21 COLLEGE HACKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

College is one of the best parts of a person’s life. It is a time to not only attain your higher education and prepare for their chosen careers, but it is also a time for personal growth, making lifelong friends, learning how to live independently and gain experience about the world. However, a time full of so many new experiences and opportunities also has its own unique set of hurdles for new adults to overcome. A lot of people wish they had some college hacks to make it more manageable.

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So for all those young adults ready to venture out into the next stage of their lives, we have compiled this list of awesome college hacks to help make college life so much more fruitful. These college hacks are grouped around some of the significant questions that college-goers often ask. We sincerely hope you find these college hacks to be useful:

HOW CAN I SAVE MONEY IN COLLEGE?

Perhaps the most common concern of college students is financial pressure. Due to the rising cost of college tuition, not to mention the student debt crisis, a lot of students feel the need to save money in college. So, in this section, you will get some financial college hacks:

• Part Time Jobs: For a number of reasons, it is a good idea to take up a part-time job at a local business once you get settled in college. This will improve your financial situation, making sure you have some extra spending cash or can get a headstart on paying your college debt. Having work experience will also help your career prospects once you graduate and enter the workforce. A paid internship will also help your academics because they earn you extra course credits.

• Entrepreneurship: Conversely, instead of a part-time job, you could also start your own side gig and be self-reliant. If you’re the creative type, start building up your portfolio. If you’re into business, start your own small company. This will provide valuable experience, improve your work ethic, and, of course, help your bottom line. Fun Fact: some of the world’s best-known companies like Microsoft, Dell, Google, and Facebook were started when their founders were in college!

• Living Expenses: Rent will typically make up a large portion of your expenditure. Look for a roommate (s), someone like minded. Live with family if possible. If not, then ask around to find a good deal on rent. Look for apartments in less popular neighborhoods, where prices are lower, and sign a lease to keep rent from being raised. Low maintenance and low rent are a win-win!

• Student Discounts: Always carry your student ID! Your student ID can let you take avail of a wide variety of student discounts for all kinds of things, like food, study supplies, software, books, gadgets and many, many more types of stuff. This will help you save a LOT of money over time.

• Reduce Spending: You can really save a lot of money on daily expenses if you just do some research. A penny saved is a penny earned! Try shopping at discount stores, garage sales, buying second-hand, using coupons, waiting for sales and keep an eye out for free stuff – a lot of events and companies give out free food, T-shirts, goodie bags, and, sometimes, even gadgets! All this will be vital to keep you in the black.

HOW CAN I GET A BETTER GPA IN COLLEGE?

Since there is a big difference in the academic level of school and that of college, a lot of freshers understandably struggle with the workload in college and can see a dip in their test scores. This section will give you some great college hacks to improve your academic performance:

• Visit Your Professors: Building a relationship with your professors makes college much more comfortable and has long-term benefits. Outside of school, it’s rare to have such easy access to expert mentors. But few college students actually engage with their professors outside the classroom – or even in it. That means you have the chance to distinguish yourself from other students, get any doubts cleared and make useful connections. A good relationship with teachers can pay off with better grades, glowing letters of recommendation and referrals to potential employers and research positions.

• Study Groups: Start or join a study group. This is a great way to study regularly, clear doubts, get help for homework, and prepare for tests. Find a group of likeminded people and meet them for study groups regularly. We can guarantee that it’s better than studying alone!

• Record your lectures: This simple habit will revolutionize how you study. Recording lectures in class can come in handy later on during the semester. Listening to recorded lectures helps assimilate information. Listening to a recording ensures that any critical information within a lecture isn’t missed. To save time on studying, listen to lectures at twice the speed. Remember to save everything online.

• Pomodoro Technique: Procrastination is your biggest enemy! To avoid it, use the Pomodoro Technique while working. The Pomodoro Technique is a well-known time management technique that helps your brain focus on the task at hand instead of dallying around. It involves working in 25 minute sessions, taking a 5 minute break between sessions. After 4 such sessions (2 hours), take a longer 30 minute break. This technique is highly effective at keeping you focused and productive while also keeping fatigue at bay, and can make a marked difference in your time management skills.

• Now that you know this study technique, learn about PQ4R, SQ3R, Blurring Method, Feynman Technique, Leitner System (Flashcards) techniques as well by reading our effective study methods blog.

• Get a Head Start: Make a concerted effort to get good grades in your first year. The initial semesters of most courses are usually the easiest, and a head start early on can help alleviate the pressure of the later, tougher semesters, and provide a buffer if your grades slip later. Also, it’s easier to maintain a good GPA than improve a bad one.

