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College – a world of freedom, away from your parents and surrounded by friends. Unfortunately, college also comes with a lot of struggles. Especially if you want to succeed and actually graduate. These struggles can be consequences of bad choices, poor organization or utterly bad luck. No matter the cause of these struggles – the stress and frustration that accompanies them is real. So here are some of the few struggles college students may face and some tips to help avoid them.
Struggle 1: Your computer died right after finishing an assignment
Advice: Save your papers frequently and on many devices (cloud, flash drive, Google Docs) because you don’t know when your computer will die/crash.
Struggle 2: Your printer won’t print because it’s out of blue ink.
Advice: Beg your parents for a laserjet or print your paper out at the school’s computer lab.
Struggle 3: Slow or no wifi on campus.
Advice: While you can’t change or fix your college’s wifi, you can go to a cafe or library.
Struggle 4: Group projects.
Advice: Make friends in class, hope the professor does not assign groups and talk to the professor about any issues within the group. Don’t forget to talk to your group members after class to find out the best form of communication, assign tasks and to set up deadlines.
Struggle 5: No matter how hard you try, you still have no idea about what to write for your paper.
Advice: Believe it or not, reading relevant text can help you get ideas about what to write. Start with an outline and go from there. Don’t be afraid to write down what comes to mind, you can revise your paper as much as you want before you have to submit it.
Struggle 6: Realizing after you wrote your paper, you still need another page to meet the minimum requirements.
Advice: Be descriptive when writing and if possible add additional information relevant to the paper topic, such as a quote, another perspective or including another study.
Struggle 7: When all of a sudden all your professors assign big projects that are due during the same week.
Advice: Two words – time management. It is important to start working on what you can right away. Good news is that managing your time is a skill that will get better over time.
Struggle 8: Class presentations.
Advice: Have general notes about what you are going to say and practice before you have to get up and talk.
Struggle 9: Pulling all-nighters.
Advice: Try to avoid pulling all-nighters as much as possible. If you absolutely must stay up all night then take naps, drink coffee, avoid carbs and go to bed early.
Struggle 10: Realizing you forgot to do an assignment.
Advice: I know this is hard to do, but don’t panic. You can not change the past, but you can take steps to help the situation. The first step would be to talk to your professor. If you have a track record of being a good student, they may be willing to give you partial credit. In addition, complete any and all extra credit assignments.
The number of times you face these struggles should improve over time. You will get better at time management, studying, and preparation. Just remember these challenges are minor, for the most part, and they are only making you stronger. If nothing else, they are lessons in stress management.
We want to hear from you!
Have any tips or advice you want to share? You can connect with us on social using the hashtag #UEMSConnect. We would love to hear all about your college experiences: both the struggles and the fun moments. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
By: Ashleigh Cue
