1. A Good GPA Doesn’t Guarantee a Good Job.
In a few countries, companies hire based on GPA. But for the rest of the world, most employers are looking at 3 areas:
A. What you know
Employers want you to have specific knowledge in the industry you want to work. This is why all college students need to go beyond the broad-based general requirements of their major. Try to find at least one area of knowledge in which you can excel, and focus your attention there.
B. Who you are
These are based on things like your – personality, life philosophy, disposition, physical appearance and who you are as a person. They are part of the ‘soft skills’ employers are looking for.
C. What you can do
These are the real abilities, talents and hands-on experience you have developed over the years. These are called ‘hard skills’ because they are easier to define and test. Showing you can build a website is easier to prove than saying you have ‘good people skills’.
2. Being Smart Doesn’t Equal Success.
There are many smart people who go nowhere in life. Sometimes people feel their great intelligence should be sufficient in landing a good job. However, many times people with average intelligence are the ones who excel in their fields.
This is because we of average intelligence feel we have to work harder. Thus making a greater effort to build the strong discipline required to develop abilities, and strengthen our God-given talents. Remember, we don’t have to be super smart to survive college, we just have to make the effort.
3. It’s Not Ketch-Up. It’s Catch-Up
Cramming may get you through the test, but it won’t get you through life. When we fall behind, it becomes increasingly difficult to catch up to the rest of the class. So if you find yourself falling behind, do whatever it takes – find a tutor, stop partying, dump your boyfriend, wake up early or do anything that will help you stay on top of things.
4. Study Smarter, Not Harder
Cramming may be a college institution, but it doesn’t make it a good one. Forcing information into our brain the night before a test is not just poor form, but disastrous if it becomes a habit. It’s basically the worst way to prepare for any endeavor. This is because cramming only keeps the information in the short-term memory part of our brain.
To help process the information into long-term memory, try breaking up your study times into many short periods of time throughout the day. I found that when I spent a few minutes studying my notes right after class and jumping on assignments right away, I did way better on tests. It also freed up larger portions of time to have fun and not be so stressed.
5. Spending money is fun… for a little while.
Being a poor college student is short and fairly easy to overcome. Being a poor adult the rest of your life? Not so easy. The longer we build a habit, the harder to overcome. This is because habits often become a way of life. So wise up, and set an easy to follow a budget. This will help set the financial discipline to get you through college, limit your amount of debt, and set you on the course to a prosperous future.
6. New Textbooks are over rated
Most professors like to recommend and use the most current issued textbooks. However, the previous editions are not just way cheaper but often contain the same information. Most competent professors understand this and will help you get through the course (even if your book is a little dated). So don’t be afraid to ask.
7. Play Hard but Study Harder
I know this sounds pretty simple, but part of university life is having fun. Making new friends, hanging out, playing games, going to parties, and enjoying college life can make your learning experience enjoyable and educational. As a University Professor I meet many students who overload themselves and eventually burn out (or even drop out). Yes going to college is all about learning, but sometimes the best learning takes place outside of class.
Join us next week as we look at more ways to survive college and land a good job along the way.