If At First You Don't Succeed, Get Organized!

It was freshman year of college, my very first semester. Although I was nervous at first, everything began to run smoothly and I thought I was poised for success. I say “thought” as my confidence came crashing down at the semester’s end. It was a Tuesday.

That morning at 9 AM I got a text from a friend asking why I was not in class to give my final presentation. My final presentation. I was supposed to present at 8 AM and had essentially missed my final exam. It was all I could think about as I trekked up the three floors to my professor’s office, trying to think of a way to explain that I had mixed up my schedule. It was a Tuesday/Thursday class, and I thought the exam was on Thursday. After a tearful apology, my professor informed me that he would give me an F instead of a zero, it was all he could do. I understood, it was a presentation, how could I make it up, but I was devastated nonetheless. After a reasonable amount of crying and sulking I chalked it up to a learning experience and told myself it would never happen again. That is until it did happen again on Thursday of that week. I got to my class, ready to ace the final, but was the only one there. Apparently, all Thursday classes had their exams on Tuesday. Two Finals missed in my first semester at college.

To make an even longer story short, I felt the repercussions of my disorganization when my grades in those two classes fell and I was kicked out of Honor Society. While this was devastating to me at the time, I did learn an important lesson: To succeed one must get organized. It doesn't matter how smart you are or how much you have studied,  if you don’t know when and where things are, you will get yourself into some sticky situations. After resolving to never EVER let something like that happen again, I made some changes. I got organized. Here’s how:

Buy an Agenda

In middle school teachers are always harping on their students to carry and use an agenda. They try to get students into the habit so that they will be organized for high school and beyond. Some students take this advice and others don’t. If you haven’t yet made your peace with the agenda, it’s time to do so now. The agenda/calendar will be your most important tool in college and beyond. Don’t believe me? Think about it. You have at minimum 5 classes, all with different assignments and different due dates. That’s a lot to remember for anyone, and even harder for a college student who has to juggle work, practice, and other important social engagements.

Color Code

If you’re running out of your dorm room or racing to school from work, you are bound to grab the wrong black notebook. What you thought was History 101 will actually turn out to be Intro to Writing. Color coding your notebooks and other college essentials will make your life easier. Guaranteed. You won’t have to spend your precious time looking for things as you will have a visual and won’t be reading through names until you find the right one.

Make a Physical List

Sure, you mentally catalog everything you need to accomplish in a day, but you are bound to forget at least one of those things, and it could be the most important to-do on your list. If you are writing down what needs to be done, you won’t forget, and will even come up with a plan to get everything done in time. This not only helps with your organization, but your time management. Get a dry erase board and put it next to your bed or desk, that way you can add to it when you think of things.

Organize Your Work Space

There are tons of supplies for college that will allow you to get organized. Some essentials are even color coded - bonus! Whether you’re at your dorm room desk or the one in the spare room of your house, organize your work space. This will allow you to concentrate when you are working and focus on the task at hand, without being surrounded by clutter. Buy cheap bookshelves to store your books and notebooks or get individual shelves on which to store all of the supplies for each class. Find color-coded bins that will collect the work you haven't finished for your classes, so that whatever you do, you’re not folding up your work and putting it in your textbook.

Organization for college may seem like the most basic of things, but it is the most important thing you can do to ensure that you are successful. Take it from someone who had to learn the hard way. After I saw the error of my ways I made the dean’s list every semester, but I first had to learn the importance of staying organized.

Commuters are Students Too, So Get Involved!

When thinking about college life, it’s easy to get caught up in the Hollywood ideal. Sure, Elle Woods made studying all night seem fun, and yeah, Bartleby Gains did seem to live it up while exploring education and throwing endless parties. Becca even made becoming the star of an A Capella club seem not only easy, but probable, and who could ever forget Notre Dame star, Rudy Ruettiger. Rarely, however,  is there the thought that students don’t actually live on campus. The glorification of on-campus living does a disservice to the millions of commuter students who travel back and forth to school each day. Hey, they’re student’s, too! While it’s easy to feel disenfranchised as a commuter student, there are many ways to take part in college life and feel like a valued part of your school community.

Go Ahead, Join!

Joining a club or taking part in the volunteer activities offered at almost all colleges and universities is the first step to enjoying the college experience. Yes, in the beginning you may not know anyone, but joining a club centered around an activity you enjoy assures that you will be with people who have like-minded interests. Instead of standing around awkwardly hoping that no one notices you’re new, you can strike up a conversation about your experiences. Attempting to get to know people without having any shared experiences can be tough, that’s why joining an activity is crucial - you will already have something to talk about. Even more compelling is that you won’t have to stretch your interests to find something that is appealing. Most colleges offer hundreds of clubs - from music and sports to art and even horticulture.

Work On Campus

Commuters usually commute for a reason: it’s cheaper, there are responsibilities at home, housing elsewhere is more appealing, etc… However, almost all commuters have jobs, and most often, they are off-campus. So here’s an idea: try working on-campus. If you can finagle a position at your school, your co-workers will be fellow students or even classmates, allowing you to know more people and feel more involved in the campus community. Working on-campus also assures that you are familiar with the various buildings and departments at your school, as your duties will include working in places that you may have never thought about entering otherwise. Sure, you may have never set foot in a gym to workout, but working the front desk will give you contact with many students you may not see in your daily routine.

Take Part in Campus Sponsored Activities

Every college has departments dedicated to enhancing the student experience and they will regularly host events that are free to students or can be enjoyed for only a minimal fee. These include concerts, athletic events, comedy shows, and trips to off campus sites, such as museums. As a commuter, you may have to come back to campus to enjoy these events, which undoubtedly means getting out of work early, getting a ride, or just getting off your couch, but it will be worth it. Sharing new experiences with your fellow students will only help to make you feel like you belong and will enhance your overall college experience.

Although being a commuter can sometimes make you feel like you’re on the outside looking in, there are many ways to get involved and shake the feeling of being an outsider. Getting involved in clubs, campus-sponsored activities, and working at school are all good gateways to becoming more socially adept in an unfamiliar place. So the next time you have an opportunity to join -  do it - Bobby Boucher did, and look how he turned out.