Top 5 Ways to Prepare For Your Next Year in College
It’s nice having no more 8am classes, unreasonable professors, stressful exams, or even roommate drama. The summer break has really been treating you well, hasn’t it? However, all good things must eventually come to an end, as in the case of our coveted summer break. But as you enjoy your last few weeks of rest before hitting the ground running in the fall, here are a few things to do in preparation.
#1: Write or revisit your college game plan. Your college game plan is your “bucket list” of everything you want to accomplish before you graduate. Many times it includes ideas like studying abroad, landing an internship, graduating with a 3.5 GPA, or gaining a leadership role in a campus organization. Before starting back in the fall, create this game plan. If you already have one, evaluate your progress towards each of your listed goals.
#2: Reflect on last year’s strengths. Reflection is important for growth and improvement. Think about your performance last year, and recall what went well. Did you meet an awesome friend, win a scholarship, or pass a difficult class? Whatever it may be, reflect on those successes, and what helped you to achieve them. Think about how you can build even more on those good habits to make them even stronger for next semester.
#3: Reflect on last year’s weaknesses. What about the areas last semester that caused you grief, stress, or even failure. Did you miss an important assignment, spread yourself too thin, run out of money, or oversleep for an exam? Devise a plan to fix these problem areas. Get a planner, stop procrastinating, check email more often, etc. Add this plan to your goals. Everyone has flaws, but successful people identify them and work towards improvement.
#4: Update your resume. You don’t want to go too long without updating your resume. You may forget some of the awesome things you did! This is the perfect time to think back on last year and remember relevant information to add to your resume. Did you volunteer, have an internship, gain summer employment, write a blog, win a competition, or present at a conference? No matter how big or small, if it is relevant, write it down!
#5: Update your wardrobe. Do you have business professional attire? What about business casual attire? If not, this is the perfect time to step your game up. Being a college student, you never know when you’ll need to dress up for an interview, to meet with executives, to visit a career fair, or to attend a conference. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Having professional attire on hand is a great way to stay prepared for whatever opportunity college throws your way.
Doing these five actions, accompanied by reading Acing The Undergrad: Your Personal Mentor, will fully prepare you to make next semester better than your last! For more information on Acing The Undergrad visit acingtheundergrad.com and watch ATU: The Show.
