On one of my recent YouTube videos, a lovely viewer called Amber Wood left me a comment asking if I could do a starting college advice video. I thought this was a great idea as I have now finished college so I am able to give some advice. I know I have a slightly seperate audience for my blog and YouTube, so I decided to write a post on here too. The video will be up in a few days so if you would like to check my channel out, then please click here.
I have decided to split this post up into 5 key topics; getting lost/being late, making friends, staying on top of work, exam tips and confidence. Hopefully this post will help a lot of you as I know these tips helped me!
Getting Lost/Being Late
- Read your timetable. I know this is super obvious, but you need to make sure you know what building you are in, your room number, what time you lesson starts and ends. You need to know if you have any lessons that start immediately after other lessons as you will have less time to get to your classroom. A tip I used which really helped me was to take a picture of my timetable and set it as my lockscreen on my phone for the first couple of weeks. This made it a lot easier to check where I was going as I didn't need to fumble around in my bag for a sheet of paper.
- If you do get really lost, don't be afraid to ask someone, either a teacher or another student. You won't be the only one who doesn't know where they are going so don't feel embarrassed. Even in my second year, when I had room changes, I didn't have a clue where I was going so don't worry about it!
- Try not to be late, make sure you arrive at your class at least 5 minutes before. It is not like school so they won't tell you off unless you are consistently late, but it is frowned upon.
Making Friends
- This isn't something to worry about!
- Just start talking to people in your class about the work and they will talk back!
- Everyone is nervous on their first day so sometimes you have to be the brave one and initiate the conversation.
- Some people do make friends quicker and easier than others due to having the same lessons and similar timetables. So it is important to not compare yourself else you will just get upset. For me, I made friends within my classes so I had people to talk to and we got on really well, but I didn't spend time with them at break as they were with their school friends and I was with mine.
Staying on top of Work
- I think my biggest tip is doing the work the day you get it. I know you won't want to, but trust me, you will thank yourself later! This isn't school, you cannot do homework the night before it is due!
- You need to make sure you have good time management as most of you will be starting jobs soon too. Make sure you have enough time to do your college work as well.
- Get lots of stationery! Getting cute stationery motivates you to do your work. College also don't supply you with notebooks or pens so make sure you come prepared!
Exam Tips
- Make sure you do lots of revision in the way you find easiest. For me, I loved making mind maps with lots of colour and flashcards so I could test myself later. Find what works for you and do that!
- Go through your notes every evening, this isn't just during exam period. Every day when you come home, just re-read the notes you wrote during class as it will help solidify what you just learnt. I know this sounds like a chore, but it literally takes 10 minutes and then you're done!
- Take lots of notes during class. They rarely tell you when you need to write stuff down so just use you common sense and write down the things you need to know.
- Don't stress out or worry about it, there is more to life than an exam result!
Confidence
- This does differ between people, I know I had a huge issue with my confidence throughout college, but you have to try and step out of your comfort zone for good things to happen!
- Think confident and then you will feel confident!
Overall, just try and enjoy college, work hard and those two years will fly by!
I think I covered everything, but if you do have any questions, then please leave a comment or message me on instagram (@cottoncxndyheart). I'm here to help!
Ellie xxx
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