2. Proactively manage your time and money
The lack of structure and guidance in college can be exhilarating for many students when they arrive on campus. Unfortunately, the novelty wears off when students who don’t bring strong skills in time management begin to procrastinate, fall behind, and find themselves pulling all-nighters as deadlines approach. Many of these students swing between a state of avoidance and one of overwhelming anxiety.
Similarly, financial freedom can derail students who have received their first credit card and are making their own decisions about spending. That’s why it’s critical that even the most academically gifted students hone their time management and personal finance skills in their first year of college.
Students should actively manage an online or paper calendar, set weekly goals around how to manage their time and money, and proactively learn new skills by reading books like David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” or Suze Orman’s “The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke.”