Education in San Antonio

College can be a heady and thrilling time in a young life, but sometimes the fun and social life starts to outweigh the energy dedicated to learning. When that happens, failure is almost always the end result. In fact, 58 percent of the students who start their freshman year never make it graduation. Some drop out; others just can’t make the grade. There are a few pretty obvious ways to avoid falling into that 42 percent, but since comprehension is a key part of learning, let’s review:

1. Keep your eyes wide open. The work load expected at the college level is far meatier than you experienced in high school. You’re going to have to be mature enough to handle balancing the lectures, projects, papers and studying for all of your classes. If you don’t think you can handle it just yet, it might not be a bad idea to work for a year or two before you start college.

2. Keep looking for a major that you really enjoy. Even if you feel strongly that the major you declared was right for you, it’s not uncommon for students to change direction once they get into their area of specialty. That’s okay. It’s better for you to stay engaged with something than to simply go with the flow. College is a great time for experimentation with various courses of study. After all, you need to consider what will hold your interest for the rest of your working life.

3. Don’t fall behind. You need to go to every class; what’s more, you need to pay close attention to what’s going on. It doesn’t take long before the subject matter is over your head if you’re not present in every way. Ask questions and make sure that you communicate often with your professor, not just the night before finals. Join a study group and hear how others break down the same information. Repetition is a key component to learning, after all. You might still have to cram at exam time, but if you’ve been learning all along, it’ll be more like a review.

4. Socializing shouldn’t be your top priority. Granted, meeting new people and having new experiences is part of college life, but you should never lose track of why you’re there in the first place. Try to keep the partying as a reward for hard work rather than a nightly occurrence. Everything in moderation, right?

There’s no denying the fact that the college years are vastly different from every other stage in a person’s life. If you think about it, everything you’ve done prior to now has led to this. What’s more, the years that follow will be directly impacted by the education you receive during these next few years. If you keep your priorities straight, you’ll end up among the 42 percent of students who make it all the way.

Beth Rome is a Colorado high school teacher who contributes articles to websites on online college programs, online degrees and online education.