The Campus Companion » Brian Arola

Controversial Career Advice From Penelope Trunk

Brian Arola — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Penelope Trunk isn’t the type of counselor you’ll find at your school’s career services center, and her advice isn’t for everyone. While they’ll tell you optimistic outlooks on job markets, Trunk will get straight to the cold hard facts. Her advice might not be what you want to hear, but it might be what you need, especially with the current labor market for college graduates being described as “terrible” and “not a pretty picture” by Andrew Fieldhouse, a federal budget policy analyst for the Economic Policy Institute. That description seems apt, since U.S. Department of Labor claims that “about 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.” Still, it isn’t all doom and gloom, because current college students can be doing things right now that can better position them to be hired once they leave campus.

Trunk’s ideas for what college kids need to do now to get a job later include some controversial ideas, including:

Grades Don’t Matter

College students stressing about missing the Dean’s list can take a chill pill, Trunk said, because:

“I know that sounds totally crazy, but it’s actually outstanding advice,” she said. “There’s zero correlation between what your grades are and how well you’ll perform at work.” Her reasoning isn’t that simple of course. She said people who get good grades generally perform poorly at work because getting good grades means these three things:

You can sit at home reading and memorizing things.
You can follow someone else’s rules.
You enjoy being told what to do and what to learn.

These three skills Trunk said, are “very, very low pay in the work place.” But Trunk isn’t saying that college students should slack off in school for no reason, rather she places far more weight on internships.

Internships Above All Else

“The internships are what differentiate graduating college students,” Trunk said. “If you don’t have a great internship on your resume, you don’t have a way to differentiate yourself.” She said students aren’t going to get an internship by talking about their grades. Rather, they can get them by doing two things:

Understanding what the person wants from an intern, and giving it to them.
Having a sense of your own strengths so you can offer them to the company.

Trunk said students will often feel a little unconfident about what their strengths actually are, but there are ways to better find that out if you….

Take a Myers-Briggs Test

Trunk said not everyone has the personality traits to make it in their field, and taking a Myers-Briggs test can help identify where your strengths are.

“Very few people have a personality that will rise extremely high in the work force,” she said. “It’s just a certain personality you need to have.” Having self-knowledge and telling interviewers specifically what you can offer are important, Trunk said, and a Myers-Briggs Test can help identify those strengths.

Have Confidence

Trunk exudes confidence, and she implores college students to do the same. Too many students, she said, don’t even try to get internships until they graduate. This can be a fatal error.

“Because so few students have the gumption and confidence to ask for an internship, the ones that do stand out right away just for asking,” she said.

Use Social Media Smartly

Trunk said hiring managers aren’t going to look at every little thing you post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t worry about a risqué picture from last weekend’s party though. Instead, you should give hiring managers something to look at on your social media profiles.

“Give them something to look at. Make a site showing why you should be hired,” she said.

Both Trunk and your career services center on campus want you to get hired after you graduate, but their advice greatly differs. You won’t be making the Dean’s list anytime soon with Trunk’s advice, but it may help you get a job.

The post Controversial Career Advice From Penelope Trunk appeared first on The Campus Companion.

The Case For Studying Abroad In London

Brian Arola — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:35:51 +0000

Occasionally, we at TCC like to have our writers talk about their experience abroad. We’ve covered Mexico, now London, as well as how to prepare and why not to go to Europe. If you went abroad and would like to share your experience, let us know.

When you can’t get a certain girl out of your mind, it might mean she’s special. Cities work the same way. It’s been 7 or so months since I left my study abroad experience London, and it’s never strayed too far from my thoughts since. A little while back, a colleague wrote an article here advising students not to study abroad in Europe. Her argument is pretty convincing, but I’m here as the antithesis to that argument, going as far as to implore you to not only study abroad in Europe, but to study in what you probably think is the most American city in Europe: London.

How could a city notorious for having terrible weather and even worse food attract me so? I’m still not quite sure, but one things for sure, London’s bad rep for weather and food aren’t exactly true. We were there during a “drought,” which is probably offensive to any place that experiences a crops-dying-and-so-is-our-livelihood type of drought. In England, apparently a drought means it only rains twice a week. Still, if you can’t deal with some rain, have fun in San Diego the rest of your life while the rest of enjoy some variety.

