The transition from being a high school student to a college freshman is one of the most major changes in a young adult\’s life. For many, it is their first time being away from home and managing life on their own.
If you\’re feeling stressed about going to college, creating a college checklist is one extremely helpful way to manage anxiety and pressure. Here\’s what you need to include on your going to college checklist.
Ways to Prepare for College checklist
1. Get Your College Finances in Order
As a college student, you will need to make daily decisions that could affect your financial future. Financial planning might sound incredibly boring, but the choices you make in college are likely to impact your life afterward.
Do yourself a big favor and get familiar with financial planning now. Click here to learn the essentials for budgeting in college, how to use credit cards responsibly, and plan ahead for handling student debt.
2. Practice Time Management
Time management is an essential skill you will need in order to succeed in college. Without parents around, you will be the only one keeping track of your responsibilities, assignments, and deadlines.
College is also an important time to socialize, so you will need to be able to balance your social and academic responsibilities.
Using your time wisely is something that takes most people lots of practice to learn. Fortunately, these days there are many different apps you can use to help develop these skills.
3. Develop Good Reading Habits
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Whatever your experience was in high school, college work relies heavily on reading. We can\’t emphasize this enough. You need to plan on reading several different and long texts on a daily basis.
The best thing you can do is get into the habit of reading on a daily basis right now.
Do yourself a favor and check out the reading lists for college programs across the country. Make a list of essential books (both fiction and nonfiction) to read and get started.
4. Work on Improving Your Communication and Social Skills
Learning how to communicate and socialize effectively are some of the essential skills students learn during their college experience.
It is imperative that students gain experience working in groups, clearly conveying ideas, and solving problems. You will learn how to work closely with people from all different backgrounds and walks of life.
Get a head start and polish up your communication and social skills ahead of time. You can do this by taking classes on communication, diversity, or inclusion. Another idea is to get an internship or summer job.
5. Make a Packing List
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Don\’t forget to add \”make a college dorm checklist\” to your college checklist! Whether you\’ll be living in a dorm or a college apartment, making a checklist is a great way to get organized and reduce anxiety.
Make sure to include everything you will need to be comfortable and feel at home, as well as the essentials. You can start with a computer, books, organizers, storage, and personal hygiene products.
Also read this education guideline.
College Checklist Takeaways
Making a college checklist is a great way to prepare for the challenging transition you\’re about to make. College is an exciting time full of exploration and possibility, but it can induce anxiety.
Make sure you are prepared by sharpening your time management, reading, and social skills. Don\’t forget to make a packing list and take the time to get familiar with budgeting for college!
For more great information about college finances, check out the other blog posts in our Business and Lifestyle sections.