Think Smart

As a freshman, you will go into college a little nervous, unknowing and willing to take advice from anyone that takes a few minutes to sit down and focus on you. Just be sure that “that someone” isn’t taking your money and running. Something that I wish I knew as a freshman would have been to get the correct adviser right away.  A lot of freshman students just call Maryville University and schedule a time to meet with an adviser, not really knowing what they are getting themselves into. This is dangerous and crazy in my mind.  Don’t get me wrong, most advisers are doing their job, and they’re great at it. They are very persuasive, trust me, I know. The one thing you have to remember is they are doing just that, their job.  They are doing what they are told to do, to say what they are told to say and suggest things that they are told to suggest.  Most freshmen start out in classes that will most likely NOT benefit them in the long run and can quickly have them digging deep into their pockets for money that will be spent on useless classes.  Don’t let this happen to you.  It happens all the time, and it gets a lot of students frustrated by the end of the semester.  No one wants to spend over a thousand dollars a class to find out they didn’t need it.  “But my adviser told me it would count,” this is a phrase I have caught myself saying numerous semesters.  A lot of students catch themselves going to a different adviser every semester and finding out something new every time. This can be devastating.  Don’t be duped! Some suggestions I have for you, coming from an older student, who has taken this dysfunctional ride many times, and has wasted countless hours on school work gone unnoticed is this: Don’t take classes that are not part of your major.

Discover Who You Are

Make sure that you know what major you want to get into before you step foot in any University.  It can be overwhelming today with the list of options you have.  Some people think the more options you have means more to think about.  I look at it like this: more options means I will find a job at the end of all this!  If you are undecided going into college, that’s okay, most students are. Try to think about what you want to do before you sign up for classes. Try something like this: go online and take some quizzes.  There are certain websites that you go to such as Rocketquiz.com that can point you in the right direction.  Ask around and see what your friends are interested in.  You may find that you and your best friend are bestties for a reason; you have the same interests and career choices.  Ask your parents. I know you don’t want to ask mom or dad, it’s not cool in your mind, but your parents know you best and they would never try to aim you in the wrong direction. Take the summer before you attend school to really think about things, weigh your options and have fun with it.  Discover who you are, what you like to do and make a career out of it.  Make sure that what you choose as a major is something that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your career life and that you can see yourself happy doing that.

Taking Control

Once you are confident on what you want to major in, you need to call the University and schedule an appointment with a professor who teaches in that particular major. This is the key for a successful semester. For example, let’s say you are a great communicator and want to major in Communications or Public Relations.  I would schedule a time to meet with a Communication professor to get you started on the right foot.  They know what classes you have to take, when to take them and how they are taught.  They are your best advisers by far and will not try to get you signed up for classes such as basket weaving.  Even though basket weaving sounds sooooo interesting, resist.  Take what you need first, before you dive into anything that sounds suspicious to your major.  This also gives you the chance to meet with some of the professors that will be teaching you, not a bad idea to score some brownie points before you even step into the class room.