And the food? What a colossal myth. London has amazing food from all over the world. They’ve pretty much taken Indian food as their own now, which is fine by me. There isn’t a food you can’t get in London. I had a kangaroo burger one day just because I could, and it was good (my second choice was koala).

Some study abroaders crave the unknown. “I’m going to Africa,” they say, because they think some place like England is too familiar. Well let me tell you, there’s nothing familiar about England. London is perhaps the world’s most diverse city. It’s brimming with different cultures intermingling on a daily basis. I interned while studying over there, and I’ve never felt so foreign in my life. You want the unknown? Try working in an office environment in which you don’t understand any of the pop culture references your British co-workers are talking about. You don’t need to go to Africa to find out what the unknowns like, the only thing the English have in common with us is the fact we both sort of speak the same language.

So it’s distinctly foreign, but what about London was so great? I factor in two huge reasons. One, because it’s a city with limitless possibilities. Museums, concerts, clubs, sports, you name it, it’s going on daily. I could see my favorite Van Gogh at the National Gallery, hang around Parliament and stop at the pub for a pint by noon if I wanted to, and then have the rest of the day to go to one of London’s gorgeous parks (Hyde, Regents, etc.). When I say limitless, I mean limitless. I spent four months there and feel like I got about a quarter out of how much I could get out of London.

Secondly, London’s location is amazing for traveling. There are numerous airports to fly out of, some with budget airlines. Flying to Marrakech is entirely reasonable, as is flying to Dublin or Stockholm. I ventured to Amsterdam, Bruges, Munich, Dublin, Rome, Florence and Venice while over there, and it was all relatively cheap and no hassle travel. So getting anywhere in Europe you want to go is not a problem. What was really crazy about my London experience was that although I traveled and had an amazing time in all of those cities, I was always eager to get back to London. I always felt like there was something new that I wanted to discover in that city.

One thing I struggle with figuring out about London is whether it was actually the people I fell in love with and not the city itself. My study abroad program pitted students across the country (but also a large contingent from my university) in one apartment. Why there isn’t a reality show about students studying abroad I’ll never know, because that’s the perfect formula for entertainment. Think about it, a bunch of college students on a once in a lifetime experience in which we quickly found out our studies were designed to allow us to enjoy our time there.

Basically, the classes were simple. This meant none of us really had much incentive not to go out and have a good time. I shared a flat with six people, and a room with three of them (top bunk yay!). That sounds pretty brutal, but the entire living situation was great. I can’t imagine having a better group of roommates, and I can’t imagine having a better group living in the apartment building. Maybe we could have been in Baghdad and still had an amazing time? That’s possible, because the people you’re studying abroad with will influence your overall enjoyment. I’m going to lean towards London being the star player in the experience though. Overall, I think where ever people study abroad at can be an absolute blast, but for me it doesn’t get better than London.

The post The Case For Studying Abroad In London appeared first on The Campus Companion.

Thanksgiving 2012: College Things I’m Thankful For

Brian Arola — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:04:48 +0000

Thanksgiving is as good of a time as any to reflect on what we’re thankful for in life. While this exercise is awful when forced on everyone at the dinner table, I’m more than happy to share my list of college things I’m thankful for to you all nearly halfway through my senior year of college.

Unseasonably Warm Weather

It’s like 55 degrees today in Minnesota. In late November that’s really warm. Walking to class is a lot more bearable when the suns out, so thank you mother nature.

Food My Parents Make

My parents told me to bring home some containers so I can take food back to college once I head back from Thanksgiving break. I’m crossing my fingers for some of my mom’s chili or tuna salad, but I’d settle for mashed potatoes and turkey. I really can’t be picky though, because leftovers my parents make are about one million times better than fresh food I make, so I’m very thankful for this.

An Ok Football Team

Since coming to school, our college football team is 18-30. It’s been a rough few years, but this years team is at least good enough to enjoy watching (with the aid of beer). Thanks team for finally not being terrible.

Pass/Fail Courses

Pass/fail courses allow you to say things like “I was going to study for my test……but it’s a pass/fail course so nahhhh.” It’s a slacker’s best friend. Although sometimes it can bite you taking one if the course is really easy and you had a chance at an A, for the most part it lets you put in half the effort knowing you’ll get credit for the course. Too bad you can only take like two at my school, because I heart pass/fail courses.

