How to Meet People in College

High School was designed in such a way that it makes it very easy to make friends. While you are reading this, you are probably thinking about all of the friends that you made while in grades K - 12. College is a different game though. You may go to school without any friends that you knew when in high school, and even if those friends are in college with you, there is no guarantee you will see them. Either way, even if you know some people in you college, it would be wise to meet new people.

While attending college, you will not be forced to interact with other students, except for the occasional group project and class discussions. In college, it is up to you to make friends and meet people on your own. The following is a list of ways you can meet new people while in college.

1. Your roommate

This one is pretty obvious, but it had to be noted. You will be seeing a lot of your roommate(s), so it would be wise to get to know and be friendly with this/these individual(s). You could look them up on Facebook before you get to school and get to know them. Also, your roommate(s) could always introduce you to friends that they already know.

2. Talk to others in your building

Speaking of dorm rooms, you are probably living on a floor with many other people. You should take some time to meet them. You will probably see a lot of them, especially your neighbors, so that is a good chance to make friends with people. Besides, if you want to hang out with someone, it will be much easier/more comfortable to walk down the hall on a cold winter night than to get in a car or on a bus and freeze on the way to see your friend.

3. Classes

This is another obvious tip, but a lot of people go through an entire class not making any friends. It will definitely be in your best interest to make friends with people in your classes. These people may have similar interests to your own, seeing that they have a similar class, so you might get along very well with them. Also, if you miss a class, you always have a friend that you can get notes from and you can study with them if you would like to. People usually keep the same seats, so it will be easy to talk to the same people all semester long.

4. Student Organizations/Clubs

Not to mention looking great on a résumé, and grad school applications, these are great places to meet people. The reason for joining a club or organization is because of an interest that the members share. This should make it pretty easy to make friends, seeing that you already have something in common. Meetings can often include group activities that will make you interact with other members. It would be wise to join a student organization for many reasons, even if for no other reason that to meet people.

5. School Events

Any event a school is a great place to meet people, whether it is a big game, a concert, festival or anything else. Your school is hosting some kind of event and it should be a good time. When people are having fun or are united for a common goal, like in the case of a big sports game, it will be easy to meet people. There is always something to talk about and odds are you have seen a lot of these people in classes and other places and now you can strike up a conversation with them.

If you can follow the above tips, you can be almost guaranteed to meet people in college. Try to start out with a few people, those who are easiest to meet. You can always meet people through others that you already know. Don't worry if you don't make a lot of friends at first, it may just take some time before you meet people who you really gel with. Between classes, try to hang out in common places and not locked in you dorm, it's harder to meet people when you are by yourself. Finally, realize that a lof of students are trying to do the same thing you are, make new friends.

Top 5 Reasons Students Fail Exams

Every semester, in almost every major, you will be bombarded with exams. There isn’t much you can do to stop them; they will be coming for you. It is also likely the case that these exams count for a large part of your final grade. So, what is a college student to do? BE PREPARED. Below is a list of the top 5 reasons why people fail exams and how to avoid these pitfalls.

1. You do not study enough (or at all)

This is a situation easily remedied… study. Many students feel that they can pass a class without ever looking at the book, going to class or taking notes. For the most part, this is not true. Maybe in High School you had straight A’s and you never studied. College is different, you need to make sure that you read the book, go over notes and attend lecture.

When you go over your notes and read your book, make sure that you keep everything organized. One way you can do that is with the BookMarker. This nifty pen will let you take better notes, and add little flags to different areas in a book or notes for optimal organization. Dorm Co is here to help, check it out here and start taking better notes today: BookMarker.

2. Partying

Partying is great. Hanging out with your friends and people of the opposite sex is awesome. But while these activities are good for your social life, they can be killer on your academic life. If you have an exam the next day, it would be unwise to goof off instead of study. Drinking and partying might be fun at the time, but when you step into the room for the exam the next day, you may end up regretting the fact that you were “too busy” to study.

3. Sleep deprivation

This may be caused by partying, but what I mean here is chronic lack of sleep. Going to bed late and waking up early for classes will take a toll on your performance in school and on exams. One thing that you can do to combat this is to set up a sleep schedule: Go to bed every day around the same time, and make sure that you get about eight hours of sleep. If you are forced to wake up early for classes, go to bed earlier. You need to be able to get up and make it to class. So, stay off of late night Facebook and do your homework earlier in the day, the latter of which brings me to my next point.

4. Other classes

What’s this? It turns out that professors don’t care if you have two other exams the day theirs is scheduled. Some days you might have more than one exam and you have to do well on both. How can you do this? First, set up a schedule for studying (you can even combine this with a sleep schedule). Second, make sure that you allow yourself enough time to adequately study for both exams. Focusing on one and forgetting about the other will only hurt you in the end. However, while both exams need attention, make sure that you prioritize and study more for the class that you are having more trouble with.

5. Procrastination

There are probably many things that you’d rather do than study. In fact, even laundry and cleaning your room starts to look like fun when you have an exam. Sometimes you need to get your priorities straight. Giving yourself plenty of time to study before an exam is important. Cramming the night before may result in pulling an all-nighter and forgetting the information right after the exam. This sounds good in theory; however, it won’t work out well when you have a cumulative exam and need to remember everything from past tests.

Exams are scary things. They can be intimidating and that’s because they are so important. Exams are gauges to see how well the student is learning and how well the professor is teaching. If you fail an exam, remember it’s not the end of the world, but it will hurt your grade. Follow the steps outlined above and you will minimize your risk of failing an exam and doing poorly in a class.

