With the end of the year speeding by and 2020 on the horizon, many of the seniors at GLHS are probably receiving college acceptance letters and making their final decisions for next year. Attending college is a lot different than going to high school. I found that out when I started my freshman year this year at Central Michigan University. I have learned a lot about college life while attending CMU, and I hope to share some of my tips with those who plan to go to college soon.

    First, when going to a university, more than likely you will be required to live on campus for the first one to two years. If possible, find out who will also be living in the suite and get in touch with them. Try to get to know them to see how you’ll get along. Getting along with a roommate and/or suitemates is essential. Most colleges go from August/September to May, and that is a long time to live with a group of people. If tensions rise, it will become very difficult to live with them. 

    Second, when signing up for classes, research professors before making a decision. A very helpful website for this is Rate My Professor. On this website, students can sign up and write a summary about a certain professor to help other students find awesome professors as well as stay away from the horrible ones. Choosing the right professor may just save a your grade.

    Next, once school has started, form a daily routine. This will help ease you into the semester, especially if it is their first one. Know when to get up, eat, shower, and head to class without it interfering with suitemates. Eventually, things will get easier and the daily routine will happen naturally. 

    Doing your homework will prove one of the hardest things to do. Time management, or including a time for homework in a daily routine, will help. The sooner the homework is done, the sooner you can move on to other things. Depending on your schedule, your classes will most likely be every other day. The best way to get homework done before the next class is doing it after classes are done for the day and not waiting until the last minute. 

    Those are the most important things, but here are some other tips that might be useful. One of those is wear shower shoes, because foot fungus is very common. Clean or keep things neat, so losing things is minimal and the room does not start to look and smell like a dump. Go to bed at a decent time, as staying up late will lead to fatigue, and could lead to you shutting your alarm off and missing class. Do laundry once or twice a week to keep it from piling up. Lastly, do not party all of the time. College is a time to have more freedom, but partying all the time could hurt your health and grades. 

    College is a time to have more freedom and explore career paths. It is difficult to transition from high school to college, but use these tips and things will turn out all right. Enjoy the rest of high school, seniors, and prepare for college, because it is just around the corner.