Student life: How to enjoy the experience (and make it through to the end)

Heading off to college this year? You’ll be in good company. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), more than 20 million students enroll at a degree granting institution each year. Unfortunately, for reasons ranging from a lack of funds to a lack of enthusiasm, many students will stop short of actually achieving their degree.

Indeed, the “Education at a Glance 2010” report compiled by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development and featured on Think Progress found that only 46 percent of students actually completed college once they had started. Let’s take a look at some simple ways to avoid being part of that rather alarming statistic.

Choosing the right college for you

Community College? A private four-year institution? A small liberal arts college? An Ivy League school? The choices available to you are seemingly endless. Some students will have a very clear idea about what sort of school they want to attend and indeed the kind of career they wish to pursue following graduation. Still others may be so bewildered by their options that making a decision can seem like trying to find a needle in the proverbial haystack.

One way in which many students choose which colleges to apply for is to check various ranking tables. Trusted rankings include those from U.S. News, Forbes, and, in the case of online programs, Degree Jungle. Rankings can only tell you so much though and it is therefore imperative to take into account additional factors such as the major you wish to study, the tuition fees involved, distance from home, campus size, admission procedures, atmosphere and location. Enjoying student life is about finding a college that offers a good balance of all these things.

Taking control of your finances

To say that attending college can be a costly endeavor is putting things somewhat mildly. NCES puts the annual cost for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at between $13,600 for public institutions and $36,500 for private not-for-profit institutions. Whatever the final cost might be, there’s a fair chance that it’s not to be sniffed at and will indeed represent a financial burden for some students and their families.

Does it really have to be so much of a challenge though? “The Financial Aid Challenge”, a report by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Centre, found that millions of dollars of available financial aid goes unclaimed, particularly in the case of students from low and moderate income families attending community colleges. The best advice here is not to leave your money on the table! Take it upon yourself to find out more about the financial help that is available to you as a student. Good sources of information include the official Federal Student Aid site and the FAFSA application site, while information about scholarships for college students can be found at Fastweb.

Of course there is more to student finance that applying for the aid to which you are entitled to. There is also a requirement that you manage your finances correctly when you get there and hopefully avoid racking up anything like the average college student debt of $26,600 reported by “The Project on Student Debt” for the graduating class of 2011. Creating a realistic student budget is always a good start, while taking advantage of things like the International Student Identity Card and the more than 800 free online textbooks available at bookboon.com is another. The savings are out there; it’s up to you to be proactive enough to find them.

Finding the right balance

There’s no denying that college is going to entail some serious hard work on your part; there would be little point in attending if it didn’t. It goes without saying that you should be taking every opportunity to participate in your course properly. Just look at the case of Megan Thode, a graduate of Bethlehem’s Lehigh University, who was awarded a zero mark for classroom participation; a decision that brought her grade down to a C+, reportedly ruining her dream of becoming a licensed professional counselor in the process (Thode subsequently filed a $1.3 million lawsuit and lost). It’s equally important to try to get good grades first time round and to do all the right things in terms of looking for volunteer opportunities and relevant internships.

All that said, the adage that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy actually makes a lot of sense when it comes to the importance of achieving the right balance of work and play as a student. As vital as it is that you put the required effort (and then some) into your course, it’s of equal importance that you find the time to enjoy some downtime and actively enjoy the social side of student life. Online students, in particular, need to be careful to avoid feelings of isolation and seek out opportunities to meet up with other students where possible. It is readily accepted that students who are able to form a solid on-campus network and enjoy a good social life can find the academic work at college easier to accomplish as a result. Fun is part and parcel of being a student, so get out there and enjoy it.

Author Bio

Linda Forshaw is a Business Information Systems graduate from Liverpool in the UK. She is a freelance writer and blogger who regularly contributes to Degree Jungle. Contact here on Twitter @seelindaplay

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