College Hacks: Surviving Freshman Year

Hello all! Welcome back to my blog and I hope you've been enjoying a very long, relaxing summer break... I know I have. Anyway, the time has come; we are almost there! College is back in session and I've been kicking into high gear lately. My summer has been nothing but memorable and honestly, I'm very excited to start my second year of college. As for you, if you are going to start your very FIRST year of higher education... please listen closely! My first year really changed who I am as person and hopefully it will change your life too. To make the transition from high school to COLLEGE a little easier, here are some hacks that will help you succeed in your first year of college:

1. SAVE, SAVE, & SAVE! This is the time where money is very important, so don't waste it. Important tip: Apply for as many scholarships as possible. Each university or college is most likely to have scholarships or grants that you can apply for when understanding how to pay for tuition and other fees. Also, if you have the opportunity to use financial aid, USE IT.

2. Build credit. I never had a credit card before my first year of college. To be specific, I got my first credit card in my second semester of my first year. I was always told that credit was dangerous and that if you go in debt, there is no way to get out of it. False... credit is very important. Especially when you get to the age of deciding to move out of your parents' house or buy your first car. Think of credit as a relationship; you need to be committed to it and extremely responsible. For example, as a college student, I use my credit card for gas. However you decide to use it, be responsible with it!

This is Shonda the Honda, I paid her off in one year: SAVE YO MONEY!

3. Syllabus week is important! Syllabus week is by far the easiest week of your college career, but a lot of people don't take advantage of this and simply start the semester off by missing due dates and becoming unorganized. I love syllabus week! It's one week to get ahead and stay ahead for the rest of the semester. It's a way to understand the course and dive right into the material. I take five classes a semester (the average) which can be overwhelming when each class has papers, online assignments, and exams that take up a large amount of your time and energy. But, the syllabus helps you maintain your sanity, so use it!

4. Get an agenda! The first thing I do before I start a new year is get a new agenda. No one can remember everything and that is why I write it all down. Plus, there are so many options as far as different designs for your agenda. Target is where I buy my agendas and they are simple, easy to use, and unbelievably non-expensive.

5. Go to every class. You will not believe how many of my fellow student peers skipped class because attendance was not required. Yes, in some classes professors do not count attendance against you, but I chose not to fall on that bandwagon. I went to every single lecture and participated fully because I wanted to be successful. You can too!

6. Take time for yourself. Lastly, college can very stressful. Sometimes you have to pull "all-nighters" and drink an insane amount of coffee to survive, but it is important to take care of yourself. Plan one day off in a week dedicated to yourself and your well-being. Go to the gym, take a yoga class, binge watch Netflix... whatever it is that makes you happy, do it because most of the time you won't be able to.

So, congratulations on making it to college! You're going to love it and hate it all at the same time... trust me!

Hard work pays off.
Xo, Viv