Electoral-vote.com

Reader Question of the Week: Student Counsel, Part III

Here is the question we put before readers several weeks ago:

S.H. in Duluth, MN, asks: After reading the responses to the reader question of the week from M.R. in Lowell, I was wondering if I could get the other side of it. I'm a young student who has just started my first semester of university this fall, studying earth science. I was wondering if I could get any advice or suggestions about things I could be doing in college, or stuff that I should avoid doing.

And here some more of the answers we got in response:

C.S. in Philadelphia, PA: C.S. (husband, student affairs administrator): In my role, I am the rule guy. One, don't break the rules. Two, if you break the rules, don't get caught. Three, if you get caught, don't complain. Making mistakes is part of the educational experience. If and when you do err, own it, learn from it, and do better next time.

The other piece of my role is providing support for students going through crises. The institution can't do anything if we don't know about it. Find someone at your institution—a staff or faculty member you trust. If something is impacting your ability to succeed, let them know, and help them help you guide you through the appropriate processes.

B.S. (wife, adjunct faculty member): Work on keeping yourself healthy and psychologically sound. Find things that keep you motivated. Find a mentor—especially an older student—who can show you the ropes. Take people's wisdom about different faculty members' styles. Be honest with yourself about the amount of work you can take on—reading and/or writing intensive classes—for example along with outside commitments. Get involved and be open to meeting new people and trying new things. Invest in good clothing gear and tech.

Congrats!

J.K. in St. Park, MN: There are so many pitfalls to avoid for college students.

Background: I went, for 3 years out of high school, as a never-declared major (it was assumed to be some type of engineering but I couldn't decide), quit because I couldn't see what my career would look like, and returned 10 years later to finish an entirely different major (history, for what it's worth; different university as well) just so I could have a degree. Unfortunately, a degree is needed for many jobs regardless of how relevant it is.

I was a fairly top student in high school, rarely had to study. Hence, I never developed good study habits. Number 1 is to make sure you plan for homework and study time. It is very tempting to immerse yourself in the social aspects of college, but find a balance between doing the fun things and making sure you're getting your money's worth by doing the work. There's no way to bluff through most classes. If you don't have good study skills, take a course, or use the school's resources to help you. I burned out very quickly and ended up taking/retaking classes two or three times the first time around.

I was very naive about college the first time I went, so there are many things I learned along the way. I also didn't have good advisors the first time around to help direct me. The other things I learned the second time around that were most helpful are:

Academic:

Your major does not need to dictate your future career path. Some majors are definitely designed to put you on a career path, but even so, you do not have to choose that after college. And you can always change careers later in life if you don't like what you are doing.

Talk to your advisors about the best course of action or your plans for your academic career. And talk to them if things aren't going well, or if you end up not liking what you're doing. My second time around, I had very clear requirements because I was working full-time as to what I needed and was willing to do to get my degree (e.g. evening classes, few prerequisites). Once I got into a major program, I found that I couldn't stand one of the professors that I had two classes with one semester—and still needed to take another class from in a future semester—based on my plan. I talked to my advisor and mentioned this and they immediately looked at what I had already taken, what was available to me in the future, and helped me come up with a new plan that didn't include that professor but still kept me on track. I credit them with saving my degree. I had a similar situation with my professor for the major paper class—I had already decided what my topic was going to be, but I could no longer find enthusiasm for it since I had done a smaller project on the topic in a previous class. We talked about what I was interested in, which was an entirely different focus and an entirely different area, and with her support, I wrote an "A" paper that I very much enjoyed doing.

As much as you can, stay after class to listen to the last questions that students ask. Those are sometimes the most interesting or they clarify points that you may also have questions about. Also, it helps the professor get to know you, and they are more likely to help you out if they know you if you struggle.

When the professor asks students for input, questions, comments, discussion, etc., during class, speak up. They don't want to just listen to themselves; they are trying to get students engaged. If you're shy, this is very hard, but take a risk. Everyone else is probably nervous, too, but it will make the class much more interesting for everyone. You can often tell when the professor is trying to make a point—even if you get the wrong answer, it gives them an opportunity to teach. As an older-than-average student the second time around, I recognized this very quickly. Also, as a working professional, I didn't want to waste the limited time I had with dead air in class. Never be afraid of giving the wrong answer. My husband also went back to school after even more time away, and with a greater age gap. In classes, he was often the only person raising his hand. He told me once that he could often tell when a professor was trying to get to some point and he would purposefully give a wrong answer so they could make it. Both he and I often had professors thank us for participating in class.

