Fall Semester Rewind

The Thanksgiving holiday has ended, Black Friday sales are over, and the “Cyber Weekend” is coming to a close.  You’re back on campus, and you have to hit the ground running to make it through the end of the semester unscathed.

In the midst of this end of the semester rush, I recommend that you take some time to look back on this past fall term.  If I had to guess, I would say that most of you experienced a lot of changes over the last fifteen weeks.  Whether it was adjusting to college life as a first semester freshman, earning a failing grade for the first time, or learning how to live on a shoestring budget, every semester is eventful for college students.

Reflecting on what you have learned and experienced this past semester can help you take stock of where you have come from, and determine where you are going.  Hopefully you are a better student, roommate, friend, child, sibling and/or significant other than you were when the semester began.  If there’s room for improvement in any one of these areas, you can start to consider how to make changes so that next semester goes better.  You can also start looking ahead and strategizing how to achieve your goals for your future.  And if you don’t have any specific goals, now’s the time to make them!

Don’t float through the end of your semester.  Instead, be introspective.  College is short, so you need to make the most of your time here.

Friday’s Fact

Check in each Friday for your weekly Get College Smart fact.

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If you’ve spent any amount of time reviewing your class notes lately, you can see how much time you spend doodling on the edges of the page.  Turns out, that seemingly mindless activity can actually be good for you.

The September 2011 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine references a study by the University of Plymouth, which found that doodling during a lecture or meeting can boost your memory by approximately 30%!  Why?  Researchers aren’t exactly sure, but they believe that drawing while listening to someone speak engages a part of the brain that would zone out or otherwise distract you with daydreams.  So the next time you’re trying to focus during a long classroom lecture, pull out your pen or pencil and start sketching.

This Holiday . . . Take a Break!

The Thanksgiving holidays can be a rough time for college students.  While it's generally a happy time where you can enjoy the company of family and friends, you may also find that school responsibilities prevent you from fully relaxing

That's why I encourage to take a break.  In fact, take the whole holiday off if you can.  Try to put school out of your mind and focus on the people who are near and dear to you.

For some of you, this may not be an option because of the mountain of work you will have waiting for you after the holiday.  In that case, be sure to take at least one day off to rest.  Rest is essential to keep you happy and healthy.  Also, well rested students tend to be better students overall.  So enjoy your break as much as you can, travel safely, and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Friday’s Fact

Check in each Friday for your weekly Get College Smart fact.

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Have you ever taken an English course?  Then you should be familiar with the Modern Language Association.  It’s the group that determines the format for English papers that your composition and literature professors love so much.

You may not know that MLA does a whole lot more than simply make life in your English courses difficult.  The organization also tracks and keeps up to date on issues that affect college students.  The latest issue this group is interested in: student debt.  Here’s a statement that MLA recently issued on the subject:

“Public attention has been directed recently to the educational debt students accumulate in the course of undergraduate, as well as graduate, study. A major contributing factor has been the increasing portion of educational costs students must bear in the form of loans. To reduce debt burdens in the future, we call on Congress, state legislatures, and institutions of higher education to calibrate educational costs and student aid in ways that will keep student debt within strict limits. We also call on them to hold in check tuition increases, which often far outpace inflation, and to ensure that degree programs allow for timely completion.”

One thing I like about this statement - it proves that major organizations made up of faculty are concerned about the students that they teach.  And this particular concern is one that extends far beyond the classroom, for college debt has a nasty way of following you around for years after college. 

That said, it will take a long time for the government and institutions of higher education to act on these issues.  That means that the burden of responsibility for controlling college debt rests firmly on your shoulders. 

How can you control school expenses and get a quality education?  Here’s a few tips:

• Choose a college that excels in your area of study and is affordable
• Consider attending a community college to complete your general education requirements
• Complete your degree in the shortest time frame possible
• Try to limit the amount of money you take out in student loans, and never take out more than you need to pay for your schooling.
• Apply for all the scholarships and grants you qualify for
• Take advantage of work-study programs, or use part-time work to help finance your education while you’re in school

In other words, start being financially responsible now.  It can save you a lot of heartache and stress later.

The Home Stretch

I don’t know about you, but  I’m really starting to feel the pressure of the end of the semester.  I’m juggling multiple projects, I’ve got a stack of papers that I still need to grade, and I feel like I am barely able to keep up with the day-to-day activities that need to be done.