Chipotle/Qdoba/Any Other Burrito Place

Where would college kids be without these faux-Mexican burrito joints? Yes, probably a lot more thin, but also a lot less happy. I’m a busy guy, sometimes I just need to get my daily intake of calories in one meal so I don’t pass out. Enter Chipotle or Qdoba. I almost wish my Thanksgiving dinner consisted of these burritos. That would be awesome. Also, burrito places should offer a turkey burrito for Thanksgiving right?

Free Beer

To the hosts of all the keggers I’ve been to, thank you for the free beer. I know it was unbeknownst to you that I was drinking for free, but still thank you. Of course karma suggests that if I throw a kegger someday no one will be paying me for the beer either, but that’s just another reason why I won’t be throwing a kegger.

Any Beer

My oldest friend. Well, actually more like my most immature and maddening friend. There’s a time every week where I hate this stuff (Sunday mornings), but all the other times we’re on real good terms. I’m not going to say that beer gets me through a tough week, because that would sound borderline like a problem, but having a cold one after a hard weeks work is certainly rewarding. Thank you to Germany or Mesopotamia or whoever invented this stuff.

I’m thankful for a lot more, but on a serious note let’s all take some time out this Thanksgiving to remember how much we can be thankful for (and forget the murder, disease and conquering that Thanksgiving celebrates). Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The post Thanksgiving 2012: College Things I’m Thankful For appeared first on The Campus Companion.

Home For The Holidays (Thanksgiving Edition)

Brian Arola — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:16:24 +0000

It’s your freshman year and you’ve spent nearly three great months away from home. But now it’s Thanksgiving time and the homefront beckons. Depending on how far away your school is from your hometown, going back can be a little weird. Here’s some things you might notice.

How Nice Your Parents Are To You

Sometimes people just don’t know what they had until it’s gone. That’s the case with your parents once you’ve left for school. They’re thrilled to have you back so they can do your laundry, make you food and generally show love that you swear wasn’t there when you were living with them every day. Who can blame them? They spent 18 years seeing you nonstop and then we pull the rug out from under them and go get one of those “educations.” Thanksgiving is the perfect time to follow through on all those times you assured your mom you would come home soon.

How Much Your Home Town Has Stayed The Same

People can be egotistical at times. For instance, when I left my small hometown I worried about all the things I might be missing, as if upon leaving the town all of a sudden decided to become the Ibiza of northern Minnesota. Places don’t change over night, and the town will be there for you once you come back, barring any nuclear bombs.

Minnesota?

Not Sure If Your Friends Changed, Or You Did

You spent every day of high school seeing your friends, but now you go to school far away from each other and through different experiences you will all inevitably change. Seeing them again should be just like old times, but they won’t be the same person you remember, because they’re not. It’s a good thing though, you have a ton more to learn about them.

You Have To Explain To Everyone What You’re Up To

Like I said, I’m from a small town where if people don’t know me, they know my parents. Every public place is ripe with people who haven’t seen me for awhile and want to know what I’m up to. There’s only so many times I can say “I’m studying journalism” and so on before it gets tiring.

The post Home For The Holidays (Thanksgiving Edition) appeared first on The Campus Companion.

Oral, Anniversaries, And Video Games: Fact Checking Everyday Relationship Arguments

Brian Arola — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:02:23 +0000

If you watched the presidential debates over the last few weeks, you probably at one point or another wondered “how much of what these people are saying is actually true?” That’s where fact checking websites like Politifactcome in. They outline when our future leaders have their “pants on fire” from lying about a certain topic. But what if we stretched the use of fact checkers in every arguments we may have with our significant others. Here are some of the results I imagine:

Guy assures girl “there’s only two minutes left! Then we can watch your show.”

Fact checking the statement:

The guy is telling a half lie. While the clock reads two minutes, the guy knows those two minutes take closer to a half-hour to conclude with all the commercials and time-outs mixed in.

Girl accuses guy of “only thinking about sex.”

Fact checking the statement:

Absolutely true statement from the girl. The guy things about that 24/7.

Guy accuses girl of “never giving oral.”

Fact checking the statement:

While “never giving oral” is a bit of a stretch, it shouldn’t be taken literally and means something more like “you barely ever give oral.” Using that statement as actual intent, the guy is telling the truth. Once a month does qualify as “never” in this instance.

