Top 10 Bad Habits You Should Avoid in College
I hate to sound like your parents or high school health teacher because they will likely tell you the same things over and over again, but drugs and alcohol can be dangerous. They can have such a negative impact on you. Not to mention you can get into some big time trouble if you're caught. It's easy to fall under peer pressure. Trust me. I've had friends overdose or get in an accident because someone else was under the influence. Just make smart decisions, that's all I have to say. Don't be afraid to stand your ground, and if the people you're hanging out with can't respect that, you shouldn't be hanging out with them at all.
Shouldn't have to explain this but you need to take care of yourself. Take a shower once a day or every other day at the very least and use deodorant. That is something you should be doing anyway, but you'd be surprised how people just don't care when their parents aren't around. I promise nobody wants to be around you. Part of being confident is looking good. Keep your facial hair looking good if you chose to grow it. Just do the basics to appear presentable is what I'm getting at here. People will notice.
One of the things you'll find out is skipping class is different in college vs high school. You won't get in trouble for skipping a class in college. You're already paying the professors so they don't really care if you show up or not for the most part. The school won't call your parents, but doing it once will make you think you can do it over and over again. Here's the thing. Most courses have an attendance requirement that if you miss too many times you automatically fail regardless of if you pass every test and assignment with flying colors. Plus, you should save your days in case you need them like you're sick or something. More often than not, the professor will be more willing to work with you if you need assistance and you rarely skip class.
You might think you can handle a full load of classes because you did it in high school every day from 8-3, but I'm here to say no you can't. You'll hate yourself for it, stress yourself out, and miss out on having fun. Remember, you have 4 years to graduate and it's a marathon not a sprint. Loading up on hours will do more harm than good. Just enjoy the journey. If you want a head start, take some dual credit courses while in high school, or you can usually take summer classes to knock most of those Gen Ed's out of the way. Just make sure if it's through a different school that it transfers to your school because sometimes they don't always transfer.
This is a bad habit but you're going to fall behind, trust me. You gotta be on top of the game to succeed, get the classes you want to, and land internship opportunities you want. And assignments, you might have a week to do them, but don't wait until 11:59 the night before they're due. I'd do it that day when the information is still fresh in your head. Otherwise you'll only be in a world of pain trying to recall the information you talked about in class 3 days ago.
Now let me clarify. DON'T go overboard, but on the other side of the spectrum don't be the antisocial person. College is about meeting new people and building connections. You're in the prime of your life. You can live it up a little bit. Just do so RESPONSIBLY. By not socializing, you're missing out on half the college experience. Find a happy medium between a party animal and a lone wolf. That's all I have to say.
College students are broke. You don't have a lot of money to spend so you really need to budget what you have and use it wisely. Fast food runs and grocery store runs can really add up, not to mention if you drive gas isn't cheap. You parents will only give you so much help otherwise you're on your own and need to figure out how to use your money wisely.
College and high school are not the same. In high school you can get away with all nighters. Not necessarily in college because not every exam is the type you can get away with cramming all the information in one night. And don't let open note tests fool you because the answers aren't super obvious and you'll spend most of the time looking for the answers. Study in advance instead and plan your notes for open note exams so the information is easy to find.
College schedules can be unstructured and loose so it's easy to sleep in a lot and not do anything, but it's better to get out there and exercise, make new friends, hang out with people, and go get coffee at a local coffee place. Your dorm rooms are small. There's more to college than laying in bed playing video games all day. Get out there and live life a little bit.
A lot of people try to make long distance relationships work, but let me tell you from experience, it's really hard. If you're that committed, it can work, but missing the other person will take its toll on you. Usually when it ends it's not pretty. You're almost better off to just be friends at that point because you pass up an opportunity to meet new people. Hate to break the news to you, but chances are that person isn't the one you're gonna marry anyway. High school relationships typically don't last after you go your separate ways. There's exceptions, sure, but it's pretty rare nowadays. Love will come when it's the right time. You'll find someone at your school and they might be even better than that one person you were trying to force the relationship to continue. Just wait it out. It's ok to be single. Don't let a relationship distract you from what you're there for.