College Tips

College is tough because it is a time when you will learn how to be independent and how to prioritize things so you can get them done on time. Your classes should always be your number one priority but below are some tips you use to make your college experience worthwhile. 

1. Create a blog or a website while you are in college and write a post at least once every week about a topic you are passionate about or a career you are working towards because having a blog or a website can help you land a better job than those who don't. A blog or a website can also help you to earn some money toward your school expense if you have enough traffic. I recommend using blogger because its free and if you want you can pay for a domain that is only about 12 dollars a year (depending on how popular the domain is), that is less than 1 dollar a week and, if you don't want to pay for the domain, you can still use the free one with the blogspot extension (example: YourDomain.blogspot.com). If you need help creating a blog read this article How to create a blog.

2. Try out freelance work while you are in school, there are a lot of places and websites that provide freelance jobs or jobs that work around your school schedule. Doing this can help you gain experience while in college and it also shows the employers that you are a motivated individual and a self-starter. Freelance work can also help you learn customer service, communication, and entrepreneur skills which a lot of employers are looking for.

3. This is probably the easiest one but some people still miss it. Before you buy a textbook for a class you are taking, send the instructor an email or call him/her and ask if the book is required for the class. If the book is required, the first thing you should do is go to the book store and see how much the book cost, then go and compare it to other sources to see where you can get the same book for a lower price. This can save you a lot of money that you can use to either pay back your student loan (if you know you will have any) or use it to learn how to invest early.

4. Speaking of invest, the earlier you learn how to invest the better your financial future will be. Learn to not only save money but also figuring out how to use your extra money to work for you is also important because chances are you will have a student loan to pay back after graduation and a student loan cannot be default, at least not anymore. Saving and investing your money while in college will save you a lot of headaches and financial stress when you are ready to graduate. There is a lot of investing platform that will allow you to park your money and see it grows over time. Just to name a few, there is WorthyBond, Fundrise, Driverloan investors club, Tellus, Stash, and SoFi

5. Be very careful when buying used books online, because some classes required you to have the book but also a unique code that can only be used once, so you can access some online materials. If you bought a used book, most likely the code is already used and you will have to either return the book or get the code separately which most of the time you cannot because unused code only comes with a new textbook.

6. Use social media like LinkedIn to create a large number of connections with people that have similar interests as yours. The more connections you have the better your chance of landing a good job after graduation. Remember to only connect with people that have similar interests as you because LinkedIn is a professional network and should not be used like Facebook.

7. Attending a resume workshop, joining a club, and/or attend a college event can help you create a strong resume while meeting new people and, gain some volunteers experience. Meet Up is a very good website/app you can use to attending a free event that is related to your career goal and, the best part is, it is completely free to use.

8. Learn how to write your paper and assignment in MLA or APA format. See some examples paper here to learn how to write APA format the correct way. Mastering the MLA or APA format is extremely important to be successful in college because that is what your professor will expect you to write your essay paper in.

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College Questions and Answers

When do I enroll in college?

The student usually starts the enrolling process 2-3 months before the semester begins, so start the enrollment as soon as you can. I recommend beginning the enrollment process from June - July so you can begin the Fall semester as smoothly as possible. 

How do I start the process of enrolling in Grand Rapids Community College?

1. Register an online account at GRCC here

2. Use this website to contact Enrollment Center to check on your application status in a few days.

3. Log in to your GRCC student web portal and schedule to complete the placement test or go here and follow the instruction.

When do I apply for financial aid?

The financial aid deadline is August but you should apply as early as possible just in case you have to go back into the form and update any necessary changes. If you are applying for Financial Aid for classes in the Fall, you should try and complete your FAFSA by June 30 which is in the summertime, so the school can have enough time to get that money and pay for your class. 

Do I need to meet with my advisor?

Yes and No depending on what you already know. When I was in college especially at GRCC I never meet with my advisor even once because I know exactly what class I needed to take and you can too by looking at the college career catalog. The only time you really need to talk to your advisor is when you have changed major or English is not your primary language and you need the advisor to let you know which class you should take first so you can be more efficient in English before getting into a class that will require you to write and speak a lot.

