We're not going to lie ... going back to school can SUCK. Pop quiz: What is the worst thing about going back to school?
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Poll: Worst Things about going back to school?
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Here's a few tips on how to make the transition a little easier:
'Work hard, play hard' is that classic adage that sounds good but doesn’t always work out the way it should. Keeping up with homework, sports, a job, club meetings and friends is a big task, and 'time management' can be an elusive concept. Not sure how to plan your time, or manage it once everything kicks into gear? We've got some ideas to help you out.
As you mill around on your school's club day, plan your classes and start envisioning your next few months at school, here are a few things to consider:
Decide what your goals & priorities are for the semester or year. Before you sign yourself up for anything, write down your key goals. As you think about and develop them, your choices about activities and scheduling should be based on and support those goals and priorities. Things to consider include:
1. Courseload: OK, it's school – so you can't really get around the fact that classes need to come first. Do you have options, though, about how you schedule them? Instead of stacking really long days, consider spreading them out across your week so you're not overloaded on any one day. Are you thinking about AP or advanced classes? Don't succumb to the pressure to take five – one to three is more than enough.
Plan for exams and other stressors.
2. Sports & Activities: If you're already on a sports team, that's next. In both high school and college, sports take up major time and generally structure your days. Don't underestimate how much time and energy they take – or, if you feel there just isn’t time to try other things you've been wanting to (like theater -- hello, Zac Efron), taking a break from your sport for a semester is OK, too.
3.Other Commitments? Are you going to be taking the SATs? Applying to schools? Just getting started with college life? Again, give yourself time to focus on these things – they really can't be squeezed in among an already hectic schedule, unless you're willing to give up your social life, or any other free time that makes it all worth it.
Still scrambling? Disappoint people. Obviously, by 'disappoint' I don't mean be the black sheep of your family and make everyone worry that you'll be a jobless partier like Matthew McConaughey in 'Failure to Launch' ten years from now. We mean just say no if you don't have time to do things. Even if you sometimes it means skipping a trip to the mall or maybe not taking a lead role in your volunteer club – it will let you focus on the things you've already prioritized.
You might think that you're occasionally letting people down --but you'll look actually be stronger and more confident because you're taking control of your own time.
Set aside time to catch up. You think you'll have it all figured out, with no glitches in your carefully-planned schedule of school, dance class, hanging with friends and your weekend job? Sorry, dudes – there is no way it's always going to go smoothly. So plan a certain time each day – even once a week – in which you're going to do that set of math problems you forgot about, check a few cell phone messages, eat (don't forget that) –whatever. Just set it aside.
Overwhelmed? Ask for help and regroup. The good news is, you don't have to have it all figured out yourself – it's ok to ask for some advice. My high school guidance counselor – followed by my college adviser – always helped reassess and plan better when things got a little chaotic. I didn't always take their advice, but sometimes, going to your coach, professor, parent, teammate – even your boss or co-workers – is the best way to get some perspective.
They may task you with making some hard choices – like giving up something for the time being that isn’t a core priority – but it's good to toughen up sometimes, even if it seems like a sacrifice at the time – it's really doing yourself a favor.
In other cases, maybe they'll surprise you, and give you the OK to skip a game, get an extension or opt out of a club meeting one day. It happens – just be honest about it with yourself and others. Keeping some of these ideas in mind, soon, you could be surprising yourself.
Writing a decent paper is more important in college than ever before in your academic career.
On one level, this sucks. Why should you be painstakingly writing a term paper at three in the morning, surrounded by half-full cups of coffee that went cold hours ago, when you could be curled up in your nice, comfy bed?
Simple: Your professors said so. Sorry.
Writing a paper isn’t always fun, but the best-crafted assignments are designed to help you learn something new in the process. If you’re feeling grouchy and not in the mood to learn at the moment, just break things down into little easily digestible chunks (well, that sounds kind of gross, but just go with it.)
Understanding the Directions
Instructors use a heck of a lot verbs in the directions for written assignments, like ‘analyze,’ ‘discuss,’ ‘explain,’ ‘compare,’ ‘critique,’ and so on. These words aren’t synonyms -- they’re not choosing random words to keep themselves awake. Make sure that you understand what the directions are before you get started.
