Freshman 15? It’s Not Inevitable If You Make Some Simple Choices!

If you watched the video above, you heard Jeffrey’s explanation of the ins and outs of the dreaded Freshman 15 and ways to prevent it from creeping up. Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make is thinking that the weight gain is inevitable--it’s not! In fact, college life might just offer you more chances than you’ve ever had to lose weight and to be active and healthy!

If you think about your time spent throughout high school, you’re actually quite restricted for most of your day. You have to be to school early in the morning, you have lunch at a set time every day, and dinner might also have been at a set time in your household. With college, all of this scheduling vanishes! It makes for some refreshing freedom. 

Since you’re not locked into set times for meals and other daily practices, you can take your meals when you like. While this freedom might incline you toward late-night snacking, you can also actually eat when you’re hungry. Let’s face it, sometimes you sat down for dinner at home and you finished that plate just to make mom happy. In college, you don’t have to have a big meal if you’re not hungry. While it’s true that there will be plenty of unhealthy foods offered in your school cafeteria, you’ll always have options during dorm life, another great freedom. If there was a plate of hamburgers and fries on your table at home, you didn’t have many other options for dinner. In college, you do.

Since your day also won’t be as tied up to a regular schedule as it was during high school, you’ll also have a chance to squeeze in more exercise! It’s true that classes can make you tired and finding motivation to hit the gym can be tough, but a big part of not exercising comes down to time. While college life will keep you busy, since your schedule is more relaxed and opened, you’ll be surprised just how efficient you can make your day. Plus, all that walking to class can be a welcomed, healthy change.

Although college life does offer plenty of outlets and opportunities for less healthy choices and lifestyles, it all comes down to making choices. During your high school career, those less-healthy choices were present too! Unless you grew and raised all your own food back home, chances are that there were more than a few unhealthy meals in your diet. So instead of dreading the Freshman 15 and thinking it will affect you regardless, you might hopefully find yourself healthier during college! With some effort and good decisions, you can and will do just that.

Time To Transfer? Making The Big Decision

Transferring colleges is a reality for many students. But making the decision to do so is never easy. After all, it’s a lot of paperwork! But all kidding aside, it might be the best route for you to take if it means a change for the better. But how do you know when you should transfer? That’s the big question.

Now that you’ve had at least a semester of college behind you, it’s time to evaluate. If you make a list and the cons outweigh the pros, that could be a sign that you might be happier and do better elsewhere. However, don’t be too hasty in your judgment. A single semester of college is no indication of how your whole college career will pan out. There will always be ups and downs. That being said, you now have a more solid idea of how you like your school. But don’t make a misdiagnosis!

If things weren’t so hot your first semester, figure out if it’s your school that’s really the issue; that’s what you’ll have to diagnose! Perhaps you’re learning that your planned major isn’t for you. If so, is getting on the path to success and happiness just a matter of switching majors? Or, perhaps it’s that you’re at a large school and the majority of your classes will be big. If you figured out that you absolutely need a smaller, more personal work environment to succeed, then transferring could be the way to go. While there are ways to overcome most college-related obstacles and troubles, if your learning environment is the issue, you should take the option to transfer.

Try your best to find specific reasons as to why and how a new learning environment (meaning a new school) could help you. If you’re unhappy or didn’t do as well as you had hoped grade wise, was it truly your learning environment that caused the issue? If not, transferring may not be the best solution. There’s no guarantee after all that a new school will improve a situation, especially if the problem isn’t related to your school and learning environment.

Yet it’s also important to keep in mind that if you truly think you won’t be as successful as you can be, go ahead and transfer! We don’t have to tell you that transferring early on is better than trying to transfer after having finished a few semesters. You’ll face fewer issues as far as credits not transferring and will have more time to acclimate to your new school.

It’s a big choice to make, but no one but you can truly decide if transferring to a new school is in your best interest. Just be sure of two things before doing so: that your reason for transferring directly relates to needing a new learning environment, and that you firmly believe that spending four years at your current institution would not be in your best interest. Then, go ahead and start fresh. Hopefully you’ll succeed in your new environment, and the choice to switch will be the best choice you made during college!

The Big Exam Cram: The Correct Way To Pull An All-Nighter

Cramming for exams during college life is a rite of passage, an event that will occur for all students, no matter if you're a procrastinator or not. Whether it's a big final exam or just one of your checkup tests for an intro course, at some point, you'll find yourself cramming in all that info the night before the test. But like most aspects of college life, there's a way to go about it that's smarter and better. 

First off, over-cramming isn't a good idea. Those cram sessions shouldn't be the norm. Ideally you'll have studied periodically and regularly for a test. Still, sometimes you'll be too busy to have accomplished that, and for one reason another, you'll be up either the entire night or for a good part of the night before the big test. It's never a fun scenario, but make the most of it. It's your last shot, after all. 

Don't fool yourself. You'll need some sort of stimulation to keep you going, so fill up that pot of coffee or indulge in a late-night energy drink. When you do hopefully make it to bed, this won't help the situation, but for those crucial studying hours, it may just be the only thing that keeps you from falling face first into your textbook. If you're not a big coffee drinker, go with what you're used to. Maybe it's some tea or even some extra sugar that will keep you fueled! 

On that note, take a break every hour or so. You'll get even more tired by staying planted in a chair for six hours. Get up and walk down the hall in your dorm, or wherever you are. That little bit of movement or exercise can bring some spark back to your studying, and may be just enough to keep you going for a couple more hours. While you're probably apt to take short breaks to check your Facebook or watch an online video, those breaks can be a good thing too. It's hard to concentrate at a high level for hours and hours straight, so little breaks can help you reset your concentration level. 

When the temptation to sleep becomes too much, sometimes it's best to just give in. That's right. Get a few hours and then do some more studying in the morning. You won't exactly wake up feeling good or ready to go, but at some point the studying task becomes futile when you're that tired. Catch a few Zs, but be sure you wake up early enough to resume studying, as that early-morning review is the valuable final step for a proper exam cram!