Take classes you are interested in as much as possible, while working through the requirements.

Know your waking/sleeping habits—don't schedule early classes if you struggle getting there, or afternoon if you fade in focus or energy. You set yourself up for failure.

Take advantage of study abroad—short-term options can often be done through different schools of your school doesn't have a robust study abroad program. I did 2 January-term and 1 May-term as a full-time employed adult, and my husband did a January and a May as well—they are pretty doable options if you can't swing a semester.

Try out a bunch of sport, fitness, and outdoor class options.

Social:

College is a great time to decide what kind of person you want to be or try on some different hats/personas.

Experiment, sure, but be smart and safe. Use a buddy system. Be mindful of what you consume.

Join clubs, go to different events, step outside your comfort zone, talk to people.

But don't let that distract from your studies. College is too expensive right now to waste your money and not get the education.

Financial:

This leads me to another point: If you don't know why you are going or what classes you want to take then take a year off or take a break until you know. College is too expensive right now to just putz around until something comes together. And universities are very focused on keeping undergrads to a four- or five-year maximum program.

And I really hate to say that the current administration has made it even tougher to manage or forgive student loans. We fully expected to be able to have my husband's student loans forgiven after 10 years of public service/working in a non-profit, but it looks like we will be paying them off until we die.

Get yourself a practical financial education—how to manage money. If you do not know how to budget and plan for the future, you may set yourself up for hardship.

You will start to get credit card offers, if you haven't already. Read the terms of credit cards, loans, rental agreements, checking and savings accounts, etc. Make sure you understand the implications of your financial actions. This is partly young-adult practicality, but student loans are a whole separate thing you need to understand. My education cost around $30,000; my husband's was around $330,000. Know what you are getting into.

Probably a bunch of duplicate advice, but hopefully some helpful tips in there.

Good luck!

M.G. in Boulder, CO: Start early when a paper is assigned. Everyone says/knows that, but the earlier you start, the more time you have to get interested in your subject. When you have time, you can look through your resources and select what's going to help most. When my nephew was writing about economist A.W.H. Phillips, we discovered that he had recently died and The Economist had dedicated an entire issue to him. A biographical article is much better that a book for identifying key events and ideas. That issue was full of leads and the biography contained a story about Phillips as a World War II POW in Indonesia that sparked my nephew's interest and eventually gave him an unexpected introduction for his report to the class.

More time gives inspiration time to strike. I was working on a paper about the Citizen Genet affair when I realized something was off. It seemed to me that the Americans knew what Genet was doing and wanted him to do it. How could I find out if I was right? My family's encyclopedia (not a great resource for a graduate paper) said that George Washington gave Genet a farm in upstate New York and he married the governor's daughter. So it looked like the Genet Affair was, at least in part, a scam, and the early American government didn't think Genet should pay for being scammed by being returned to France and the guillotine. I had time to let ideas come together and do more impressive targeted research, and I, the only English major in a graduate history class, managed an original and interesting paper and received an A for the class.

When you are learning how to research in your field, a friendly librarian can help. Going back to the A.W.H. Phillips paper, we started early and had time to find less-obvious sources. A librarian mentioned festschriften, collected essays written to celebrate an expert's contributions to their field. A computer search under "A.W.H. Phillips festschriften" gave us a book that included a nice photograph and a reproduction of the handwritten first draft of an article that Phillips had contributed, knowing that he wouldn't have time to complete it. They added interest to the Phillips paper. The professor said, "I had no idea that this guy was so interesting." The comment was nicer than the A the paper earned.

K.P. in San Jose, CA: Take advantage of your time. This will likely be the last time your time will be your own, until/unless you become self-employed, retired or independently wealthy.

Embrace the possibility that you may not know for certain what you want to do, or can be successful doing career-wise, until you are hired for that first job, and maybe for quite a long time afterward. I entered college in the early Reagan years with a definite but ultimately unsuccessful plan.