Girl tells guy that “you never listen to me when you play your video games!”

Fact checking the statement:

The girl is completely right. While playing Call of Duty, the guy cares little about hearing about her day. The extent of his participation in the conversation is saying “yea” and “mhm.” Legitimate statement from the girl.

Girl or guy accuses the other of “hating my friends”

Fact checking the statement:

Regardless of who says it, it’s probably true either way. The girl hates the guy’s friends because they’re immature and bad influences and the guy hates the girls friends because they’re catty and they talk about him.

Girl accuses guy of “forgetting our anniversary”

Fact checking the statement:

Yep, he screwed up. She’s not lying here. He’s got a lot of work to do, and certainly shouldn’t be expecting oral anytime soon.

The post Oral, Anniversaries, And Video Games: Fact Checking Everyday Relationship Arguments appeared first on The Campus Companion.

Cold Weather Costume Ideas for Halloween

Brian Arola — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:52:08 +0000

If your state borders Canada, you can bet that Halloween is a much different experience than it is for our friends in southern states. In Minnesota, for instance, mother nature seems to throw us a blizzard nearly every Halloween. This gives people the opportunity to mix practicality with creativity on their costume ideas. Here’s some cold weather costume ideas:

Eskimo

Do you know why those people look so happy in that picture? It’s because they’re warm. Just bundle up big time with some fur and say you’re an Eskimo. At 2 a.m. when the snows coming down you’ll be thankful you decided not to be an Olympic swimmer or something.

Skier

Normally athlete costumes are pretty lame, but there’s a pretty big difference between putting a Tracy McGrady jersey on and wearing a bunch of ski gear. You’ve got the goggles, the ski jacket and maybe even the poles to complete the look. Plus if the snow comes down extra heavy you might end up just cross-country skiing home.

Mighty Duck

Every 90s kid’s favorite hockey movie, you can be a member of the team too with this sweet costume. I know this group of friends who dressed up as the whole team just about (not sure who got stuck being Averman). Hockey gear is pretty warm, and being the Mighty Ducks really goes above just being a regular hockey player on Halloween

Luke Skywalker on Hoth

If Luke Skywalker could survive on Hoth in this, I think he’d be able to handle Minnesota.

Santa Claus

Santa Claus knows a thing or two about surviving in the cold. Take a cue from him and be good ol’ Kris Kringle for Halloween. This also has an added bonus of mixing holidays, which is never a bad thing (getting presents on the Fourth of July sounds awesome doesn’t it?). Girls will also want to sit on your lap all night. A lot of upside here.

The post Cold Weather Costume Ideas for Halloween appeared first on The Campus Companion.

Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Talk To Your Parents About…

Brian Arola — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:19:53 +0000

Just because you’re at college away from your parents doesn’t mean you don’t need to talk to them. They miss you, and deep down you miss them too. But just because you have to answer their calls every once in awhile doesn’t mean you have to tell them what you’re actually doing at college. Here’s four things to not truthfully discuss, and what to say if the topic does arise.

What You Did Last Weekend

Do you really think your parents want to know that their kid blacked out, nearly got in a fight and woke up next to someone they didn’t know? Even if it’s not that bad, don’t tell them.

What to say instead: “Studying Friday night, designated driver Saturday, church Sunday”

What You Did Last Night

It’s college, that black out/fight/questionable bed-mate decision could occur on a Tuesday. So when your parents ask what you did, the obvious answer is…..

What to say instead: “Library.”

How Much Money You Actually Have

You should always perpetuate the “broke college student” image around your parents. If they come visit, strategically place some Ramen in eyesight. If they call and ask how you’re doing money wise, never say you don’t need any, but at the same time don’t beg. The trick is to not ask for money, but somehow drop a hint that you need some. One trick is to complain about the price of something that is really cheap in the first place. If nothing else, the next time they see you they might’ve bought that thing for you.

What to say instead: “Yea, I was going to get another notebook but the prices were ridiculous. $2 for a notebook? Come on.”

How Class Is Going

What, you want to tell your parents that you haven’t been to class in weeks and you’re in danger of failing? Be my guest. Class is rarely ever going as well as it could if you have any sort of social life. Don’t worry your parents in October about grades that aren’t finalized until December. You have plenty of time to play catch up next month. Isn’t that what November is for?

What to say instead: “Class is going good.”