But I find that with some careful planning, I am still able to keep my head above water.  Here’s what works for me:

At the beginning of the week, I write out my schedule.  Just last night, before I went to bed, I spent about 15 minutes plotting out all the activities I need to complete before the weekend.  The first half of my week is packed, and I know it will be exhausting.  But I’m not intimidated . . .

. . . because I prioritized my week.  I know what absolutely must get done – paper grading – and when my deadline is – Wednesday morning.  So, I plan on spending the bulk of today and tomorrow tackling that project. 

Sure, there’s lots of other smaller tasks that I need to do over the next couple of days, too.  How do I manage those tasks?  I get the little, quick projects out of the way first.  That way, I’m not distracted from my main goal and can focus all my energy on my most important project. 

Let me add that this is not the time to slack off.  To get everything done, I find that I do have to get up early and work when I have the fewest distractions.  For me, that means trudging downstairs while my family is still sleeping, firing up the coffee pot, and getting to work.  You may work best at other times of the day.  Figure out when your optimum work time is, and minimize your distractions during that time.  That may mean heading to the library, or disconnecting your computer from the internet, or hiding your cell phone. 

Will I have to sacrifice some sleep during this week?  Probably – but I have planned my schedule well enough to know that this is a temporary situation, and I can squeeze in a nap or head to bed earlier towards the end of the week.  Why is that important to know?  Because getting adequate rest can affect the quality of my week – and my work.  So I make sure that I pay attention to my physical needs during this busy time, too, so that I can maintain a good quality of life and ensure that my family and students don’t have to deal with a grumpy professor.

What about you?  Are you ready for the home stretch?  If not, start planning now – the end of your semester will be here before you know it.

Friday’s Fact

Check in each Friday for your weekly Get College Smart fact.

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I was poking around on the American Association of Community Colleges website today, looking up facts for today’s feature, and came across some interesting numbers.

Not surprisingly, enrollment at community colleges is up 15% from the Fall of ‘08 to the Fall of ‘10.  I’m sure we can thank the financial collapse here in the U.S. for that increase, at least in part.  Also, community college students make up 44% of the undergraduates in the U.S., and they pay, on average, about $2700 annually for tuition.

Talk about a savings over the cost of your average 4 year college!  If you’re exploring your options for college, consider your local community college.  Attending one can really protect you from accumulating large amounts of school debt.  And if you’re just starting out at a 4 year college or university, check into what course you could take (on the cheap) during summer.  It’s an inexpensive way to free up time during your long semesters, and you might find that focusing on one course at a time improves your ability to concentrate on the course material.

November is the Cruelest Month

T. S. Eliot may have stated that April is the cruelest month in “The Wasteland,” but for college students (and professors), that month is November.

November is the time of year that most people start to get into the holiday spirit.  Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and many of you will be going home for the first time since the start of the semester.  It is a time for you to enjoy the company of family and friends, and when you return, you’ll be faced with tests, project deadlines, and final exams.  This, in my opinion, is cruelty in its rawest form.

What can you do to ensure that you don’t spend your holiday stressing over what is to come, and don’t come back to campus underprepared?  Repeat my mantra – plan ahead – and get yourself ready for the home stretch.

If you’ve taken my advice from earlier posts, you’ve already listed looming deadlines in your planner.  Take a look at what is due when, and create a study plan.  Your plan should identify all remaining major deadlines and include increments of time that allow you to meet those deadlines successfully.  Studying a little bit every day will prevent you from having to cram when you return from break and help you to avoid lugging all your books home over the holiday.  Preparing yourself now is the best remedy to the cruelty of November.

Friday's Fact

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Debt seems to be a theme for Friday's Fact, so forgive me if I go back to this topic.  A recent report found that two thirds of the graduating class of 2010 left school with an average of $25,250 in debt.  That puts quite a hole in the pocketbook, and if you plan on going to grad school, expect the hole to get bigger.  

How can you manage finances so that you don't return all your post-graduation income to the loan companies?  Here's a few pointers:

• Choose an affordable school that is academically strong in your areas of interest
• Consider completing your gen ed courses at a community college
• Look for scholarships, and apply for all the ones you qualify for
• Don't waste time "finding yourself" in college - it's a really expensive way to discover what you want to do
• Work hard to pass all your courses - having to repeat courses or extend the length of your edcuation only increases your debt.