If you are planning on going to a university after your associate degree then you would need to talk to your advisor at the university to know exactly what class you need to take to graduate at a four years institution because university courses can be confusing and some classes do expire, meaning if you take a class today it could be expired in a year or two which will require you to take another class in place of that one which can cause you to delay your graduation date that is why it is important to see an advisor if you are planning to go to a university.

What do I need to know in my first year of college?

Learn how to navigate Blackboard because most or all of your assignments will be on here depending on what class you are taking. The Blackboard is also a place where you can directly communicate with your professors. Most professors will not accept an email if it did not come from Blackboard. So make sure you know Blackboard very well. Blackboard can also be used to communicate with your classmates as well so you can share information if you happened to be in a class that has group projects.

Know how to navigate the student home page, because, on the student home page, you can do things like add/drop a class, look at a to-do list, academic records, financial aid, take the placement test, look at your bill, and profile.

Read the syllabus from top to bottom and do not skim through it because the syllabus contains information like assignment due dates, service offered by the college, class textbook information, and much other important information to help you succeed in class. Many students skim through the syllabus and later ask the professor questions that were already answered in the syllabus.

Get into the habit of turning things in earlier than the deadline because you never know something might happen at the last minute which will prevent you from turning in your assignment and receiving a zero. College is not as forgiving as high school or trade school. Some professor will allow you to turn in a late assignment for a penalty while other will just give you a zero for being late and yes 1 minute is also considered late.

Purchase textbooks online or in the bookstore?

If the class you are taking required a textbook, try looking online first for a cheaper price than what is being sold at the bookstore because chances are you will never look at the textbook ever again after the class is over so you might as well buy it for the lowest price possible, unless you are taking a class that required a textbook to be purchase at the bookstore because it is being made by the college than you would have no choice but to buy it at the bookstore. This happens usually when the book contains some kind of code that goes with the textbook in order to log in to a system to complete your assignment. Buying textbook online usually do not come with the code unless the book is universal meaning every college uses the same textbook for the class then you can buy it online.

Should I buy that new stuff I been wanting all this time using my Financial Aid refund?

Having money to buy the things you want feels great especially when the money was given to you but you need to know that saving money while you are in college and delaying gratification can help you tremendously after you graduated from college and the reason I say this is because if you are planning to go to a university, you might have to take out a loan and if you save the money that you got from the financial aid refund, you can use that money toward paying back your loan. So before you go out and spend that refund money, ask yourself do you really need this right now.

If you are not planning to go to a four years college, you can put that money in an investment account and let it grow over five years, chances are it will double or even triple the amount you started with.

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EDX

One of the best websites to take college courses for free. There are many subjects you can learn many subjects, such as language, computer science, business, science, and mathematic. 

ABOUT EDX

Every individual has the potential to create change, whether in their life, their community, or the world. The transformative power of education is what unlocks that potential. Yet, access to high-quality education has been a privilege of the few. Back in 2012, we realized it was a time for a seismic shift in learning. From the tried and true to the leading edge. From “for some” to “for all.” By opening the classroom through online learning, edX empowers millions of learners to unlock their potential and become changemakers.

While the internet was enabling innovation at scale across a vast array of industries, higher education was reaching only a tiny fraction of the world’s curious minds. One afternoon in an MIT lab Professor Anant Agarwal and his colleagues from MIT and Harvard sketched out a long-shot experiment: a platform that would offer their courses online, open to any person up to the challenge, for free. In February of 2012, Professor Agarwal’s MIT Circuits and Electronics course were launched, and edX.org was born.

Click here to visit EDX and start taking college courses for free.

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College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay

 

Given today's competitive college admissions process, a strong essay is critical. It can be the difference between acceptance and rejection. In this course, writing instructor Leigh Ann Chow covers planning, drafting, editing, and polishing an unforgettable college essay. She explains how the essay is used in determining acceptance and reviews good and bad essay examples. These lessons will not only help improve your chances of getting into a top-choice school but also make you a better writer once you get there.

Topics include:

Understanding the essay purpose and audience

Reviewing common and unusual essay prompts

Starting with a strong opening statement

Showing, not telling

Adhering to word limits

Organizing the essay

Varying sentence structure

Revising the essay

Communicating sincerity and enthusiasm

DOWNLOAD

College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay

INSTRUCTION

Use 7zip to extract the archive and enjoy. (You Must use a Windows computer with 7zip installed to watch this)

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