Tips for New College Students - Building a Great GPA

Graduating from high school and entering college can undoubtedly bring about many changes in a student’s life. Beginning college represents an allegorical first step toward independence for high school graduates, and gives many their first glimpse of the responsibilities that inevitably accompany such freedom.

With the major lifestyle change and numerous constant distractions associated with the transition from high school to college, it can become almost too easy for new college students to neglect their academic responsibilities. However, even one or two poor grades can have a lasting negative impact on a student’s grade point average (GPA). Earning and maintaining a good GPA involves constant diligence in every class, every semester. Below are some tips designed to help new college students start out and continue on the right track academically.

-Go to class. Granted, you have probably heard this straightforward advice a thousand times before. Still, many students struggle to make this simple effort that can mean the difference between passing and failing a class. Being at each class meeting gives you the advantage of hearing the lecture on the subject matter first hand, which will make studying for tests less grueling and more productive later. Not to mention, professors are typically privy to the fact that the most dedicated students attend each class meeting, and many reveal insight into the format and material of future exams during class. Missing out on key information may lead a student to take an ineffective approach to studying or to focus on the wrong information, which can lead to a catastrophe of a test grade.

-Prioritize wisely. College students are undoubtedly faced with a barrage of distractions. Whether the culprit be sports, participation in student organizations or enjoying an over bountiful social life, the numerous hours required to excel academically can be infringed upon by more appealing activities. Achieving a consistently high GPA requires prioritizing your time favorably toward attending class, studying, and doing projects, even when it requires you to sacrifice a party once in a while.

-Be a great test taker.

There is an art to taking tests. Throughout college, you will notice that tests are not all created equal. In one class, the professor may create his or her own tests, while in another class the tests are standardized for an entire department. Know which are which. Pay attention to what concepts professors are emphasizing, and take detailed, legible notes. Study them exhaustively before exams, and not just the hour before. Another seemingly obvious piece of advice bears addressing-complete all class assignments, and understand their concepts. Tests often cover the same concepts, and sometimes even the exact questions, as do previous exercises assigned to the class.

The advantages of graduating from college with a good GPA are immeasurable. Particularly when you have little to no professional work experience, a potential employer may look to your academic achievements in gaining insight into your level of knowledge, determination and abilities. Maintaining a good GPA also reduces the risk of losing a valuable student loan, scholarship or other financial assistance that may require a minimal standard of academic performance for continuance. A high undergraduate GPA will also be on your side should you apply for continued education such as graduate school or law school in the future. And that can only happen if you follow at least the simplest of advice-go to class. Someday you will be grateful you did.

About the Author: Edmund Rogers, a graduate student in English, is the editor for http://www.iStudentLoan.com -a student loan and student loan consolidation provider which also supplies a free online resource for learning about and applying for a student loan. For more information, please visit http://www.iStudentLoan.com

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Getting around the campus/town

Campus are huge in some schools. I mean really big. I have seen friends who will have part time job in medical school and they will stay few miles away but within the campus. At times it will be hard to go places within campus. Especially, when its cold and showing. People will wait in bus stop when there is few inches of show pouring on them.

New student’s usually walk a lot, but there will be campus shuttle that will take you free around the campus. Some students get bikes ( bi-cycle) to get around. All the building will have stand to park and stow your bikes.

Student usually get car after 1 year or so depending on the university location and cost of living. Yes, have a car will add to cost of living, especially, in some schools, parking is very expensive. In schools like Indiana University at Bloomington, where you will not find parking spaces within the campus, only way to ride is to park the car far away from the building and ride the campus shuttle.

Parking withing the campus varies from $30 to $300 or more per semester. So, getting around is fun, but make it interesting. Walk with your friends, chit chat about your day at work, class room, share cooking ideas ( oh yeah..I’m game for cooking).

Do you know where your next class room is…

Fall semester is on its way. New students are trying about to enjoy the feeling that will be with them for years to come.

Your first day in U.S.
Your first time to Walmart
Your first time calling home
Your first day in lab
Your first time in class room

Yes, it was Software Engineering 1 class for me and it would be a different class for you. It will always be difficult to find the way to class building. Best way to remember your way around to keep landmarks. You can find campus map in the college website. find the way around respective to your apartment.

