You Are in College, Now What?

Understanding some of the important differences between high school and college may help you have an easier transition to college. In general, high school is teaching centered, whereby you acquire facts and skills from the teacher. On the other hand, College is learning centered, whereby you take responsibility for thinking about and applying what you have learned.

Follow the following links to learn about how high school is different than college:

Personal Freedom

Skills for College Success

By Phil Carman, Astronomy and Physics Chair, CNM

Most of today’s young adults are aware of the vital role that a college education plays in enabling them to pursue a meaningful, fulfilling and successful career. These tips are designed to assist you in identifying skills, traits and behaviors that will help you be successful in college.

WRITING LEGIBLY

Being able to write clearly so that another person can read what you have written is, of course, a critical factor in effective communication. Your college instructors are not “mind readers” and cannot accurately evaluate written assignments that are illegible. Written assignments that are barely legible are frustrating and difficult to grade. It is well worth the effort to take the time needed to write neatly and clearly.

TAKING PRIDE IN YOUR WORK

Taking pride in your work will ensure that you will put forth the effort to do the best job possible. A person who takes pride in a class assignment will:

Ø Submit the assignment on time.

Ø Submit the entire assignment, not just part of it.

Ø Ensure that the material submitted is presentable. This means that the materials will be well organized and the writing is legible (or that the assignment is typed).

Ø Invest the proper amount of time necessary for completing the assignment. In other words, don’t wait until the last minute and rush through the assignment.

Ø Staple together all the pages of the assignment and make sure that the pages are in the proper order.

A person who takes pride in an assignment does not:

Ø Submit the assignment late.

Ø Submit assignments that are incomplete.

Ø Give the instructor papers that are marred with coffee stains, food stains, etc.

Ø Submit the assignment on pages torn out of a spiral notebook.

Ø Complete the assignment just minutes before class begins or during class on the day that the assignment is due.

PREPARATION

It is a good practice to arrive at class properly prepared. Read ahead in the textbook so that you will have an idea of the topic(s) of discussion during your next class meeting. Your instructor’s lecture, explanations, demonstrations and/or class activities will make much more sense if you have already been exposed to the subject. In addition, by studying the material before class you have the ability to ask the instructor specific questions about ideas and concepts that you may not have fully understood when you first studied them on your own. You will be amazed by how much more you will get out of the class and how much better you will understand the material if you review it yourself before seeing it in class for the first time!

COMMUNICATION

You must be able to express your ideas, opinions and feelings succinctly and with clarity. This is true whether you are explaining the circumstances leading to the American Civil War, how to repair a carburetor, how to solve a math problem or how to bake a cake. This is an especially difficult skill to master and demands a great deal of concentration, patience and practice. Don’t be afraid to slow down and think before you speak.

Of course, expressing yourself clearly is also crucial when conveying information in written form such as in a lab report, term paper or an essay on an exam. In fact, improving your writing skills will aid you in learning to express yourself more effectively verbally as well.

ORGANIZATION

The ability to organize your thoughts is an absolute necessity for being able to express yourself and convey your ideas to others. It is imperative that you learn to organize your thoughts in a logical fashion that enables you to present an argument or viewpoint in a manner that others can follow and understand. By taking your time and carefully putting your thoughts and ideas on paper in a logical and ordered way to support your point of view, your thinking process will become more organized and you will develop the ability to express yourself with increased clarity. Obviously, the organization of your thoughts is a necessary first step to improving your communication skills.

THE ABILITY TO THINK

Unfortunately, many students get through elementary school and high school by simply memorizing facts, figures and procedures without really learning how to reason and understand. However, rote memorization has its limits and will only take you so far in college and in a professional career. You must develop problem solving skills which entails a great deal of thinking!

You should constantly strive to enhance your powers of reasoning. For instance, don’t simply memorize mathematical formulas. Instead, develop an understanding of how the formula reveals how the different variables it contains are related to and depend on each other. When investigating history and politics don’t just memorize dates, places and names. Imagine yourself in the same situation and think how you would act and what course of action you would follow. In this way you can see why people made the decisions that they did and the cause and effect relationship between various events as they unfolded throughout history.