How to Choose a Major in College

College only lasts for four short years. That may seem like a long time now, but remember how fast high school went by? In college, students can break away from doing the same old English, science, math and history classes and specialize in one or a couple subjects. Nobody can graduate from college without a major, so it is important to choose one, and make sure it is the right one. Use these tips to help you decide on a major for college:

1. Make sure you are interested in the subject material.

Do not enter into a discipline if you don’t like what you are learning. If the material is boring or unappealing, than it will be a long four years. You should not dread going to class every day. Do not do something just for the career prospects. Even if that field is supposed to be incredibly lucrative, you are better off making less money doing something you love, than making more doing something you hate.

2. Make sure there are career opportunities

On the flip side, while doing something just for the money is a bad move, so is doing something that will not land you a job. If your major doesn’t have any prospects for employment, it would be unwise to go with that discipline. You may have to compromise by choosing your second favorite major in order to get a job after college. Perhaps your minor can be the field you are most interested in, or you can double major if you have the time.

3. Take a variety of classes

101 classes will give you a wide breadth into a subject and help introduce you to what awaits you in that major. Take as many of these classes as you need to figure out what interests you. These introductory classes may also have others thinking about the major. You can talk with them and see what is interesting about the major to them. This leads me to my next point…

4. Talk to people

Believe it or not, professors are people too, and they love to talk about their field. Feel free to go to your professor’s office hours just to chat about the major. Clubs, other students and alumni are also good resources. Go to club meetings and see what they talk about and ask them why they like that major, why they chose it. Talk to alumni who went through the entire process of deciding on a major and even graduation already. Students currently in the major will possibly give you the least biased opinion. They will tell you what they love and what they hate about their major, helping you create a mental list of pros and cons.

5. Internships

This can be incredibly eye opening, not to mention a great résumé builder. An internship will place you in an entry level position of any profession that you decide. You will work for them for a semester, a year or however long you decide, and in that time you will learn all the ins and outs of the organization and the career itself. Internships will give you great insight into what your days will be like after graduation. Also, some companies only hire internally, so you would have the advantage over other candidates if you wanted to work there after you graduate.

6. Talk to career services

Career services are there to help you resolve issues just like this. Many career service offices can give you tests to help figure out where your interests lie, connect you with the alumni I was talking about and give you great tips, not unlike what you are receiving here. Make sure you are upfront and tell them what you are really looking for. If you can do this, career services may be one of the best resources you have to discover what major you are most interested in.

7. Relax

The last tip I want to give anyone trying to decide their on major is relax. Yes, this is an important decision and should not be taken lightly, but people do change majors. Besides, there are so many resources at your disposal, that it is almost certain you will be able to make an informed decision. If you are split between two majors, you can always double major, get a minor or get a certificate. Remember, colleges want to help you decide on your future and give you a good education.

It may be a daunting task deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life. It might seem that you are setting your future in stone. Take your time, relax and follow the steps above and you will be on your way to a great major and career in no time.

How to Work in a Group for a College Project

If you are in college, and let’s face it, you probably are if you are on a dorm supply website, you have a lot of assignments to take care of. Many assignments and projects you get assigned in college are to be done by yourself, but sometimes you have to work in a group. Here are some tips to make sure that your experience working in a group is great and not a nightmare.

1. Make sure everyone in their group knows their role

There are many different roles in a group, and if people do not know what their job is, it might not get done. No matter what is needed: research, a presentation, or some other special task, make sure there is somebody to fill that role. Optimally, the task someone is performing should match pretty well to their skill set. For example, a good public speaker will be a better presenter.

2. Make sure there is a leader

This kind of follows the first point, but a leader is a special role in a group. You might be thinking ‘yeah, that sounds like the perfect role for me, I get to do no work and tell people what to do.’ A leader that acts like that is a poor one. The leader must make sure that everyone is on task, and even pick up tasks that nobody else is doing. They need to be the ones that keep the group together, set a good example and organize everything.

3. Organize and plan

This may seem obvious, but make sure that you have everything well organized. With some many people working together, communication and order may be lost. Have the contact information for every member of the group: cell number, email, etc. Set deadlines for certain tasks and decide as a group when something is finished.

Have a schedule of when to meet and where, whether it be a classroom, conference room or dorm room. A dorm room might be hard to meet in without a white board. Dorm Co can help in that case with our Wall Wizard – Dry Erase. Plan everything in the comfort of your dorm with this dry erase that come in sizes from 5 feet to 40 feet, not inches, feet. Check out our Wall Wizard Dry Erase.

4. Keep on task

It can be easy to become friends with group members. You may go out on a Friday with them and when the group meets, just blab. It is important, however, to stay on track when meeting. Unless you do not mind sitting for hours and getting nothing done, the meetings should be structured. Make sure that everyone brings what needs to be brought, and the meeting can go smoothly.

5. Make sure the group is cohesive

Finally, although there is the danger of getting nothing done because of socializing, the opposite may be worse. If you and your group do not get along, it might be hard to get the job done. If there is a problem with group members, do something to fix it, you can change groups, remove those who are slacking, etc. The group needs to be cohesive. Even one person not doing their part can take away from the end product.

Follow the tips above and you will be on your way to a successful group project. As long as everyone does their part by putting the time and effort into the project, there is a good grade in your future.