For instance, ‘compare’ means write about the pros and cons of two or more things and, based on the evidence you present, come to a clear conclusion. But if the professor wants you to ‘discuss’ something, you really only need to show that you have a clear understanding of the material. (Which is another thing: You know your instructor knows the material. But you want to show him or her that YOU know the material. Don’t be afraid to clarify something that seems obvious; it will show that you really do know your stuff.)
The Hypothesis
Every piece of academic writing is making a point about something; it should always have a purpose. If it doesn’t, why are you writing about it at all? (OK, ignore the fact that you’re doing it because someone is making you.) A hypothesis is a statement that sums up the point you’re making.
In the first paragraph, you should start the argument that you’re making in a clear, concise way. If you can’t sum up your point in one sentence, you need to clarify your subject. If you can’t, you don’t actually know what you’re writing about. And if YOU don’t know, how is the person grading your paper supposed to?
Each of your following paragraphs should contain either evidence supporting your hypothesis, or opposing arguments you deftly slay. (Sounds so easy, right?)
The Topic Sentence
Topic sentences are probably something you learned about in, like, second grade. Amazing that something you learned in second grade (other than why it sucks to spray milk out of your nose) is still helpful today, isn’t it?
Anyway, in case you need a refresher, a topic sentence is basically like a mini-hypothesis. Each paragraph should be like its own tiny essay with its own point to prove, while all the other sentences work to support it. If you can’t find a topic sentence to a paragraph, think about why: Maybe the paragraph is really a continued thought from above (which is OK -- after all, you wouldn’t actually want a paragraph to be, like, a page long; in that case, think of your paper as divided into sections instead of paragraphs). Or maybe your paragraph isn’t as well-organized as you think.
Organizing Your Thoughts
If you’re having trouble getting started, go to a coffeehouse and get a muffin.
Then try making an outline. First, see if you can write your hypothesis. Then see if you can write down each piece of supporting evidence, and each piece of opposing evidence. If you can do that, then try to fill in details for each piece of evidence. And voila! You practically have the whole skeleton of your paper right there. You are so the master.
Using and Citing Sources
Word to the wise: Google is not a source. Honest. Most college students should know that by now, though, right?
The library might be a pretty foreign concept these days, but get to know your university librarians, and they’ll be happy to help you find the right books, periodicals and databases to use for your projects. In fact, they’ll probably be happy to see your face at the reference when other students are sitting there looking at Facebook. Plus, most college libraries have access to resources like Lexus Nexus -- AKA, a lot more than you could find just surfing the Web on your own.
If you do use Web sources, make sure they are from reputable sites and double-check the information you receive from them. If you copy and paste information from a Web site into a Word document, be extra careful to not accidentally integrate it into your paper without credit, or you could be accused of plagiarism (and rightfully so).
Make sure you know how your professor wants you to cite your sources if you use any -- whether he or she wants a bibliography, footnotes or an official citation format like MLA. You MUST cite any materials you directly quote, or even those from which you borrow ideas. Plagiarism isn’t something you need on your school record. Even when you don’t intentionally mean to plagiarize, if you use something without giving credit, that’s what you’re doing, and it could be big trouble.
Reaching a Conclusion
All those sources and your stunningly brilliant hypothesis had to be heading somewhere, right? At the end of your assignment, you should sum up your ideas in a couple of paragraphs (or a couple of pages if it’s a long paper), tying together all the evidence or arguments you’ve presented into a single, clear idea that should echo your hypothesis.
Some people prefer to write their conclusions before they finish the rest of the paper, so they know where they’re headed at the end. You should choose the method that works best for you.
Quick Tips
As soon as you get the assignment, go looking for your sources. Oddly enough, finding them might be all the inspiration you need to get started.
Outlines are your friends.
Get a friend or roommate to read over your paper beforehand, looking for clarity and careless mistakes. However, don’t go to someone who’s taking the same course as you. It’s just safer that way.
Spell check and grammar check are good, but they aren’t perfect. Make sure you know the rules.
Should go without saying, but our #1 tip? Don’t wait until the night before!
You're already on the internet 24/7 ... but it just gets worse when school's in session. You've got to check on homework, talk to classmates, research assignments ... there's no avoiding that you're going to be online quite a bit. And you're not alone.
The sad fact is that there will always be people out there trying to get information about you. Most will use it to try to sell you something, but a small percentage will try to steal your identity, or worse. You have to learn to keep all information about yourself private, even information like your e-mail address that you think might not say much about you.
