Halloween is almost here again!  In just one month, we will be throwing Halloween parties, maybe trick or treating, and looking for Halloween costumes.  College is a very fun time, and when we have Halloween to celebrate it’s even more fun!  If you’re looking to prepare for Halloween early, consider a few of these tips to do so!

Costume – First of all, we need a costume to start.  A costume is a must, and really makes Halloween fun again.  There are several great costumes to choose from, so consider a few of these different outfits!

What’s going on? - Next, find out what’s going on.  Are you throwing a party, are you going to your friend’s house, are you coming home?  There are several options, talk with your friends and family to see what the plans are.

Party planning – If you’re thinking about throwing a Halloween party, you definitely want to start planning early.  Think of who you want to invite, what the entertainment is going to be, what food you’re going to have, etc.  Throwing a party in college is fun, but a Halloween party is even funner!

Food – Whether you’re throwing the party, or you’re going to someone elses party, you want to think of some fun food you can make.  Make a dessert, a plate, or snack that everyone can munch on.

Celebrtaing Halloween in college is a blast.  Everyone dresses up, has a good time, and gets together with their friends.  Make this Halloween a good time, and plan ahead of time so you don’t wait until the last minute to find a costume and find out what you’re plans are!

A lot of students are thrilled to be finally out of high school.  They got by with just enough effort to graduate, and are ready to get started on their college career.  Although, what a lot of high school students don’t know at the time is how the classes they took in high school will effect them in college.

Do The Classes You Took in High School Matter in College?

The answer to that is yes!  A lot of high school students barely get by, and don’t put in all their effort for the classes.  What they don’t know that it will be a lot harder on you than you think in the long run.  What are the reasons?

College – First of all, the grades that you’re getting in high school matter tremendously when it comes to getting into certain colleges.  If you don’t have good enough grades, you may not get into your dream college or even a really good college.  If you can’t show that you’re able to get good grades in high school, they’ll think the same for college.

Re-take – If you didn’t do good in your high school classes, you’ll have to end up retaking them in the long run.  For example, if you didnt’ get past algebra one, you’ll need to most likely re-take it in college as an elective or to get your degree.  This means now you have to pay a lot of money to take a class in college that you could have done well in and could have avoided if you would have done good in high school.

What does this mean?  You’re out money, and now you’re behind because you didn’t do good the first time around.

Ahead – If you would have done really good in your high school classes, you would be much further ahead.  You could be on maybe statistics instead of pre-algebra, or biology 2 instead of intro to biology.

What you do in high school matters a lot in college.  It may decide your future (based on what college you’ll get accepted into), what classes you’ll have to take, and how much money you’ll have to spend because you didn’t do well enough the first time.  Do as best as you can in high school, so that it’s not so hard on you down the road.

After all the years we’ve completed of school, sometimes we just want to be done.  We want to be on with our lives, on our own, and finally with that good job we’ve been working so hard for.  A lot of college students want to finish college fast, and want to be finally done with school for good.  Although finishing college fast may be a little harder, it is possible.  Get that degree, and get on with your life with these few tips below.

Focus – If you want to get done fast, you really need to focus on school entirely.  This means try laying off your part-time job and just focus on one thing – that being school.  If you want to get done sooner, you can’t have any distractions getting in the way.

Each semester – Getting done faster means more credit each semester.  The average college student takes about 12 credits each semester (full-time), although if you want to get done sooner, you’ll need to take more.  So throw in another class or two each semester.

Summer classes – Instead of working or hanging out with your friends all summer, you need to welcome another class.  Sign up for summer classes and try taking about 2 or 2 each summer.  Doing this will cut off almost an entire semester.

Online – Online is the way to go if you want to finish fast.  Most classes are 16 weeks long, although online classes are about 8 weeks long.  Therefore instead of taking 3 classes per semester, you can take 6.  This being 3 at the beginning, and then when those end 3 more.

Finishing college early is definitely a possibility.  You don’t need it to be dragged out over years and years.  Instead you can consider a few of these tips above, and be finished before you know it.

When planning to study, it is helpful to prepare a study schedule.  This can be as simple as listing the classes in which you must devote time, and leaving a blank for the time that you intend to spend.  Using a spiral notebook or day planner works well and helps keep the study schedule neat and organized.  So, a study schedule for an evening in which you have work to do in Political Science, French and Literature might reflect the three classes on the left hand side of the page, with a box or blank next to each that can be filled in depending upon your objectives for the evening, say two hours for Political Science, and one hour each for French and Literature.

Choose your study environment wisely

The place where you choose to do your work can be critically important.  Select an area that is free from temptations and distractions, such as the library.  If your dorm room tends to be a place where students congregate to chat, borrow clothes, rummage for a snack, etc., studying in your room may not be an optimal choice.  If you choose to study away from your home, make sure that your backpack contains all of the items that you will need for a successful night’s work – highlighters, extra pens, a bottle of water, a light snack, etc.  You do not want to waste precious studying time looking for a pen or a highlighter when you’re in the zone.

Give yourself a break

Be realistic about your goals.  If your normal pattern is to spend two hours working, do not skip three nights in a row and expect to get eight hours of work done in one setting.  Instead, emphasize quality over quantity.  Many professors would tell you those two hours of focused reading trumps four hours of work done in a place where there are distractions and noise.  Get up and stretch your legs after you’ve spent time working.  Many swear by the benefits of doing light stretches to get the blood flowing.

We’re happy to be finally done with the high school life, and on to a new lifestyle.  Although most college students like the college life much better, they admit that it can be much harder than expected.  Yes, it can be all about partying, meeting new people, and living on your own, but it also cracks down to 3 hour lectures, responsibility, and a lot of stress sometimes.  Getting good grades in college seems to be more challenging than back when we were in high school.

So, if you’re looking for different ways to raise your grades and to up your GPA, consider a few of these tips below.

Serious – First, it is important to know that the college life is serious.  We pay, if not our parents pay a large amount of money to put us through college.  It’s not free, and is very costly.  Therefore doing good the first time around can not only save time but money as well.

Each day – To make college much easier, it is good to do a little bit of catching up/homework each day.  This will keep us focused, not procrastinating, and on top of what we’re learning.  Not to mention, a lot more will sink in than trying to cram it all the night before.  Doing this means better test scores as well!

Organize – You need to not only organize your life, but what’s in your binder as well.  Having everything organized will make your life so much easier, and college much easier.  No one can focus when they have papers sticking out of their book, and can’t find their chapter reviews.

Study groups – It is a great idea to get together with some of the people in your classes.  You can discuss what you’re going over while hanging out with friends, and make learning and studying a lot easier on yourself.

Participate – You also need to make sure you’re going to every class that is scheduled.  If you want good grades and to even pass the semester, you need to show up.   If you miss more than 10 days you’re usually out for the semester, not to mention you’ll miss a lot of important lectures.

Passing college with good grades isn’t hard if you consider these tips above.  Make your life much easier by organizing your schedule, putting your top priorities first, and by passing the classes that you need to go further.