How To Achieve success in college
and beyond
Congratulations! You've worked extremely hard to get to this point in your education whether it be from climbing your way up the academic ladder in high school and taking your college admissions exams, or from exhibiting exceptional scholarship at a community college and transferring. Now that you've made it this far, there are a few things you need to know and tactics you should definitely implement if you hope to achieve success in college and well beyond it.
A large percentage of incoming freshmen and transfer students believe the misconception that by going to a top tier college or university will ensure their success post graduation, but the truth is that couldn't be further than the truth. In fact, while a top tier college or university can boost your career outlook, you have just as much a chance of achieving success post graduation coming from any accredited school as long as you know the key tactics for doing so. Are you ready to hit the ground running and increase your career prospects post college ten-fold? If so, read on.
A large percentage of incoming freshmen and transfer students believe the misconception that by going to a top tier college or university will ensure their success post graduation, but the truth is that couldn't be further than the truth. In fact, while a top tier college or university can boost your career outlook, you have just as much a chance of achieving success post graduation coming from any accredited school as long as you know the key tactics for doing so. Are you ready to hit the ground running and increase your career prospects post college ten-fold? If so, read on.
Priority number one: Visit your college career center
If you want an edge over your competition in regards to post graduation employment, one of the very first things you should do, even before enrolling in your first cluster of classes, is speak to a career adviser at your college career center.
You may already have a strong idea of what type of career you'd like to pursue upon graduating from college, or maybe you don't. Either way, you career adviser has all of the experience and tools to set you along the right path to turning your goals into a reality or helping you pin point your interests and giving you a solid plan of action to turn your interests into a thriving career long after college.
Your career adviser is trained to assist you with the following services:
We can't stress enough how much of an impact your career adviser WILL have on your college experience and on your future career prospects. So, if you haven't done it already, make it a priority to set up a meeting with the career center as soon as possible.
You may already have a strong idea of what type of career you'd like to pursue upon graduating from college, or maybe you don't. Either way, you career adviser has all of the experience and tools to set you along the right path to turning your goals into a reality or helping you pin point your interests and giving you a solid plan of action to turn your interests into a thriving career long after college.
Your career adviser is trained to assist you with the following services:
- Recommending course work that best suites your career goals
- Assist you with building your resume
- Help you find internships to build your experience and value to potential employers
- Keep you up to date on all of the campus events that will help enhance your skills and allow you to network with influential individuals
- And more...
We can't stress enough how much of an impact your career adviser WILL have on your college experience and on your future career prospects. So, if you haven't done it already, make it a priority to set up a meeting with the career center as soon as possible.
connect with your professors and Teachers assistants
Connecting with your professors and teachers assistants is another high impact activity that will surely help you to produce exceptional grades in your classes.
If you're serious about your education, which we're sure you are since you're reading this article, you want to give yourself opportunity possible to do well in all of your classes. Taking time out of your week to visit your professors and TA's consistently is important for several reasons. For starters, it shows |
your commitment to excellence in your classes. It would be very easy for you to simply attend classes every day, do your assignments and mildly participate and see good results, but if you want to stand out among your peers, building a personal rapport with your professors and TA's is essential and can be easy as visiting them during office hours.
things to do when connecting with your professors and TA's
If you want to make the most out of your professors office hours, a few things you'll want to do or discuss with them include:
All of the above activities will not only keep you on your professors radar as a stand out student, but they will also allow you to gather insight into what exactly you need to do in order to excel in class. We discuss in later articles how your classroom performance has a heavy impact on your career prospects. In order to give yourself the best chance in doing well academically, it's a must that you connect with your TA's and professors.
- Review and discuss the course syllabus
- Introduce yourself and explain any personal weaknesses you may have concerns about
- Hold casual conversation with your professor to get to know them on a personal level
- Find out what your professor's expect from you with regards to your course work and attendance
- Review assignments and class discussions
All of the above activities will not only keep you on your professors radar as a stand out student, but they will also allow you to gather insight into what exactly you need to do in order to excel in class. We discuss in later articles how your classroom performance has a heavy impact on your career prospects. In order to give yourself the best chance in doing well academically, it's a must that you connect with your TA's and professors.
Get involved on campus
Though it's very important to set aside substantial time for your studies, it is also important to be a well rounded student. When you apply to jobs upon graduating from college, employers like to see that you've been involved in activities outside of academics and that you have more to offer than mere intelligence.
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Being active on campus benefits you in a number of ways:
Most college campuses offer a number of student organizations, peer groups, events, cultural organizations, sporting events, and much more, granting several possibilities to be an actively involved student. You can learn more about each benefit by clicking on them individually above. Greek organizations i.e. Fraternities and Sororities are also a great way to connect with other students, expand your network and be a part of great community service initiatives.
While you can surely accomplish your objectives without joining a fraternity or sorority, being a member of one often allows you to bundle all of your activities such as networking, developing relationships, community service and campus involvement into one source. There are usually dozens to choose from at any given college campus so your options are substantial. So, if your prefer to build a "brand" or if your aim is to be a campus community figure, joining a fraternity or sorority is a good way to go. If Greek organizations don't fit your interests or personal vision, there are still tons of ways to achieve the same results that fraternities and sororities offer on your own accord.
- Connect with other students and build lasting relationships
- Learn responsibility and time management
- Develop experiences that are resume worthy
- Personal development
- Find allies to make your college experience easier
Most college campuses offer a number of student organizations, peer groups, events, cultural organizations, sporting events, and much more, granting several possibilities to be an actively involved student. You can learn more about each benefit by clicking on them individually above. Greek organizations i.e. Fraternities and Sororities are also a great way to connect with other students, expand your network and be a part of great community service initiatives.
While you can surely accomplish your objectives without joining a fraternity or sorority, being a member of one often allows you to bundle all of your activities such as networking, developing relationships, community service and campus involvement into one source. There are usually dozens to choose from at any given college campus so your options are substantial. So, if your prefer to build a "brand" or if your aim is to be a campus community figure, joining a fraternity or sorority is a good way to go. If Greek organizations don't fit your interests or personal vision, there are still tons of ways to achieve the same results that fraternities and sororities offer on your own accord.