For example, say you post a school e-mail address online somewhere, and it has your first name in it. Your school's web-site might have a directory of students, so suddenly someone can find out your full name potentially, your school's name and address, and that you live nearby. A quick search in the same zip code might get them your street address.
Yeah, the web can be a scary place if you're not careful. But it can also be pretty safe if you follow some easy rules.
Keep Your Information Private
Never give out your name, address, phone number or e-mail address to someone you don't know. This includes never posting any of that on a message board or in a chat room, where anyone could see it.
Don't Meet
Never agree to meet someone you met online. You might like the internet being anonymous when you bash some movie on the director's website, but it also means that guy who just posted on your myspace page could be 45.
Keep Your E-mail Address Impersonal
If you do need to use an e-mail to register for a website, for example, use a free service like aol, aim or g-mail to create an e-mail address that doesn't give any information out about yourself, like your name, school or age.
Keep Your Whereabouts to Yourself
Don't post information about where you might be, when you're going to a movie or anything that might give an internet stalker information on how to find you.
Be Suspicious
Don't fall for a sympathetic ear ... predators will often come off as compassionate and willing to listen, but it's designed to pull potential victims in. If you do need a real sympathetic ear to talk to, there are hotlines set up for just that purpose.
We're not going to tell you doing drugs or drinking before you're 21 are bad. Everyone's told you that already. Why repeat ourselves? No, we're going to tell you exactly WHY it's bad without all the annoying morals and crap.
Alcohol
-- A 12 oz. can of beer has about the same amount of calories as a small fry at McDonald's. MMM, fatty. Ever wonder how that guy with the size 60 waist got that way? Notice his beer hat? Yeah, exactly.
-- Alcohol is a poison. It kills your body's cells. We're not talking metaphor here or anything, it's literally a poison. You put rubbing alcohol on cuts to kill bacteria … what do you think drinking does? That feeling that you get from drinking? That's your brain cells dying. Enjoy!
-- Alcohol impairs judgment, right? We've all heard that. Think about what that means, though. Everything you would never do when sober, you suddenly not only want to do, but you think is hilarious. Showing everyone how your behind gets acne too? Maybe not the funniest thing the next morning. Oh, and then there's the fact that almost 17,000 people died in 2005 from alcohol-related driving accidents. Get what that number means? How many people are in your high school, maybe 1000? 17 schools full of people each year died from people who drank, then drove.
-- Remember that thing about killing brain cells? Well, at least you probably won't remember the stupid things you do, because that's one area of your brain that's easily obliterated.
-- Forget about sleeping, too, because alcohol keeps you from actually getting any rest. Sure, you might pass out … literally. But you'll wake up completely tired, because your body didn't get any benefit from the sleep it got.
-- Anything else? Oh, sure: You'll sweat a lot more, which makes you smell great. You'll slowly kill your liver, one of those organs you can't live without. The toilet will be your new best friend, you'll be puking in it so often. Hangovers will keep you messed up for the entire next day after drinking. And you'll probably break out, cause alcohol loves to mess with your skin, too.
Fun stuff, huh? Let's take a look at drugs now, staring with the most common one.
Marijuana
-- Smoking up has all the fun side effects that smoking cigarettes does, like coughing up phlegm, not being able to smell or taste anything, stinking like someone's behind, making your skin look older, and about a thousand other things.
-- Plus, you get all the added benefits from smoking marijuana, like bloodshot eyes, dry mouth, crazy paranoia that the guy on the corner is following you EVERYWHERE, increased appetite, a pulse through the roof and your head completely off to the point where you can't drive a car, let alone feel like time has passed.
Other Drugs
-- Methamphetamines can give you a stroke or heart attack, killing you instantly. Or it might just give you hypothermia, which is also fun.
-- Cocaine and crack have all the fun of meth, with the added benefit that your lungs might just stop working completely, so there's another way you can kick off in no time. Oh, your brain can also have a seizure. That'll kill you too.
-- Hallucinogens (Acid, PSP, peyote, etc.) might throw you in a coma. Those are a blast … all the fun of sleeping, but with the added bonus of not waking up! Then you've got inhalents, like sniffing cleaners and stuff. Those will give you incontrollable diarrhea first, THEN kill you. Incontrollable means you do it at random times, people. Like in school, when you're asking a girl or guy out. Right then. And yes, it's sad that diarrhea might be more of a turn-off than death, but what can you do.
© 2012
