When you start college, you’ll be entering into a part of your life that you will—most likely—feel very unprepared for. You’ll be dealing with a number of things that you’ve never had to think about before, including new academic, financial, and social situations. Because of this, many students begin to wonder if they’re “cut out” for college, or if they have “what it takes” to succeed as an undergraduate student. These feelings are very common, and often bring up a lot of questions. I’d like to put some of these concerns to rest and respond to some of the most common inquiries.

First of all, it’s important to realize that “what it takes” to successfully complete a college degree is something that’s the same in every situation. In some degree programs, the ability to think analytically is crucial. In others, a developed aesthetic eye is key. Some colleges require academic excellence to a degree that seems nearly unobtainable. These factors vary widely depending on your specific situation, so there isn’t really a standard or constant of what is required of all college students. The one common factor is that no matter where you go and what you study, you’ll have to work hard and engage in good academic practices. You’ll have to put a significant amount of time and effort into your studies to do well, regardless of your circumstances.

Another misconception that’s fairly common is the idea that certain people are “cut out” for higher-level study, and others aren’t. Get rid of this idea right now. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t do well in high school (or finish high school at all, in fact)—you can succeed in college. There are many people who struggled through high school and excel in college; it’s a totally different atmosphere and learning environment. By the same token, don’t think that just because you breezed through high school you’ll have no problems in college. The four years that you spend in an undergraduate degree is a time of rediscovery an reinvention—if you take full advantage of it by recommitting yourself to your academics, you’ll be sure to succeed, regardless of how the past four years have gone for you.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your time in college will be what you make it. If you’re confident in your abilities and willing (indeed, looking forward to) working hard, you’ll have a very successful four years. If you want to succeed in college, you have to set aside the past four academic years and be confident that you’ll make it through your undergraduate years successfully. Just keep in mind all of the people that have come before you—not every one of which was an academic genius. Keep perspective, and you’ll be fine.

There are only a few classes that I think every college student should take. Everyone has different needs, different interests, different majors—but a select few courses still seem to be worth taking, no matter what you’re studying. One of the foremost in that list is the communications class. I think that what you can learn in one of these classes is so important that every student should take at least one.

If you’ve never taken one before, you may be wondering exactly what a communications class is. The answer can vary a lot, as communication studies is a very large field. Some of the most common courses in these departments deal with public speaking, communication in the workplace, communication in the academy, or other context-specific writing or speaking classes. Regardless of their specific topic, these classes will help you learn how to communicate effectively in a variety of situations.

The skills to communicate effectively are highly valuable, and this is what makes college communications classes so important. If you can’t effectively communicate with your co-workers or your supervisor once you get into the workplace, you’ll slow everybody down and reduce efficiency. If you have trouble getting your ideas across to your research paper group, you’ll have little chance to positively affect the grade that you all receive.

One of the more common excuses for avoiding communications classes is fear of public speaking. This isn’t a good reason to skip a comm. class—in fact, taking one of these classes will help you get over your phobia and become a confident speaker. Professors are very aware that most people have a difficult time getting up in front of others and speaking, and most of them are pretty sensitive to this fact. You’ll often start with a very short speech or a group presentation to ease you into the class. There’s very little pressure, and most people don’t have much of a problem with it.

While it can be slightly stressful signing up for and starting a college communications class, it’s one of those things that you just have to swallow our nervousness and do. You’ll definitely be better off for it when you’re done. I can vouch for this personally—when I began my undergraduate education, I felt a great deal of anxiety whenever I had to get up in front of a class. After taking Communication in the Workplace, I began to feel much more comfortable in front of groups of people, and since then, I’ve received many compliments on how comfortable I seem while speaking to groups. It’s definitely been very helpful in both my academic and professional careers.

Communications classes are just one of those things. Yeah, it can be a little nerve-wracking. But just do it. You’ll be glad you did.

One of the greatest obstacles for job-seeking recent college graduates is their lack of work experience. This is extremely frustrating, because you can’t get work experience without getting a job . . . and it’s really tough to get a job without work experience. So what do you do? You can rely on an impressive academic record (which helps a great deal), or you can try to get some work experience in college.

Most college students work-study program, and many also offer on-campus jobs for students. Whether or not you can get a position that is related to your ideal career, you should look into these options—working in an academic or research setting can be very valuable experience.

Another common way for college students to gain work experience before they graduate is through internships. Internships are different than jobs in that they emphasize learning and preparation for entering into the field in which you intern. This experience is very valuable, and can often lead to job offers with the company for which you intern, sometimes even before you graduate. Seems like a good way to go, right? Well, there is a down-side to interning. First, the competition for internships is very intense; a great number of students will be applying for every internship, so you’ll have to work very hard to make yourself stand out. In addition, many internships are unpaid, meaning that you’ll be volunteering your time at your host company. It’s definitely worth it to gain the valuable work experience, but it can be financially taxing.