I wasn't nearly as good a student nor as smart an intellect as I had been told all my life, and Organic Chem ended up being a rude awakening, even with an outstanding professor. Or, as I tell people, tongue-in-cheek, I loved O Chem so much, I took it twice.

When I eventually figured out what I wanted to do, what I like to do, what I had been doing for fun for several years, I dove in, much against the wishes of my parents. And 36 years later, I retired on the backside of a career that was fulfilling in large measure from Day 1 (well, maybe Day 2 or 3). Of course, your mileage may vary.

M.M.F. in Nagoya, Japan: The excellent advice that has been run so far seems mostly to have been from people who did well in an academic environment. So here's one from someone who was an excellent student right up until... I wasn't.

One huge difference between high school and college is that there are fewer people (if any) who are keeping an eye on you and who will let you know when you're on the wrong track. There are people who are there to help you—professors, TAs, your advisor, counselors—but you have to seek them out. That means you've got to do some self-reflection, realize there's a (potential) problem, and get help before things spiral out of control. Profs will be a whole lot happier to help you in the first few weeks of the term than the last few days.

Trying to be perfect is a recipe for disaster. You've got to experiment and find what works for you. You will make mistakes. That's why keeping an eye on yourself and course correcting early is so important. And it'll serve you well after graduation, too.

I'd say the fact you asked for advice in the first place bodes well.

K.H. in Milford, NH: I heartily agree with the other commenters who encouraged college students to take classes outside of their area of concentration, but I'm writing to caution these students to know the limits of this advice. I dropped out of college in the 70s, talked my way into a software engineering gig, stopped working and had two children, and then matriculated at Tufts in my late 30s.

Second time around, I was an extremely focused student. I had few slots for electives, but managed straight A's not only in math and comp sci, but classes as varied as creative writing and the history of Ancient Rome. My much desired perfect GPA was marred by the single B+ I received from a 200 level anthropology class called Myth, Ritual, and the Deconstruction of something or other. It was a small class of less than 20, held around a single conference table. Perhaps it was during the unit on Freud, when I was the only student to suggest that the beans in Jack and the Beanstalk might not, in fact, represent feces, but I think it was clear on the very first day of class. Each student introduced themselves and stated their major. After offering that mine was computer science, the professor looked up from his attendance sheet to pointedly inquire what I was doing there. I should have known at that moment that this professor would never give me an A. The moral of the story is to sign up for a variety of classes, but make sure to drop any if the professor doesn't welcome your presence. It can happen.

B.W.O. in Hadley, MA: I was a student for 10⅓ years (BA, MA/PhD) and have been a humanities professor for nearly 3 decades. There have been a lot of good suggestions on this topic already, but I think these could use emphasis:

What to do:

If you don't know how to take notes, learn how to do so. The Cornell Notes method is popular, but there are others. Take notes during discussion-based classes, and discussion sections in lecture courses: Discussions are not just chats, they are forums for you to deepen your understanding of the material. You can take notes on a computer, but research suggests that taking notes by hand is better for recall. If you use paper, you can scan it and save it as PDF, or you could use a tablet and stylus. In many ways, though, using paper to take notes and then typing up your notes afterwards is ideal, because when you type up your notes, you are reinforcing the material while at the same time creating a searchable version. Win-win!

Make a point to get to know at least 2 or 3 other students in each of your courses, and exchange phone numbers or e-mail addresses with them. You'll have people to contact if you have to miss class, so you can ask them to give you a rundown of what you missed. And you may make lifelong friends, or even meet your future spouse/partner.

Learn another language. College is probably the only chance you'll have to get serious language instruction for free (i.e., included in your full-time tuition). If there's a language that will be useful for your future career, that's an obvious choice, but even if you think that your native language is enough, pick something that will expand your horizons.

Learn to touch type. I was a pretty good hunt-and-peck typist by the time I finished college, but "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" has probably saved me months of time in my career as a grad student and professor. (That said, taking notes by hand is still a good idea, as mentioned above.)

