Become Best Friends With Your Professors

Ok, perhaps best friends may be a bit much, but opening the lines of communication can only benefit you. Quite possibly, this can be done with a simple self-introduction. Some students (like me when I was a freshman) find approaching professors intimidating, especially in large classes. However, after talking with your professor you may find it to be a much more comfortable experience than you had envisioned.

Contrary to what many students believe, most professors want to help students succeed. When a question arises concerning class material, it is not a bad idea to go your professor during his or her office hours. This also creates a great opportunity for that “self-introduction” motioned above.

From my experience, I have found that asking questions in class not only shows the instructor I am paying attention and interested in the topic, but allows him or her to become familiar with my face. That way, when I introduce myself, I give him or her a chance to connect my face with my name.

Social Media

Believe it or not, all students will be forced to move out into the “real world” at some point in their lives. This realization may come across as harsh to some, but we cannot (or should not) live the college life forever. As the “real world” coincides with a “real job,” coming across as employable might not be a bad goal to set. A good place to start (assuming ‘showering daily’ is obvious) is online. Controlling how you are displayed online could possibly be the determining factor on whether you get a sought-after job or not.

Just the other day, a friend of mine told me that when he sat down with a corporate job recruiter for an interview, the recruiter had him open his Facebook page. The two discussed what was on the page, but, fortunately, just before the interview, he went through and "cleaned" the page up by "untagging" photos and removing comments from his wall.

Bottom line: Control what you say and do on social media platforms because you never know who may be viewing.

Choose the Right Crowd

While in college you will be forced to make many decisions (to put it casually). These decisions may seem small at the time, but they add up. The sum of these decisions will ultimately define the outcome of the rest of your life.

One important thing all young professionals should do is surround themselves with people that share similar career goals.

We have all heard stories of someone that has gotten caught up with the “wrong crowd.” Do NOT be that someone. The people you surround yourself with will be the people that help you excel to where or what you want to be. Choose your friends wisely. It is okay to befriend people that went to different high schools. In fact, by the time you are finishing your college career most of your closest friends will be those you meet in college, not your high school friends.

Customize Your Studying

I was asked to give some pointers on studying while in college, however, it is difficult to give straightforward advice. I believe to be successful in college everyone should customize the way they study to cater to their personal needs.

My roommate during my freshman year found it easiest to get up bright and early the day of an exam and cram at the last minute. He had success doing this, I did not. I tried the “cram method” once and realized while taking the exam that I needed to prepare much differently. I also realized, when I got the graded exam back from the professor (with a frowning face by my score) that everyone needs to have a customized study plan. As a student you should find out what works best for you.


I now start three days before the test by making flashcards with important terms or concepts, reading the textbook while highlighting important parts and continuously writing out acronyms that I have made up if there is a list of words I need to remember. I also need to study in an atmosphere that is very quiet. While I was living in the dorms I usually used the lounge area to study, but now that I no longer live in the dorms I use the library because I know nothing will distract me. However, some students are able to study in their dorm room or apartment and have much success.

My last tip for customizing your own study habits is to ask questions.The material you are studying may be foreign and hard to understand, so questions are inevitable. Professors and teachers are more then willing to help you by addressing your questions (most of the time) as long as they can see that you tried to answer the question yourself by reading the textbook or attending class.

Whatever method you decide works best, follow that method strictly and be careful not to start slacking as the semester comes to a close. Click here for additional studying tips from the Virginia Tech website.