Many people remember with love the time spent in college. And for that there is a reason: you already have more freedom than before, but you still do not carry the entire burden of the responsibility of an adult. Although this time is not always felt that way. Against the background of studies, meetings with new friends, relationships with roommates in a hostel, etc., internal burnout can easily come. To prevent this, it is necessary to take control of the situation from the very beginning.
1. Go to class. Perhaps, in large groups of the first year, no one is paying attention to attendance, which means that you will not have problems if you miss the class, as it was in high school. But this does not mean that you can not go to classes. Some teachers monitor attendance. But, more importantly, missing classes means gaps in knowledge. Do not complicate your life, forcing yourself to be crammed before exams. In addition, studying in college is quite expensive. By skipping classes, you throw your money or money from your parents into the wind. Study in American colleges, for example, costs from $ 50 to $ 150 for an academic hour. Read and note while reading. You will remember much more material if you read actively, and your entries will greatly help you in the future, when it's time for exams. Take an active part in the class if the course involves such activity. This will help you to adapt to life in a college or university. Many students do not like or are afraid to speak in front of the group, but you will receive much more from the class, and it will be much more interesting for you to study. Your teacher wants you to just try. And most likely, he will not ask you questions that suggest only the right or wrong answer.
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2. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to devote a lot of time to your studies.This will help you to adapt to life in a college or university.To study, you need to spend as much time as adults spend on work - at least 40 hours a week. Expect that you will have to spend at least 2 hours for extra hours of work on the subject for every hour of class work. This ratio can vary depending on the subject (for example, laboratory work involves more work in the classroom). However, a library or your dorm room is a place where you will have to work hard and hard.
3. Find out what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Some people are plagiarized because they hope to escape punishment, and others - because they do not know what it is. In any case, you are responsible for this and sooner or later you will get caught. Many educational institutions provide for severe penalties for such behavior, including automatic underachievement in the subject and (or) a special record in the report card. Plagiarism in the general sense of the word implies that you copy someone's work and imagine it as your own, using other people's thoughts or words without indicating the source. If you do not use references to quotes, when someone is quoting, it is also plagiarism, plagiarism is also an indication of inaccurate or incorrect information about the source (especially dishonest if you forge the source). Bad paraphrase is also plagiarism. Paraphrase conveys the essence of the idea in your own words. However, you can be accused of plagiarism if in the paraphrase you used for the most part the words of the original, especially if you use the same structure of sentences or your phrases are identical in length or style. You are showing academic dishonesty if you are asking someone to help you when you have to do the work yourself, if you work on a project with someone, but do not tell the co-author if you are paying someone for the work you have done.
I hope my advice will help you to adapt to life in a college or university.