Get your IT on. Don't rely on a phone for everything; there are a lot of tasks for which a laptop or tablet are much better. (I have seen students try to read entire ebooks on a phone; even with a phablet, it's far from ideal.) Make sure that your devices are synced. Use your calendar app to put in your classes and other activities, but also reminders for assignment due dates. Use your task app for assignments and anything else that has a hard deadline. (If you find that your Mac, Windows, or Linux tools aren't sufficient, because you're super busy and overcommitted, consider a product like OmniFocus—but also consider dialing back some of those commitments.) And above all, back everything up. I recommend that students use cloud-based solutions for their work, so they can get to it if their laptop/phone/tablet fails, but if you do work on a local device, have a good backup plan. Despite the claim that today's students are "digital natives," I encounter many students who don't have much understanding of how IT actually works and who would be completely SOL if they lost their phone.

Get to know the place where you are going to college. Visit museums, hiking trails, cultural centers, restaurants, coffee shops, stores, theaters, etc. Find out what it's like to live there outside of the bubble of college. That will help you decide where you want to live after college (if you are fortunate enough to have a choice about that!).

What not to do:

If you have to miss class, never ask your instructor, "Did I miss anything?" Always ask, "What did I miss?" But do not assume that your instructor has nothing better to do than repeat a whole class to you; ask friends in the class first.

Avoid using LLMs (Large Language Models, aka Generative AI) unless you have a very good reason to do so, or your instructor requires it for a specific purpose. They are very good at producing prose that looks like decent English, but because they have no model of the real world, they are prone to producing bullsh**, and if you're not already knowledgeable in your subject, that bullshit might look convincing. Even if they are accurate, asking them to do your work for you is like asking your physical trainer to lift weights for you: they might do it, but it won't make you stronger.

Finally, if you are experiencing distress, do not try to tough it out alone. Colleges have academic and psychological advisors and counselors who can help. If you don't know where to ask for help, begin with your instructors, but at most U.S. colleges, the Dean of Students office is a good resource. The transition from high school to college can be very hard: most people who go through it are leaving home and living on their own for the first time, while moving from a school environment that is highly structured to one where they have a lot of autonomy in organizing their time, without much experience in how to do so. And they are doing it with heightened emotions and, for some, the first exposure to readily available alcohol and drugs. If you feel like you need help managing all that, learn where to ask before you need to ask, and don't hesitate to ask when you need to.

A.P. in Kitchener, ON, Canada: D.S. in Miami Beach provided good advice: "Sit in the front row... You can establish a rapport with the professor... Even more important, it helps you stay focused and engaged."

In a virtual class, the equivalent of sitting first row is turning on your camera. With your camera on you will stay engaged and if most other students have the camera off, you will build a rapport with your professor. If you are the only one who turns on your camera, you will earn appreciation from your professor.

E.W. in Skaneateles, NY: Kudos to S.H. in Duluth for proactively asking for advice on how to succeed in college. I agree with the earlier advice, and I would like to add some myself, which I believe will help S.H. and others with balancing academics and personal growth/fun so they can take the other advice. Each semester, I share a free e-book called 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades in College (While Studying Less) with my students. It's a quick and easy read and full of helpful information. Since it is free and available at the link, I don't feel bad about summarizing the main point of the book, which is based on the following "equation": Your Grades = (Study Time * Study Efficiency) + (Class Time * Attention in Class)

If you want to maximize grades while minimizing study time (i.e., have a life), you need to: (1) attend every class, if possible; (2) pay focused attention in class and take effective notes and (3) study efficiently. The book has great tips for those things, which can reduce your study time and allow you to experience all of the other wonderful stuff college has to offer.

The other bit of advice is what I always tell my introductory psychology class, which conveniently enough just finished the units on learning and memory. Your memory is a network, not a filing system. When you recall information, it is like you are repainting the picture or rewriting the book, not pulling out a photo or a piece of paper from a filing cabinet. Like the skills of painting or writing, you must practice recalling information, and you cannot expect to understand it and retain it without focused effort and practice in retrieving it. That is why mnemonic devices work so well. I demonstrate this by recalling all of the northern Chicago Red Line El stops in order from Howard to State and then recalling all of the Finger Lakes in west-to-east order. Although I do sometimes make study guides for them, I always tell them that copious research shows the act of making their own study guides, complete with connections, mnemonics, and retrieval cues, is the most effective study strategy.

There is, of course, more to college than just memorizing facts; you also must learn good study skills and form effective habits for the future. I tell them that the other unfortunate feature of our memory system is that we forget most of what we experience. However, over time, we build implicit habits and improve at the skills we do practice. In college, that is learning. We forget a lot from college, but we learn how to learn.