The post Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Talk To Your Parents About… appeared first on The Campus Companion.

Misconceptions About Going To a Big School

Brian Arola — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:11:43 +0000

I go to the fourth largest public university in the country. Coming from a small town, I heard every stereotype there was about going to a big school. After three years, I’ve come to know them all as complete misconceptions, starting with how my college would be….

Too Much of a Party School

Most big schools, except Brigham Young of course, are to some extent known for their party scene. While it’s true that big schools have a great culture of undergrads having a good-ass time, it really discounts the academic rigors needed to make it at the school. My school has an acceptance rate under 50 percent, is one of the best research universities in the country and features renowned faculty in many different departments. You could find the same type of academic chops at even bigger schools like Arizona State, Central Florida and Ohio State too. Big schools: party hard, work harder.

Class Sizes

Both of my sisters went to a pretty small, private university, and my parents could only slightly hide the fact that they preferred me to do the same. Class size was one of the reasons why. People tend to think of big universities consisting entirely of gigantic lecture halls, with no one-on-one interaction between professor and student. This is somewhat true in entry level courses where there are a lot of kids trying to get a course requirement.

After that, however, the sizes of courses decreases drastically. I have three courses in my major this fall, and each of them has about 20 students. A 20-1 student to teacher ratio would rate extremely high in any ranking of colleges. The class size issue is vastly overstated.

Lost in the Crowd

There’s so many kids at your school, how will you ever stand out? By being unique I guess. Being a big fish in a small pond is easy at a small school, but how you define yourself in a big pond is up to you at a big school. You can choose to go through school in relative anonymity or you can try be the most popular person on campus. It’s really up to you, and smaller schools don’t afford that decision as much.

Just Too Big

Here’s the thing about big schools, I’ve always though that you can make it as big or small as you want. Within a big school there’s such a network of smaller communities of like-minded people that your world will be much smaller than you’d think.

Basically, you’ll have your network of people you’ll know just like at a small school, but you also have the possibility to always meet new people, because there’s so many kids. I run into a ton of people I know at the bars, because I’m in a group that likes to go to the bars. If you’re into basketball, you’ll run into a lot of people you know there. Only at first will you sort of feel overwhelmed, but overall it’s good for you because it makes you adjust and grow as a person. And oh yeah, my school has like 27,000 girls. Beat that.

The post Misconceptions About Going To a Big School appeared first on The Campus Companion.

The 5 Most Obnoxious People In Your College Classes

Brian Arola — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:12:27 +0000

College lectures are full of vastly different people from all walks of life, but there are five types you’re pretty much guaranteed to have in your classes every single semester. Starting with…..

The Guy Who Loves The Sound Of His Own Voice

This is the guy who leads the league in raising his hand, and since no one else in the class does, the professor has to call on them. They are more than willing to express their opinion (often unpopular) and might even try challenging the professor from time to time. The weird part about this person is they’re usually like 45 years old or something, leading to you wondering what the hell they’re doing in your mid-level poli sci course.

Most likely grade for the course: B+ (they know enough to get an A, but the professor hates them so much they had to knock them down a couple notches).

The Sleeper

We’ve all been here, but this person must be allergic to coffee or something, because they pass out every single week immediately after plopping down in their seats. They’re definitely in the back of the class too. In a smaller course your professor might even notice them and wake them up which is always super awkward.

Grade for the course: B- (all that sleep they don’t get pays off when they work through the night on their final paper and do enough to get a respectable grade)

The Puzzler

Someone’s always got a copy of the school paper, but they aren’t reading it. Nope, not when there’s that sweet crossword and sudoku in the back. These people are funny because they try to be really sneaky about their paper puzzles. They might even alternate between their crossword and jotting down notes, a multitasking effort I can only be envious of.

Grade for the course: A (like I said, I’m envious of these people. They can do crosswords and pay attention at the same time. More power to them)

The Yappers

These people signed up for the class together because they’re totally best friends. They get to talk about how much they hate the class, outside of class. In class, they spend their time talking at a level that just barely annoys the hell out of you.

Grade for the course: C+ (if they spend more time shutting up and less gossiping, it might be a different story)

The Texter

This person came in late and you quickly wonder why they came at all because they’re texting the entire class period. Full disclosure, I’m being a texter right now. This class sucks.

