Order Your Books Now

Now is the time to order your books.  Your school should have some way of telling you the ISBN’s for the books; but if you can’t find them, start asking.  You can call the school, email a professor, or ask a friend who is in the class.  But if you don’t order your books now it may be hard to find them at a good price on either Amazon.com or Half.com (There are other stores and websites, but those are the two sites I use.)

Wikipedia Your Course Topic

While you need to go ahead and get your books, you don’t have to read them yet.  Instead, go to Wikipedia and search your course topic.  If you are taking physics, just search physics.  Read through it and then follow the links.  Spend about 3-6 hours sometime before your course starts just following the various links on Wikipedia.  This will allow you to learn new things and review things you may already know.

Read a Book

After you read Wikipedia for a while, try and find a book on the topic.  You don’t have to read this before class starts just read it through out the course of the semester.  Taking the initiative to read material outside of the course requirements enhances your understanding of the topic.  Also, you may be able to use the book for an end of the semester project.

Related posts:

1. 6 Reasons to Start a Student Organization
2. 3 Things to Do Before Classes Start
3. Don’t Take Notes in Class – How I Get by without Notes

The first thing you will notice about college is that it is much different than high school. You have more freedom and more opportunities, indicating that you must make important decisions yourself. At day one you are alone. Even if you know other students at the university, you are one in thousands. Becoming someone of importance is challenging, and at times can be very intimidating. Understanding the changes from high school to college will give you a head start.

Freedom

One of the biggest differences between high school and college is that in college every decision is yours to make. Your parents are not there to remind you to do your homework. You are now allowed to choose what classes you want to take and when those classes will be.

The Benefit: If you have ever felt trapped while in high school, because you were unable to make decisions for yourself. Now is the time to prove to everyone that you know what is best for you. In college you are set free, and if you let your ambitions guide you, you can go places and do things that you never imagined.

The Negatives: For many students, freedom is the one thing that destroys them. If you have the freedom to do great things, you also have the freedom to make poor decisions.

My favorite freedom that I gained by graduating from high school was no longer needing to ask to use the restroom! I hated asking a student teacher, still in college and only a few years older than me, if I could use the restroom.

Classes

In high school, I was able to go to class, listen to the teacher, finish the homework assignment, and talk to my friends, all in one class session. In college those tasks will be separated.

Total class time in college is much less than in high school. Professors will cover what they believe is the most important information in that time; however, it does not mean that they will cover all of the material that will be on the test. Most of your college learning will actually be done outside of class and classes will be used for reviewing and reinforcement of concepts. Where as in high school all learning was done in class and review was done outside of class and only if necessary.

Class Attendance: Some professors will give you credit for being in class. Others could care less. However, it is HIGHLY recommended that you attend ALL classes.

Syllabus

Everything you need for a class will be put on the syllabus. Professors may not give any additional reminders of tests, homework assignments, and papers. Not paying attention to your syllabus could be one of your worst mistakes.

Opportunities

The possibilities are endless. You can participate in “real” research, researching things that no one else has. You can be a leader in a student organization that grows to be an organization that many universities support. You can write a book, and have the necessary advisors, professors, to teach you the ropes of having something published. You will learn how to get involved in campus politics, which I believe can be as important as city or national politics.

Meeting People

One of my favorite parts of college is meeting people. Reach out to people. Don’t be afraid to start a conversation with a stranger. You never know, that stranger may end up being your coauthor, or your business partner. There is nowhere else besides a university where you can find such a large amount of people with countless and unimaginable skills.

If I were to write all the differences between high school and college, I would be here forever. If you are a current college student, what are the big differences that you recognized?

Related posts:

1. Why Go to College?
2. Preparing for College
3. Benefits of a Small Local College