Remember few landmarks on the way to class room. In couple of day you will get adjusted to the way. Then try exploring new route to the class. Sometime, it will be difficult to find the class within the building. There might be lots of rooms and some class rooms will not hidden from the view. So, its always much better to take a walk around the campus with map in hand, after you register for the classes, to know how long it would take for you to get there from your apartment/office/previous class room.

New Student : 8 A.M wake up call

It feel so nice to see number of page views, new visitors, returning visitors go North daily. I got very encouraging reviews and adding list of questions to write about. I was thinking about how first few months at school where. It was very steep learning curve. Everything is different, opposite of what we are used to. If we need to run on the lights, switches has to be pushed up side ( opposite to India).

When traveling, people will talk about Exits, road numbers, and many other jargon’s. When, I driving to the University for the first time, I was amazed to see clean roads, big cars. It was dream come true after watching English movies for sometime.

Due to time difference for first few days, we will tend to get up early in the morning, when majority of Indian community students will be sleeping. Typical first few days will look like, wake up early, walk to the lab, you will come across new students like you and few others seniors who has part time job.

If you happen to visit the library, lab, it will be very hard to see students from India before 11 AM. Slowly, you will get adapted to working late habits. We used to play cricket in the parking lot, very late in the day, like 11 PM to 4 AM. It was fun, sometime cops will walk by to learn the game and see if things are going good.

Getting up early was routine for first 2-3 months, but majority of my class was in the evening, so the trend started to change. Still that habit lingers in me after few years. I work late and wake up early.

Airport Pickup

Most of Indian Students Association in the University will arrange airport pickup for new students and also temporary accommodation. They will usually ask to fill out a form with your flight details and date of arrival.

List of thing to have with you:

1) Name of person who is coming to receive you
2) Contact phone number of that person
3) Contact phone number for backup person
4) Home address where your temporary accommodation is arranged

When you clear the customs and walk out from the baggage area, wait for them. Some student might hold a board with university name, some might not. But, its always easier for the person coming to receive you to identify you.

What if no one come to receive you:
Suppose, the person couldn’t make it on time to pickup, DON’T PANIC. Wait for 1-2 hours. If no one turns up, call them.

How to call them?

1) Try to find a public pay phone and make a call, if you $1 or $0.25 coins
2) Ask for someone how has a cell phone, request them if you could make a quick call, by explaining your situation. Usually, you should be able to find some Indian’s in the airport, if not ask anyone who has a cell phone.

If that option doesn’t work out, walk out and get a cab and give the address to cab driver, he will take you .

Worst Case Scenario:

If you don’t have the address, phone number and if you arrive in day time, take the cab and you should have international office address in I-20, go to International office and ask for help.

If you arrive in night time take a cab to nearby hotel and spend the night at the hotel and take a cab to the university next day.

So, important thing to remember is DON’T PANIC, if someone doesn’t come to pick you from the airport. Its the best experience you will remember for the rest to of the life. the person who will come for pick up, first apartment where you will stay, your first drive in the American roads, cars, …..So, just ENJOY your first experience. I still talk about that experience. It was rainy afternoon on Dec, 30th in Dallas Airport …

I really appreciate some comment if you like the posts in my blog. That would give me an idea on what topics to write about. Just click on comment link below this post and pen down your thoughts.

After arrival in U.S.

I was thinking about what different experiences/thoughts/questions a student could face in first few days after arriving U.S. and I came with the following list.

1) Searching for seniors who have come to pick you from airport ( when you walk out from airport)

2) You will notice difference in the people around.

3) You will be asked to Buckle up your seat belts in the car.

4) You might have booked your apartment online from India and move into an unfurnished empty apartment the first day with 2/3 suitcases.

5) Seniors might accommodate few new comers in your apartment for temporary stay

6) You could be put in with any of your seniors apartment till you find a place for you

7) After landing in U.S., you will ask for a way to call India to inform your parents about your safe arrival.

I have seen few cry when they talk to parents back home after arriving.