Thinking is the key to understanding and is probably the most crucial skill needed to succeed in college and advance throughout your career.

THE ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE

Thinking is impossible without concentration and, hence, the two are inextricably linked. Concentrating entails focusing on a particular idea or problem without permitting other distractions to invade your mind. It takes time and persistence to learn how to concentrate deeply and not be disturbed by external factors. In order to really concentrate fully and focus all of your energies on a particular task, you must isolate yourself from potential distractions. create an environment that will allow you to zero in on the immediate task at hand so that your thinking process may continue without interruptions.

Concentration is also a critical factor in the classroom. You must discipline yourself so that you pay attention to the instructor during class and do not let your mind wander. This can be very challenging and requires a conscious and strenuous effort to focus completely on the instructor and the topic of discussion for long periods of time An instructor’s lecture may not be as riveting or entertaining as a movie but you do have the ability to focus your energies on the class and doing so will ultimately aid you enormously in mastering the subject.

ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY

How well you perform in any endeavor, whether it is your education, your career or raising your children, depends upon your decision to accept responsibility for your own actions. In school, you are the person responsible for investing the time and effort required to learn the course material. The instructor cannot make you learn anything. It’s a two-way street. The instructor has the responsibility of teaching the subject matter as clearly and efficiently as possible. However, the student must shoulder the burden of studying and investigating in an attempt to understand and learn the material. No one can do it for you! Your education offers you the opportunity to learn and expand your horizons. It is up to you to take advantage of this opportunity and use it to grow and enhance your intellectual capacities. Your education is just like everything else in your life. You will only get out of it as much as you are willing to put into it!

For more information about your responsibilities as a student at CNM, follow this link: Student Code of Conduct.

PUNCTUALITY

Make it a point to arrive at your classroom a couple of minutes before the scheduled start time for the class. Having students wander into class 2, 5, 10 or more minutes late is very distracting to both the instructor and your fellow students. Entering the classroom late, after the instructor has begun teaching, can often cause the instructor to lose his train of thought and thereby interrupt the flow of the class. In addition, it diverts the attention of the students in the class away from the instructor and toward the late arrival.

If you are late to class then please enter the room as discretely and quietly as possible. First, if there is more than one door to the room, enter through the back door and sit in the back so that you disturb as few students as possible. Secondly, wait until the end of the class to speak with the instructor and inquire about the material that you missed at the beginning of class.

COURTESY AND POLITENESS

If you want others to treat you in a courteous and polite fashion and with respect, they are more likely to do so if you treat them in the same manner. Adhere to the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

PLANNING FOR THE LONG TERM

Being successful in life, whether that means in your career, family life or financially, requires patience, persistence and the ability to stick to a long-range plan. Success usually does not come overnight. Your education is just such an endeavor. Each class that you complete, every subject that you master, every skill that you develop and acquire will ultimately help you construct a package that will prepare you for embarking upon a successful career. It does not come all at once but, instead, demands your complete attention, commitment and dedication over a long time span. It may take many years to realize the fruits of your labor but in the end your efforts will pay off. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes.

Don’t be short-sighted. Plan for the long term and stick to your plan. The harder you strive for your long term goals, the greater your chances of attaining them and the sweeter the rewards.

MOTIVATION

You must possess the desire and the will to work hard to achieve your goals. Of course, none of this will ever happen if you are not sufficiently motivated to carry out your long range plan of action. It is up to you to decide whether or not you are willing to invest the time and effort that achieving your goals demands. The bottom line is that you control your own actions! Set your own priorities and decide what is most important to you. Formulate your long term plan and follow it with patience and persistence. The road is long and arduous but the gratification you receive once you start seeing results is very deep and satisfying. You will develop a sense of control over your life and greater confidence in yourself and your abilities.