Grade for the course: PASS/FAIL BITCHES!

The post The 5 Most Obnoxious People In Your College Classes appeared first on The Campus Companion.

Called Up to the Majors: The Academic Leap From Tiny High School To Huge College

Brian Arola — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 15:24:07 +0000

My college, the University of Minnesota, has about 45,000 students. My graduating class in high school had 45. You might imagine a step up like that comes with its growing pains, and in my case, you’d be correct. In particular, the academic leap from a tiny high school to a major university proved difficult.

I know the academic rigors of high school are different for everyone, but damn was the schoolwork easy at my school. My friends and I would take pride in not bringing our schoolwork home. Every single night I would devote my time to more important things like video games, texting girls and watching television.

When did my homework get done? Well, that was what the class before it was due was for. Also, study hall sure helped. Out of 45 students, I placed third in my class (first boy) and got into every school I applied for. So the craziest thing about my lack of attention to studies was how it always met with success. At that point, I certainly thought I was just some sort of genius (I had quite the ego too in case you couldn’t tell). Then college happened.

I don’t want to throw my school system under the bus, because there were some great teachers at my high school who I learned a lot from, but smaller schools have limited resources to work with regarding student’s academic careers. For what it’s worth, I think my school worked great with what it had, but I’m told that bigger high schools have things called AP courses, but that sounds so foreign to me that it might as well be Japanese, which coincidentally is another course I’ve heard the bigger schools offered (we just had Spanish, sort of).

We could go to the community college one town over to take some classes, but why go to college before you have to go to college, right? Anyway, I entered college with the same false sense of genius/horrible studying habits that never failed me in high school, and flopped on my face first semester. I like to compare it to some baseball player in single A minor league ball all of a sudden getting called up to the major leagues. That guy was hitting balls over the fence in single A, and now all of a sudden he has to adjust to a Roy Halladay curveball. The curveball for me was the amount of studying needed to do well in a college course. I came in with absolutely no study skills whatsoever, so I literally did not have the tools to do well. High school just came too easily for me, and I slipped into horrid habits. It took about one semester for me to gain my bearings in college and feel confident in my study skills.

Settling In:

Your new colleagues can overwhelm you at times. In high school, you’re probably used to being one of the brighter kids in your small class. Then, all of a sudden you’re surrounded by other kids coming from that same situation. You start to question whether you belong and college seems even more daunting. This is usually just all in your head, and if anything should push you to do even better. While your competition (although your colleagues should hardly be considered “competition”) increases, so should your work ethic. It’s corny, but staying positive and believing in your ability to succeed at the college level goes a long way during this adjustment stage.

There was also the fact that my great motivator (my mom) was no longer there to push me to work harder. With her around waking me up, getting up for school was easy. Now, all of a sudden my 9:45 am class seems reaaaaally early, especially since I’m up until three every night because no one is telling me to go to bed. Yes, 18 year olds should be able to motivate themselves and be responsible with schoolwork, but when you’ve spent your entire life under one roof with your parents reminding you to do the important tasks in life like eating and going to the bathroom (kidding), it can be difficult when they’re not around.

I don’t in any way feel that my small town high school education failed me, but I do think that the academic ceiling there is lower than that of a big high school. This forced a tough transition into a big university. Looking back, there were a lot of ways I could have more seamlessly adapted to college.

Looking Back:

Starting in high school, I could have obviously spent more time on my homework. Sure, I always got it done and did well, but how you do on your school work is perhaps less important in the long term than how you do it. You can’t expect to all of a sudden flip a study switch and be able to properly prepare for college exams. That needs to start in high school. Since anyone reading this is most likely done with high school and/or in college, it’s already too late for you. You will fail in college. Totally kidding, there’s advice for you too here. For starters, go to your classes. This seems obvious, but the freshman me didn’t realize this.

One class I took just didn’t interest me whatsoever, so I skipped one class. It’d be fine if it ended there, but one skipped class turned into a handful of skipped classes. It would be an understatement to say skipping classes when you already don’t have any study skills is a bad idea. Certainly have fun once you get to college, but stay on top of your classes. That will make your transition from a small school to a major university a hell of a lot easier. Also, not being as big of an idiot as I was will help as well (you’re probably set there).

The post Called Up to the Majors: The Academic Leap From Tiny High School To Huge College appeared first on The Campus Companion.