicely.

5.     Forget the rat race. College life is not about competing with other students to get the higher grade. Comparing oneself to others can only lead to feelings of inferiority that can intensify stress.  Rather, it is best to focus on building one’s own abilities and strengths to help get through the first year with flying colors.

6.     Loneliness is expected. The sudden awareness of being alone for the first time often hits many freshmen after a few weeks into the semester. Feelings of isolation often become worse during exams when the pressure builds up. Remember to seek out help from friends and to check out resources available to students on campus like a guidance counselor. Be sure to check the college catalog to be familiar with the services available to students.

7.     Remember to eat healthy. Avoid the convenience of having fast food meals on a daily basis. Though these meals are handy for a busy freshman to eat on the go, it does not provide the necessary nutrients in the long run. Try to learn cooking a few simple recipes from home. Not only would this be healthy, but it is also a good way to reconnect with family.

8.     Be smart when socializing. A good way to safely meet others on campus is to join an organization. Membership also helps boost credentials after college.

9.     Stay positive. Even when the blues hit, it is important to maintain an optimistic attitude about matters. Wallowing in depression only makes things worse.

College life is meant to be fun and exciting but at the same time challenging and difficult. Rather than rebuff these emotions it is best to embrace these with an open mind. Be brave and enjoy the challenge it brings. 

 By: May Ann

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