Welcome to adulthood.

The transition from school to college can be very challenging for some students as they begin to get treated like an adult and are forced to come out of their comfort zone into the real world. I hope these few tips can make this colossal life change a little bit easier for you students.

1) Being Responsible for your own self

Along with the title of an adult come the responsibilities of one. Unlike in school, no one is going to lecture or yell at you if you don’t submit assignments or if you decide to skip out on lectures. You’ll be in charge and responsible for deciding what is the most beneficial for your learning experience. Being in college essentially means that you have to figure out certain things for yourself like: Time management, Productivity and Developing the right attitude. A Planner to keep track of assignments and tests due might be a beneficial habit one can adopt.

2) Time management and Productivity

Your workload is only going to grow bigger as you advance from school to college. The study material will be lengthier and more difficult, so learning to create schedules and plans and sticking to them is absolutely crucial. For efficiently managing time you should anticipate the needs of a subject or course and make plans to study accordingly well in advance in order to avoid burnouts.

A skill that might be helpful is forming strategies for studying. You can start out by using the first few minutes to set a goal and decide what you want to accomplish in the day then within the next hour properly study and interact with the material. After every few productive hours you can reward yourself with a 10-15 minute break. It is also important to review or revise the material you had studied within those productive hours.

3) Adjusting Expectations

Some students might be used to getting the best of grades and being the top scorers in school. They might be shocked and demotivated when they don’t get similar top grades in college as well. Instead of getting discouraged, you should understand that the college is not an extension of school and has a completely different grading structure with harder and lengthier course structure. So, go ahead and cut yourself some slack.

4) Getting out of your Comfort Zone

Most of us remain in our comfort zone till we graduate out of school because we are in our hometowns with our family and childhood friends. College forces you to come out of this comfort zone by introducing you to new people, sometimes in an entirely new city or even country. Some might feel lonely or find themselves overcome with homesickness but it is very important to remember that it takes time for relationships to develop. Most friendships are formed over a period of time and in order to begin making new friends you can apply for various campus clubs which you are interested in, this will also be a major step in helping you get out of your comfort zone and building your confidence for the real world.

5) Finding Balance and Practicing Self-Care

Studying and working hard is vital but you shouldn’t forget to maintain a balance between your social and college life. College work load and pressures can often get overwhelming and it is important for your health that you take out time for yourself as the effects of stress are mentally, emotionally and physically linked.

When college does prove to be overwhelming you should indulge in self-care by identifying which activities make you feel your best self. Whether it’s hanging out with your friends, watching your favourite series or putting aside some time to rest.

6) Most importantly- Don’t forget to make memories and have fun

College life and experience is something people cherish for their whole lives so don’t forget to enjoy the new-found independence with friends because as soon as it’ll be over you will be wishing you could attend those boring lectures again from professors you used to hate. As important as studying and working hard in college is, making memories is just as important if not more so because you will prize these sweet memories made in the classroom, the canteen, the library or in the hostel, with your amazing friends who you’ll miss for a lifetime as they get scattered all over the country when college is over.