What To Expect

Making a Successful Transition to College

While it may seem like a difficult task to be admitted to college, this is only half the hurdle.  Unfortunately many students who start college do not finish.  Many become overwhelmed by the workload, rigor, social opportunities or they simply cannot adapt to their new-found independence.  In this section, we provide you suggestions on how to effectively transition to college and graduate!

Indentify Academic Resources and Support Systems:

Tutorial or Writing Centers: Receiving individual and/or group tutorials can help you improve your performance in class.

Seek Learning Assistance Tools

Discover strategies and study tips, organizational skills, and time management skills geared towards learning in a specific subject.  Mastering these skills can help you not only transition to college, but achieve success in all educational and professional endeavors.  Many colleges offer one day work shops that will likely be promoted at tutoring centers and career service offices.

Conduct Self-Assessments

Knowing yourself is one of the most important keys to figuring out how you learn and study best. Try discovering your individual learning and thinking styles. It is always a great idea to seek the help of various professors and advisors who can not only help you identify strengths and weaknesses, but also help you create an educational plan to overcome difficulties.

Tips for Succeeding in College

  • Take control of your own education: think of yourself as a scholar.
  • Get to know your professors and staff members on campus; they are your greatest resource, and they care very much about your success and well-being in general.
  • Utilize Student Services to enhance your study skills, for career guidance, to improve your health, manage your time, to build a social network with other students, and much more.
  • Be assertive. Create your own support systems, and seek help when you realize you may need it. Do not presume to handle on your own all of the challenges that colleges presents to you. Help is all around you.
  • Take control of your time. Plan ahead to satisfy academic obligations and make room for everything else.
  • Stretch yourself: enroll in at least one course that really challenges you.
  • Make thoughtful decisions: don't take a course just to satisfy a requirement, and don't drop any course too quickly. Focus on enjoyment of the learning process.
  • Think beyond the moment: set goals for the semester, the year, your college career.

Adapted from: http://www.smu.edu/alec/whyhighschool.html