• Leave it to the Pros: Despite your best efforts, keeping up with college work can be hard and you might on occasion find yourself swamped with work. At times like these, it can be a good idea to take some outside help. Like takeonlineclasshelp.com, which is a site where you can get help completing your assignments and homework. Its convenient, accurate, and affordable and quick! Getting straight-A’s with their help is a breeze.

• Like Google, but better: Learn to use Google Scholar. Google Scholar is an online, free academic search engine. It lets you skip trawling through sites that are not academically trustworthy, in favour of a variety of credible sources such as academic publishers, university databases and libraries – an invaluable tool for writing assignment papers. It also lets you scan both physical and digital copies of articles, and most useful of all, allows you to automatically create a list of citations, which is super convenient!

HOW CAN I MAKE LIVING IN COLLEGE EASIER?

For the vast majority of college-goers, this will be the first time you will be living independently without anyone to take care of them. While for some this can be a very liberating and exciting experience, understandably, a lot of people can also find this very daunting, not to mention the almost universal feeling of homesickness. So here are some college hacks meant to ease the burden of college life and make it easier:

• Get Cooking: Learn microwave cooking recipes. This is the college hack to rule all college hacks. Millions of students have survived their entire college life – and beyond – just with the simple knowledge of how to make a mug omelette and ramen. Once you’ve got the basics down – which should take 10 minutes at most – you can move on to more impressive recipes like microwave pizza, microwave pasta, and yes, even microwave pudding! I myself don’t know how I would have survived college without my microwave.

• 3-Day Week: If you get to decide your own class timetable, try fitting all your classes into 3 days for a 3-day working schedule. This way, you can dedicate entire non-class days to other activities like studying, working, or recreation.

• Alarm yourself: Alarms are not only great for waking, but they can assist you throughout the day too. Set alarms for every class and meeting so you’re never late and wow people with your punctuality. Set an alarm for bedtime so you don’t skip out on rest and can maintain a healthy sleep schedule, which is very important.

• Sleep Tight: Buy a simple eye mask and earplugs. Especially if you’re living with multiple people. You’ll thank us when your housemates are partying it up and you need to go to bed.

HOW CAN I MAKE MY TIME IN COLLEGE MORE INTERESTING?

Although we guarantee that college life will be plenty interesting already, what with all the new people, experiences and challenges, life can never be too exciting. So, here are some college hacks to help you get the most out of your college years and make sure there’s never a dull moment:

• Clubs & Events: There are always plenty of clubs and events to attend at any college. Go for college events like concerts, sporting events and TED talks to learn new things, meet new people and find new opportunities. Try picking a club you like and going regularly; you’ll likely make friends who share your interests, and you might even discover a new lifelong passion!

• Stay Fit: Remember to keep your fitness up! Due to an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle, many college students gain up to 15lb in their first year of college, called the ‘Freshman 15’. Most colleges include a free gym for students, so why not take advantage of it? Alternatively, sports, especially team sports like soccer, basketball or baseball are great ways to keep fit, and also make friends and have fun! Instead of driving or taking a ride to work, try walking or cycling instead.

• Eat Right: Most college students also have terrible diets, mostly consisting of junk food, processed and packaged food or takeaway from restaurants. Try eating one healthy meal a day and to cut down on sugary, fatty snacks. Trust us; just this small step will make a huge difference.

• Mr Worldwide: If possible, try joining an exchange program. Spending a semester or two abroad will broaden your worldview, and you immersing yourself in a different culture will help your personal growth. You can even try your hand at acquiring the local language, which is always useful.
• Take a Hike: Use your weekends to explore locations near your college. Form a small group with friends, or fly solo, and plan weekend trips, hikes and excursions. These will later be some of your fondest memories of college.

• Change It Up: Studying in your dorm room or the library can get pretty dreary, and make you prone to procrastination. Once in a while, study in a new, more interesting place, such as a park, a cafe or with a friend at his place! Changing things up will make you dread study time a little less.

We hope you found this blog on college hacks to take your college life to the next level informative as well as enjoyable. College is rightfully considered the golden time of one’s life and helping students make the most of it is our passion too. One final word – You have one month to set habits at the start of a semester. If you create good habits, your semester will be a breeze. If you pick up any bad habits, life will be significantly rougher.

What’s your opinion? Got any college hacks of your own you’d like to share? Be sure to leave a comment below and please share this article with any of your friends and acquaintances who you think would find this helpful! Ciao!

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