Whether you’re a new college student, a full-time student starting your next semester, or a nontraditional student trying to balance your family, job, and school life, college is challenging for everyone in different ways. However, there are several ways to thrive. We wrote seven tips on how to achieve your goals and succeed throughout your college career. 

1. Use your resources

Colleges nationwide want to see their student body be successful, and they often offer numerous resources to make students’ lives easier. A common resource many schools share is access to a library. Libraries are designed to help the students find an environment where they can feel comfortable and find information for the purpose of completing an assignment. Tutoring and writing centers are other great resources to use. At some point we all struggle with assignments and utilizing these resources can make a difference. Using these resources can build up your writing skills and improve your grades. 

2. Talk to your advisors

 To reach out to advisors, follow these steps “My NWACC – Advising – Schedule Advising Appointment”  then choose the advisor in your field of study. For example, an art student would choose the advisor Veronica Nieto because she is the advisor for communication and arts, and a student pursuing a degree in coding would choose the advisors Renee Campbell or Robert Moore. If you have issues getting the appointments to work, then you can email advisors using your NWACC Outlook email. If you are confused on what your major is, then you can follow these steps “My Nwacc – Student Records – Unofficial Transcripts and Grades” to see details.

3. Pursue extra credit opportunities

Extra credit is always useful when it’s available. It can boost lagging grades or give extra support to a higher grade. Re-read your syllabus or ask your professors if they’re willing to give out extra credit assignments. If there are no opportunities for extra credit, the attempt never hurts and can show your professor that you truly care about doing well in their class, so they may help you out in other ways.

4. Time management 

Balancing a social life, a job, and your classes’ assignments can be a struggle for new students. Take care to prioritize your schoolwork, incorporate plenty of time to study into your schedule, and the rest should fall into place. Having set times, potentially even in a calendar, for studying and classwork can help you visually keep track of the time you need to put into your schoolwork. Routines, as tip 7 mentions, can also help your time management. If you have a job, be sure to communicate that with your instructors and leave yourself time to complete assignments around your work schedule. 

5. Stay up to date

Staying on top of your assignments can help make life in college way easier.  If all your work is turned in on time, you will have more time to study and won’t have to go back and finish a bunch of assignments you missed last minute.  Another reason it is super important to stay on top of your work is so you don’t lose points; many teachers will take off a percentage of points for each day your assignment is late, and some won’t accept late work at all.  

6. Get involved 

Staying involved at NWACC can help you get familiarized with different clubs and interact with other students. Being a part of a club can give you different connections and a new community to be a part of, especially if it’s something that you’re really interested in. It can also help you stay motivated to continue on your academic journey. Whether you’re a new student or have been at NWACC for some time, there is something for everyone such as the ping pong club, the e-sports club, the LIFE program, etc. To learn more, visit NWACC’s student life webpage.

7. Develop a routine

Form a routine and stick with it, following the 20/90 rule. It takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days for it to become part of your lifestyle. Developing a routine is an essential part of succeeding in college. Other success strategies include not falling behind, having a set wake-up and rest times, and setting aside enough time for schoolwork and extracurricular activities. Make sure to give yourself enough time to finish school work and still engage in other activities including hanging out with friends and participating in clubs.

This blog was produced by journalism students Francisco Jasso, Bryce Watson, Adam Bannister, Gillian Bunting, Daniela Rodriguez, Grant Bowman, and Cadence Moore. All are students in Debbie Miller’s spring 2023 Fundamentals of Journalism class at NWACC.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash