When selecting classes, make sure you don't get stuck in the rush hours! If you have an 9 a.m. class it's best to steer clear of the 8 a.m. rush hour, which is usually after 8:20 a.m. The rush hour also depends on your location and how lucky you are to get on the bus or subway. It's best to get to school early than late. If you are late 2-3 times, depending on your school's policy, it will count as an absence. It also depends on how late you are, some professors will mark you absent if you're more than 15 minutes late!

Hi - so, yea, I have no time for anything with all these classes I signed up for. I mean, I was good student in high school. I know how to study! But this is ridiculous! Help!

The problem I had was prioritizing. You have a lot more free time in college than in high school. But you think you have more free time
than you actually have. And by November of freshman year, you’re behind. I don’t know anyone who wasn’t behind. You tend to forget to study when you first get here. You have parties, freedom from parents—you almost forget that
you’re in school. Freshman year, people would go to 60 to 70 percent of classes, at best, because you would stay up late and then miss morning classes. You almost forget how important education is. You worked for 12 years to get here, but just because you’re here, the work doesn’t stop.

College requires you to think in very different ways than one is used to. Find one place on campus where you can study without being interrupted, and designate a portion of your time for that purpose. When reading, read for content, and know what you are reading (it makes skimming that much more effective). If you must cram, going to bed earlier and waking up at 6 a.m. to force a few more hours in is more effective, because at least you are awake for the test. But then again, that’s just me.

Study individually 70 percent of the
time, in groups 20 percent of the time, and seek the professor’s or teaching assistant’s help 10 percent of the time. Divide your time up like this and you’re golden.

In college you have these one- and two-hour chunks in the day with nothing to do. A lot of people spend that time taking a nap or watching
TV or checking e-mail or putzing around. It’s a good habit to keep a homework assignment on hand, so when you have a spare moment you can pull it out and start reading it. It helps you keep up with it all.

The workload in college is like shoveling snow. If you do a little
bit every day, you’ll get by. If you wait until everything piles up, it becomes an impossible task.

I'm staring at my possible course schedule - my first college sched. Before I pull the trigger, any tips from the gallery?

Never sign up for a 7 a.m. class. Yes, you did it in high school, but Mom was always there to keep waking you up, and if by some miracle you do
make it to an early class, you will sleep through the lecture when you get there.

I would recommend that during your first year, you take a class that is outside what you think you want to do. You’ll meet other people, and freshman year is a really good time to meet a lot of people. Take the P.E. classes; it’s something
active. If you’re in a very academic school, go out and have something active in your life. It’s a good release. I did martial arts—Tae Kwon Do. That was really fun and you meet a lot of different people there. And kick some ass.

Take a wide variety of classes.You may find that you are interested in a subject you hadn’t previously considered. Plus, freshman year is the best time to experiment with that sort of thing. And before you decide to take a certain class,
make sure you know something about the professor teaching it. Ask around, search the Web; anything. A good or bad professor can genuinely
make or break a class.