I happened to see a blog post with 20 Things all freshmen need to know as its title. I crossed out the All. The problem with many posts such as this is that they apply to students who are starting college directly after high school. You are an adult college-bound student. College-bound adult students need information, but you do not necessarily need the same advice as a student who just graduated from high school. What are some of the things college-bound adults need to know if you are starting college after you are 30?
I started this blog because no one seems to focus on the adult student who may have children, a mortgage or rent, a job, and maybe a car payment. What adult college-bound students need to know can be different than what an 18 or 19-year-old needs to know. I decided to go through this and comment on what was appropriate for you!
Let’s review the first of those 20 items as they were listed in the original source. You might find this helpful if you have a child who you will be starting college.
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Go to class.
I agree with this one. Many students will learn things in class that they do not read in their textbooks. Many students learn things from the class discussions. I know that I will frequently give some hints on assignments or upcoming tests; students who do not attend class may get that from students who do attend class, but can they be sure that the student in class actually heard the right information?
I am guessing that, at some point in your life, you have played the telephone game. You know, the game in which people pass on information they heard. The last person never gets the same information that the first person said. As an adult, I am sure there have been countless times someone told you something that he or she heard, and swore was true, but wasn’t. The same applies here.
Not going to class is a waste of your money.
I found a comment that explains this point.
“Besides, you are most likely going into some degree of debt to get your education. Why skip class? That is the equivalent of paying for a meal and then not eating it.”
OK, there will be days that the children are sick, the car battery died, the Internet connection failed, etc. I grant that. Those are valid reasons. That is a different situation than you do not want to go to class because you are too busy playing video games, watching Netflix, or some other excuse.
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Do not buy your books before you start class. Maybe.
This is a tough call.
The first week of a term is add/drop week. This is when students get into their classes, and may, or may not decide to change their classes or even withdraw from the class, at least for that term. Lots of different things can happen in that first week.
If you are attending a traditional school, you can wait until after the first class and then decide if you need the books. Sometimes the books are recommended, but not required.
If you are attending an online class, this is a bit of a tougher call. You can wait until the first day of class, but if you do need the books, you might not get them until the second, or even third week of class. That is not good.
In my experience, online classes will indicate if the books are required. I would generally get the books. Keep the box, however. If you discover you do not need the book, you can likely return it, if you do so quickly.
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Make sure you do your research on the classes you have signed up to take.
I would agree wholeheartedly if you are a traditional student. This can be more difficult for online students. In many cases, you will not know your teacher until the day the class starts. The first week of classes is called Add/Drop week. This allows students to make changes without penalty. The problem might be, however, in both traditional and online schools, is that only one instructor teaches the course.
On the other hand…. I had a class once that had a bad reputation. Everyone said the class was miserable because of the instructor. Listening to my classmates, I waited until my last term to take the class. True, the instructor was as described. The problem was that I loved the course.
Do not let a course’s (or an instructor’s) reputation change your mind about a course.
If I had taken the course earlier, I might have changed my program. The course was such that I could have worked around the instructor. He did have a graduate assistant and I was able to interact with her instead of the instructor. She even told me how to approach the instructor when I needed to do that. Even now, I wonder what might have happened in my life if I had taken the course earlier.
If you are hearing stories from young students, think twice about changing teachers. If you hear stories from other adult students, I would recommend you have a heart-to-heart conversation with one or two of the students and then make a decision that is right for you. You never know. You might have had a past boss that makes this teacher seem nice!!
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Make an appointment with your advisor.
Yes, and yes. Hopefully, you will make a personal connection with your advisor. Generally, advisors are hired because they possess the ability to connect with students. Like everything else in the universe, there are always exceptions.
Your advisor, however, has the formation you need. Can you “skip” a class because you have real-life experience in the topic? Your advisor can guide you with that. Your advisor may be able to help you get credit for what you already know.
Are you taking the right sequence of courses? You might sign up for a course you think you would like, but that might keep you in school longer. You are the only one who can decide if the extra course is worth the extra time and money.
Generally, advisors keep students on the best and shortest path to graduation. If you have side-interests you would like to explore, your advisor might have ideas about how you can build that into your degree program. Maybe not, but you really should discuss that with your advisor.
If you ever need help for some reason – say you live in an area hit by a natural disaster – one call to your advisor can save you a lot of headaches.
As with everyone else in the world, things work better with people we know, right?
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Talk with your professors.
Yes, yes, yes, and, for good measure, yes.
I would suggest you start some level of conversation with your instructors early in each term. If you have issues, say you are a military spouse and might have to move to another continent during the term, tell your instructor early. EARLY.
Instructors are people, just like you. If someone (a child? an employee? a friend? a relative?) came to you after the fact, with an excuse why he or she did not do something, what is your reaction? If you have never made any personal contact with the instructor other than your class assignments, you will be treading on potentially thin ice.
Keeping your instructor informed might annoy some instructors, but you will have at least started the infamous paper trail and that can be helpful later if you must argue some point. If you have an issue that you knew but did not mention, it will seem to come out of nowhere, and that can put you at the mercy of the instructor’s belief in your sincerity.
Rule of thumb: Expect your instructor to be cynical.
Now, that might not be true, and you will be pleasantly surprised. If, however, that is true, at least you considered the issue before needing to use the information. Giving instructors information ahead of time is always a good idea. If you make this a habit, having an emergency is easier to explain later.
What you DO NOT necessarily need to know
6. If you’re going to have a roommate, be considerate.
Dorm roommates can be changed. Spouses can be changed, but that is a LOT of trouble. Children can’t be changed. You have issues at home that dorm students will not understand. All that can be topics for future blog posts.
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What you probably do not need to know –
If you are going to be living in a dorm, get to know your RA.
An RA is a resident advisor. Generally, these are senior students, or perhaps permanent staff, who advise and watch the dorm. RAs tend to live in, or close to, the dorm.
See #6.
This is getting to be a bit long. I know you do not have a lot of time, so I will stop at this point and continue in my next post. Please let me know if you found this useful.
I do have some other posts that you might find useful when you have time to read them.
Strategies to help you make better grades.
Valerie
Do not forget. If you want to ask me a question or request a topic for a blog post, send me a message at
Have you ever lost points on an assignment because you forgot to do something? My assignment checklist can help you remember the details. Check it out! It is FREE!!!!
updated 24 June 2023