Congratulations on your decision to attend college! For the great majority of college students, it really was
your
decision—not just an automatic thing to do. If you happen to be one of the few who just sort of ended
up in college for want of anything better to do, the benefits of college will soon become obvious.
The reason for this book, and
for almost all college courses, is that college does require commitment and
effort. Like everything else in life that leads to
meaningful results, success in college is not automatic. But
when you apply yourself
to your studies using the skills you’ll learn in this book, you’ll find you can succeed.
When asked, most students say they’re in college primarily for the job or career they expect to follow after
college. And they are correct that college pays off enormously in terms of future earnings, job security and stability, and job satisfaction. Every statistic shows that people with a college education will make much
more in their lifetime (much, much more than the cost of college itself) and be much happier with the work they do.
But job and career issues are only a part of the big picture. A college education results in many other
personal benefits, and these also should be
part of your motivation for doing well and continuing with
your
college plans. Here are a few additional, less tangible benefits of a college education:
· You will have a fuller life and a better understanding of the world around you.
· You will gain decision-making and problem-solving skills.
· You will meet many interesting and diverse people and have a richer social life.
· You will gain self-confidence.
· You will gain learning skills that can continue for a lifetime.
· You will make wiser decisions about lifestyle issues and live healthier.
· You will make wiser economic decisions the rest of your life.
· You will be
better equipped to deal with other people, organizations, governmental agencies, and all the hassles of daily life.
· You will feel more fully a part of your community, the larger culture, and history.
A college education is correlated with greater success in all those areas, even though
most students are
usually more concerned with making it through the next class or test than the rest of their lives. But sometimes it helps to recall what a truly great step forward you are taking!
Sadly, however, it’s important to recognize that some students do not succeed in college and drop out within the first year. Sometimes it’s due to an unsolvable financial problem or a personal or family crisis,
but
most of the time students drop out because they’re having problems passing their courses. The two
biggest causes of this problem are a lack of motivation and not having learned the skills needed to succeed
in
college.
A
book like this one can help you stay motivated when things get tough, but it can’t necessarily give you motivation to start with. That’s part of what you yourself have to bring to college. What we can promise
you
is that you can learn the skills for succeeding in college.
Special skills are needed
because college isn’t the same as high school. Throughout this book, we’ll be looking at the many ways college is different from high school. To name
just a few, college is different in
study skills needed, in personal skills related to
being independent, in social skills for getting along with instructors and others on campus, in financial realities, in matters of personal health, and more.
Remember, you can learn whatever you need in order to succeed. That’s what this book is all about. You’ll
learn how to get the most out of going to class. You’ll learn how to study in ways that use your time
efficiently and help you pass tests. You’ll even learn how to remember what you read in your college textbooks. You’ll learn how to manage
your time more effectively than you might have in
the past, so that
studying is less a burden and more a simple routine. You’ll even learn how things like eating well and
getting enough sleep and
exercise make it easier to do
well in your classes.
One warning: you might not at first see an immediate
payoff for everything you read in this book. When it
comes to certain things, such as tips for how to take good notes in class to help you study later on for a test, you will get specific, practical advice you can put to use immediately to get a better grade. But not everything is as obvious or immediately beneficial. Some of the things you’ll read about here involve ideas you’ll need to think about. Some things will help you get to know yourself better and understand more
clearly what you really want from your education and how to go about attaining them.
But we promise you this: if you care enough to want to
succeed in college and care enough to read these
chapters and try to use the information, suggestions, and tips presented here, you will succeed in college.
