Dear Kazzel,

       I’m so glad that you are going be to take the time to attend college. I know that it’s been 7 years since you’ve had any formal schooling. You’ve never really been one for schooling, but you told me that you kind of wanted to go to college to maybe see if you could find a good career path for you. I’m super happy for you, but honestly college is hard, and obviously not for everyone, but I think that’ll help you figure out what to do.

        But don’t worry; I think I have some things that might help you through those more difficult classes. I am currently taking a class on essential college studies. It has helped me out a lot with knowing some important things to be more successful in my courses. I thought I would give some of those that I found to be the most helpful with my college experience.

         The first thing I would suggest is start by making detailed goals you want to accomplish. This was the most useful thing I learned from the class. By making detailed goals with detailed steps and a clear and achievable deadline, it makes it easy for you complete the goal within the given time period.  Go for making some short term: 1-6 months, medium term: 6 months -1 year, and long term: 1-3 year goals. I know that with clear and organized goals set, you’ll find that completing them will be easy.

          The next thing I would suggest you do is make a clear and definite budget. Figure how much money you spend on bills, food, etc.; then figure how much you have left over on a daily basis. By staying within this budget, you will be able to learn some discipline and be able to use that in other aspects, like your schoolwork.

          Third, make a schedule of your week; write down all your classes and other set activities, then add in meals, sleep, study, travel, etc. By doing this you can figure out where your free time is, and also how time you actually have in a day. With a schedule, I found that I actually have more hours to complete work and other things than I actually thought, and you will too.

           Fourth, take detailed and organized notes. I especially suggest you think about the best way you learn, and then adapt your note taking to match it. I personally learn by with pictures and by reading. So, I will draw a doodle that goes with the topic I am learning, and I also will rewrite the text into my own words so I can read and understand it better. For you it’ll be different, but I know that there be ways for you learn and retain the stuff in your courses.

           Last thing I would suggest goes with the last one; figure out how and in what environment you learn best. For me, I can study and learn best in a quiet environment by myself, sometimes by talking to myself about the information. I also study really well when I am in nature. But you might learn best in a study group or by listening to an audio of the lecture or, maybe, you learn best by acting out the information in some form. Whatever works best for you, I’m sure it’ll be able to help you study, learn and memorize the things in your course.

            Well, buddy, I hope that whatever I said is helpful for you, I sure know that it was for me. College will be hard, I think it’s totally worth every sweat, tear and maybe drop of blood you’ll shed. Hope to see you graduate, and I hope you’ll be more successful in your courses with my advice.

 

Sincerely,

Josh Martin