9) Some of you might come without arranging for pickup and cab driver would have dropped in front of the campus and you will have no contact and no where to go

10) You would tend to ask lot of questions about everything ( everything is different)

11) Seniors might take you for McDonald’s, Indian Restaurant or some other fast food chains

12) You might end up in your own apartment and making friends with your neighbours.

13) Seniors will ask not to sleep till night time if you arrived in U.S. in day time

14) You will be amazed ti see sunlight till 9 PM

15) Ask if you can access Internet to check your email

16) I have seen few who will feel relaxed and filled with joy, after coming to U.S. ( maybe they could have tried very hard to get study here)

17) You will ask about opening bank account and finding how bank works.

18) Compare the food you get from students cooking to delicious food mom cooks back home.

19) When I first entered into Walmart, I couldn’t believe my eyes, seeing its size. I never saw a super market of that size. That would make your eyes blink.. and say ..wow.. I’m in America

20) If you haven’t found an apartment after you arrived in U.S. searching for nice place to stay will be bit hectic.

21) You would go for a walk and come back home and say to seniors that a foreigner smiled at me and said Hello

22) First item you take from grocery store, see its price and do a mental calculation ( $5 * 40)

23) That calculation will continue for every item you put into your cart.

24) Your shopping experience will be different if you move-in with any senior who is been there for atleast 1 year.

25) I have taken so many new students to Walmart/Indian store within first few days of arrival. Usually, they don’t buy any stuffs, they will be hesitant. Not sure, if the price they will pay is wort its value. So, I will step-in and say take that blue comforter, that’s the cheapest you can get.

26) Amazed to see so many different types of car

27) No 2 cars you will find of same make, model and color.

28) No more than 1 people inside the car.

29) When you turn on the TV, ad’s will look different.

30) If you answer any marketing phone calls from 1-800 number, you wouldn’t understand a word they talk

31) I was asked by almost everyone whom I pickedup from airport, about part time jobs, aid.

32) What kind of part time job students does?

33) How will they pay?

34) Just after I say them while entering the campus, that university starts from othert side of the road, why is there no walls surrounding the campus?

35) Will it snow here?

36) Do you have a part time job/aid?

That’s not the end of it. If you happen to face any of the above situations, just pen down a comment with the thought number before it.

Like, I came across 26, 10, 13

If you wonder, what inspired me to write this list, its was because of comment from on the the reader, saying, I had faced 90% situations you were writing about.

First week student life in U.S.

First week in U.S. will be a good experience. I have seen friends who will miss their parents a lot, to someone who is already set to enjoy a new life - half way around the world from native country.

It will usually take couple of days to get adjusted to new environment. It will be a very nice drive back home from Airport. You will see so many different types of cars( not more than 1 person will be in the car). Checkout the previous posts on How to avoid jetlag, that might come in handy. I sill remember on my first day evening when my roommate asked me to identify which is sugar and salt from a cup and from its appearance, I couldn’t, unless I taste it.

First important thing is to find a place to stay or you might have an apartment, so you will be busy looking for roommate. I’m sure seniors will help you out with shopping stuffs for your new home. The amazement after seeing Walmart, Tom Thumb, Kroger and shopping malls still lingers in me.

In some shopping center, bank will be located within the complex. I have seen people opening bank account within the shopping complex, like Tom Thumb, Albertson’s.

Making lots of friends will help you in long run and will give you different ideas. Since everyone will spend some 2-3 years in school and to understand how things work in specific situation, you need to talk to people.

For an instance, what if you want to withdraw from courses for a particular semester after you have paid the tuition fees, will you get refund or what can be done to get the fees back.. those kind of thing, you will learn only if you talk to seniors. Not all the seniors will have answer to it unless any of their friends have come across such situations.

Carry a small notepad, if you don’t have cell phone for first few days. Note down phone numbers of your friends and seniors. Visit their apartment and say hi to their roommates. Build a network. You will understand how to find a part time job, aid and many other things. Arrange for small party among new friends, so you will get to know more people. Smile at every other person you come across and get to know them. It will definitely make your life easier to have lot of friends.

I have had few of the readers ask about credit cards, how to find part time jobs, credit history, driving license, International Driving Permit. So, you can expect posts from above topics soon.

Till then cheers!