No matter how you gain work experience in college, it will benefit you. Whether or not you work or intern in your intended field or hold a stereotypical, menial, “college student” job, you’ll be much better off when you graduate. Attending school should definitely be your highest priority, but the work experience you gain in college (even if it is just mopping floors) can be almost as valuable as your degree.

Springtime is one of the best times to be a college student. While it can be a little stressful preparing for year-end finals, the spring thaw is always a really fun time on college campuses. You can start walking to class without putting seven layers of clothes, and taking part in some of college students’ favorite springtime activities. While these activities vary by region and campus, there are some that seem to be pretty consistent throughout student populations.

1) Frisbee. If there was an official sport/game of college, it would be playing catch with a Frisbee. If you visit any campus in the spring, you’re likely to see at least a couple groups of students playing Ultimate or just tossing a disc around. This is something that everyone should at least try—it may not look all that exciting if you’ve never done it before, but it’s a lot of fun, and a great way to wind down after a long day of class.

2) Other sports. While Frisbee is a significant part of college culture, you’ll also see students throwing around footballs or baseballs, playing tennis, kicking a soccer ball, or shooting hoops. Just about anything to take advantage of the newfound ability to spend time outside.

3) Concerts. Many campuses put on outdoor springtime concerts featuring local or national artists. Even if your campus doesn’t organize an event, many colleges are close enough to outdoor concert venues that you should be able to take part in an outdoor concert. Or you can, with the approval of your college, book and promote your own outdoor concert. The spring is a great time for this, because you can throw on jeans and a sweatshirt and be comfortable the whole night. Once summer rolls around, outdoor concerts can start to get really, really hot.

4) Jogging/biking/rollerblading. While not everyone is interested in these activities, many college students like to run or get on their bike or rollerblades and enjoy the sunshine (especially as a method of stress relief). Even if you aren’t into any of these activities, it’s still nice to get out for a walk now and then; exercising and staying (or getting) in shape is much easier when you don’t have to do it inside with a bunch of other people.

5) Hit the beach. It isn’t warm enough to do this in very many places right now, but if you’re going to college farther south than most students, it may be warm enough to at least get out and play some beach volleyball or sun in the sand. The temperature will be high enough to get in the water before you know it!

6) Study outside. While this may not exactly be a favored activity, it’s really nice to be able to sit outside with a book or your laptop and get some studying done. It’s much nicer than sitting inside and looking out the window, wishing that you were outside.

No matter what you like to do, make an effort to get outside and do something that you like to do in the coming weeks. Finals will be here sooner than you realize, and you’ll be stuck in the library studying . . . so take advantage while you can!

One of the biggest worries of college students—especially in the current economic conditions—is being able to pay for college. Four years in college can cost upwards of $100,000, and working evenings, weekends, and summers will only get you so far. So how do you minimize the number of loans that you take out? You can actually start the process of paying for college before you even get there by applying for scholarships.

One of the best sources for scholarships is the financial aid department of the college that you’ve been accepted at (assuming, of course, you’re at that stage). Many schools offer both merit-based scholarships and need-based scholarships. Go to your school’s website or call the financial aid office and ask for more information.

Another good source of scholarships are local businesses. Places like local stores, organizations, and groups like the Lions Club often give out scholarships to students graduating in their city. They may not give out as much money as the bigger national, regional, or campus scholarships, but there’s also a much smaller pool of competition. Your high school guidance counselor can probably help you out with finding these. You can also approach local businesses to inquire if they award scholarships (you might even be able to convince some of them if they don’t, as well).

Once you’ve explored these options, it’s time to start scouring the internet. You can use sites like FastWeb, Scholarships.com, and CollegeBoard. There are thousands of scholarships available, so you should be able to find a few that best fit your academic, athletic or extracurricular strengths.

Once you’ve found several scholarships that you’d like to apply for, it’s time to start writing. What you write is very dependent on the type of scholarships you’re applying, but you’ll have to do your best to convince the scholarship committee that you deserve their money. There are entire books written about getting scholarships, and everyone holds a different opinion on the best way to go about it. Speaking with your guidance counselor is a great way to get your answers about scholarship applications answered. You can also check out sites like ScholarshipHelp.org, which has a great deal of useful information on applying for scholarships.

Lastly, be sure to submit a FAFSA application. Even though the FAFSA is much more likely to result in a loan than a scholarship, it’s definitely worth a shot (especially if you feel that you could apply for a need-based grant). You also may be able to get a subsidized loan, which could end up saving you a great deal of money over four or five years.