Going back to college can be hard. Follow these tips to get ready.
Going Back to College
So, you’ve decided to make the commitment to get back to school. Whatever the circumstances surrounding this decision, going back to college requires commitment, direction, and planning, especially if you find yourself with a career or a family this time around! It’s easy to become quickly intimidated by the requirements of higher education and the aggressive pace a student needs to maintain in academia.
Here are a few things you can do to prepare yourself for the rigors of pursuing your college education:
Define your priorities and cut the fat.
There’s no way around it: going back to college is a huge time commitment. However you’re spending your time now, you’ll need to scoot some things aside to make room for classwork, homework, studying, and projects. It may be overwhelming at first to figure out how to squeeze school in on top of everything else that seems so important. Try making a list of all the things you feel you need to get done weekly, and then sorting that list from most important to least–it could provide some clarity on which priorities really are just that – a priority.
Establish a schedule.
Going back to college is going to take up much of your time. Once you’ve decided what your main priorities are, focus on those when creating a schedule for yourself. Put the most important things into your schedule first, and you’ll find that your time for the “extras” will work itself out. You may not have time for all the fun things you want to do, but scheduling time for relaxing and fun with your family or friends is an important part of a balanced life that will help keep you sane during the stress of school!
Get your brain up to speed.
Have things gotten a bit rusty up there since the last time you took a final? The eyeQ program is the best option for helping you remove those cobwebs and make your brain the well-oiled machine it can be! One of the first things you’ll notice in returning to school is that your brain likes to be lazy. By nature, it will optimize itself to do everything in the easiest, most efficient way. What this means for academics is that if you don’t use the knowledge you’ve already gained, you will lose it. Just like when you stop going to the gym and your body regresses so fast that you’re out of breath climbing a flight of stairs in a month, your brain can get out of the habit of learning. In a short period of time, the neural pathways you used to absorb and store new information are rusty and inefficient. Your reading speed and comprehension will go down. In all of these cases, this is bad news for someone going back to college.
A good reading and brain training program will help you get back into shape before the pressure of school fully sets in. Whether you want to retrain your brain to learn, or improve your reading and comprehension, either way, you want eyeQ on your side.
If you can trade seven minutes of time on social media for seven minutes of eyeQ training every day, you’ll be able to read faster, and understand the content more clearly. Your test scores will increase and the amount of time required to do your homework will go down.
Begin Studying.
Lastly, you’re going back to college. It’s a difficult transition. Begin reading and studying subjects that interest you. Get back in the habit of focussing your mind and energy on acquiring knowledge. This will help you feel more confident on your first day back in class or with your first homework assignment. A lot of your success at school depends on your ability to learn and absorb the things you read or hear from your professors. Why not practice that skill now? The plus side–you may just learn some fun facts to help you break the ice with your new classmates. Everyone loves a fun tidbit! Did you know sea otters are born and raised in the sea, even though they don’t learn to swim for three months? No, really! They’re…well, you get it. 🙂
The biggest benefit of being proactive about preparing to return to school is that you can walk into class on your first day calm and ready to learn. You’ll feel capable, competent, and strong, especially without the nerves and stress that can sometimes accompany marching right into the unknown.
