Chances are, you’ve been offered college advice that is well-intentioned, but obvious. “Go to class”, etc. Here is THE BEST college advice for freshmen...

The Best Advice for College Students

There are a million pieces of advice I could offer you as a freshman. However, I think there are a few key pieces of advice that are critical to freshman, but often not the focus when being advised.

You don’t need to be a freshman to appreciate or receive this advice, as it is never too early or too late to learn something … but rather it is best as a freshman because you can use this advice as a guide thorughout your college experience.

The Top Three Pieces of Advice for College Freshmen

Focus On Your ROI
The College Experience Is All About Balance
We Learn By Challenging Ourselves

Let’s dive into how you can maximize your college experience as a freshman…

Top Pieces of Advice for College Freshmen

Focus On Your ROI (Return on Investment)

There is a misconception that people’s success is linked to their major, GPA, advanced classes or honors, awards, class rank, etc.

The answer here, is yes, and no.

There is usually no “one-thing” you need to do in college, and none of it guarantees you success in life, especially now more than ever when a college degree often isn’t even required.

A better way to look at it is that college is that it is essentially what you make of it, or more simply… what you get out of it.

Things like a major or school such as business or communications should be seen as tools to get you your desired outcome, rather than the end all be all.

For example: An english major could theoretically get into medical school. It would be hard, because you probably wouldn’t have the necessary science or math background, making an english major the less applicable path toward that goal, but it would still be possible.

Therefore, to guide you towards success, whatever that means for you…

Finding a career that helps you make a difference.
Finding a career that can help you make a lot of money.
Finding a career that allows you to be creative.
Or even simply…
Finding a career that is low stress and a work environment that offers balance and prioritizes a work life balance.

… Focus on the big picture to guide you from a logical perspective towards your version of success.

For example: If you wanted to become a lawyer, you would probably:

Find a quality undergraduate program
Major in things that are related to your interest in law such as environmental science and business for environmental law or policial science for public law.
Join clubs related to law such as a philosophy club.
Apply to a reputable law school and graduate with a high GPA.
Try to get into a top law firm that specializes in your interests.

Therefore your end goal is driving your steps towards a career in law.

This is why it is so important to have an idea of what you want to study while in school.

College is an investment in your future, so therefore you want to make the most out of that investment by having a goal, even if it is initially hazy to help guide you through school.

That is where the ROI comes in.

… and no, there is no simple formula for achieving ROI or clear-cut path, only generic estimations or expectations. For example, taking out X amount of loans to achieve a career that will pay you X amount post-graduation.

Life is simply, not that simple.

College, for a lot of students is one of the most expensive things we will ever pay for.

That is why it is so important that when you go, at whatever stage of life you are in, you go with:

Intention or goals which drive your journey.
The best probablity of a successful outcome (so if you are really struggling with mental health, putting college on pause might be the best choice).
If you are struggling with mental health, or are passionate about mental health, I recommend this TedX Talk by Conrad Hogg, titled “A new approach to mental health in universities”.
In it he discusses his hypothesis behind why there has been a steep incline in students struggling with mental health in the past few decades, and some ways colleges can approach mental health to help make students more resilient, despite being in such as stressful environment.

You make the most of your experience.

You challenge yourself to try new things to learn and grow as a person.

2. The College Experience Is All About Balance

“The college experience” is different for everyone, but generally the idea is that college is more than just the classes you took or the grades you received.

Don’t get me wrong, those are the big part of college, and definitely some of the most important if not the most.

The key in all this is finding a balance, between school, work, and life.

A large part of the college experience should be about things like:

Meeting new people and learning how to get along with them.
Growing as a person and developing new interests.
Experiencing new things such as a new environment or sharing a room.
Challenging yourself, and thereby realizing new things about yourself.
Learning how to juggle a lot of things… school, work, clubs, activities, fun-time, friendships, relationships, and so much more.

A lot of people miss out on those opportunities because they are only focused on one or two things. I used to think that college was only about school, the things you learned, and the grades you earned. But a lot of college is about growth.

It’s about finding time, making the time, and enjoying the time there.

Curious about finding simple hacks to balance it all?

I really enjoy watching Ali Abdaal’s YouTube videos. Not only is he a doctor (though not currently practicing), entrepreneur/founder of a site called 6med, which offers classes for potential medical students… he is also one of the most successful “productivity YouTubers”.

I love his videos because his tips are easy to digest and relatively easy to implement.

Check out his video, “How I Manage My Time - 10 Time Management Tips”.

3. We Learn By Challenging Ourselves

The purpose behind college is learning, and that extends to all areas of our college life.

We learn (perhaps more) through the experiences we have and the people we meet.

According to an article by Psychology Today, “Time, repetition, and emotion all contribute to whether we remember information or an event, and the basic rule is that events and information with significance are remembered”.

Therefore, if we have a personal connection, memory, or experience tied to a topic, we are much more likely to remember it.

For example, consider why you remember more from some classes than others?

Could it be your interest in the topic?
Could it be the behavior of the teacher or the class?
Could it be a formative experience you had in that class?

Chances are, you probably remember the class not because of the things you learned in it, but the experiences you had in it.

I honestly cannot remember a thing from half the classes I took, the name of the professor, or even the name of the class, but I do remember so many pivotal moments that taught me so much about life, who I am, and who I want to be.

Here’s a great, quick video that explains how the brain stores memories, if you’re interested in learning more.

So how can you challenge yourself?

You’ve heard it a million times before… we challenge ourselves by stepping outside of our comfort zone.

So how can you do that?

Here’s a few ways to challenge yourself:

Joining clubs and events.
Introducing yourself to people.
Going on trips and studying abroad.
Attending talks and discussions.
Maintaining relationships by asking people to hang out with you and getting to know them.
Volunteering your time and energy.
Balancing heavy workloads with a heavy schedule.
Yes, even attending parties is a way to challenge yourself!

Chances are, you won’t remember much from the classes other than the concepts, but you will remember far more from the experiences you had and the times your challenged yourself.

You will learn a lot (and a lot more about yourself) when you expose yourself, so challenging yourself is one of the best ways to grow.

If you didn’t have time to read …