R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY: I think what I'm about to say is largely duplicative of what others have said, so I will try to add value by providing illustrations:

Take the professor, not the class. A talented classroom professor can make any subject interesting. Examples: I have no interest in biology, but I took General Physiology with Jerome Lettvin (the class was known colloquially as "Uncle Jerry's Animal Stories"). I learned why people have chins and apes don't, and why sci-fi horror films with fifty-foot-tall spiders were biologically impossible. Great stuff. Or, more pedantically (though no less interesting to me) Federal Income Tax taught by a visiting prof that was really "Tax for People Who Don't Want to Be Tax Lawyers" (and it was shortly after the 1986 Reagan revisions, so there were a lot of new parts to look at and think about). Yes, lots of mucking about in the Code, but also lots of policy and "what was Congress trying to do here?" stuff. I think most Electoral-Vote.com readers would have enjoyed it as much as I did.

Notwithstanding Point 1, take classes outside your interests and comfort zone (though ideally with the aforementioned great classroom professors), particularly if your school allows you to do so pass/fail. In undergrad, I took the aforementioned Animal Stories, plus Poetry Reading, Life Drawing, Intro to Philosophy and Intro to Psychology. They contributed to my having a more interesting experience and life, and I think, to being a more interesting person (though I leave that to the readers to decide for themselves).

Do all the writing you can, either finding courses in which to do it or extracurriculars like the newspaper, both ideally where someone who knows what they are doing gives you extensive feedback. I was a college-level writer in high school, and college taught me how to be a professional-quality writer (and I promise that's not braggadocio—I spent two decades teaching writing to law students). This is true even if you are a STEM major: If you can learn how to present ideas cogently in written form, you will have a leg up on your less-articulate peers—think also "grant-writing," which may well have a direct financial effect on your life.

You are embarking on a great intellectual, social and emotional adventure. Congratulations on getting to this point. I wish you the best in all that comes next.

J.H. in Parker, AZ: If you have the opportunity (and budget) to do any kind of studies abroad program, I'd highly recommend it. Even if it's got nothing to do with your program of study, although probably better if it does.

As a Biotech major, I ended up going for a month-long program in Australian Wine, Gaming, and Tourism Studies simply because there happened to be a flyer posted about it in the building where I happened to take my German 101 course. And it was an amazing and informative time!

As for what not to do: Don't overload yourself with coursework if you can avoid it. I'm not saying to avoid all the fun an interesting courses your school may offer, but if you have the luxury to extend your undergrad career past the standard four year framework, consider taking a little longer.

S.S. in West Hollywood, CA: Not college-student-specific advice, but I do have some suggestions for young adults that I've learned over the years:

Choose your battles. You might be right, but for the time and energy involved are you accomplishing anything? Are you helping them or yourself or just being stubborn? Look at the big picture. Often the wiser choice is to give someone else the win.

Most people just want to be heard. Give them that space. They may even give you the space for rebuttal. And if they don't, well, see above.

The best advice I ever got was from a drag queen when I was in high school: "Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!" Decades later I am very grateful that I have every day since. (I would add to exfoliate and remember your neck. Necks can give away age that a well moisturized face may not.)

Never put your keys down in the laundry room. Accidentally locking your keys in can really mess up your day.

Apologize when you're wrong. A little humility when facing the world goes a long way. You might even help someone who's having a harder day than you.

Always say "Thank you." Nobody is below you even when they're just doing their job. And if you show appreciation for your coworkers/employees/team members, etc. they will like and respect you and have a better attitude.

Therapy is great! You wouldn't hesitate taking your car in for a tuneup. Well, we all need a tuneup every now and then.

I know how frustrating it is to be behind someone who doesn't know how to work the ATM. There are a lot of stupid people in the world. Don't be a di** about it. They're doing the best they can, just like you are.

"The Serenity Prayer." Learn it. It's not a religious thing and it's not just for alcoholics.

Nobody likes to be told what to do, but most people are open to suggestions.

We're going to do this for one more week, so the advice for new professors and for new students is shared in equal measure.

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

www.electoral-vote.com State polls All Senate candidates