College is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You get to explore new ideas and adventures while learning and embracing different cultures at your school. It is an eye-opening experience that goes by in an instant. This stage in life is where people discover who they truly are because they must make decisions on their own every day. It can be frightening at first and take a serious toll on your mental health if you are not prepared. It is important to experience as much as possible while still getting good grades. Despite what some may say, it is possible to do everything you imagined and more in college while still maintaining a quality GPA. It is not always easy, but with commitment you can build good habits that will last a lifetime. Here are 4 steps you can take to help maximize your college experience in and out of the classroom.

Understand Scheduling

It is important to understand when you will be the busiest. For me, this is typically Thursday-Sunday. This is because most of my homework assignments are due around this time, and I have little time to complete them because I want to be out with my friends. That means in order to be stress-free on the weekends, you must complete your work ahead of time. People do not realize the time they waste early in the week because they think they have time to complete their assignments later. 

Get It Done Early

In reality, you only have about three days to complete your school work. Monday through Wednesday is where the battles are won and lost in school. You should wake up early during this time span and focus on completing assignments and reviewing material in your classes even when you are not in class. This will also help you for upcoming quizzes and tests because you will not forget old material. Keep in mind this is for an average school week; you may have to sacrifice some social time during weeks that are busier because of midterms and final exams. 

Self-Improvement Time

Now that you have school work out of the way, it is important to be proactive in college. So many people waste away their time playing video games and staying home when there is so much out there to experience. I would like to challenge you to improve on or learn something new during your time in college. For me, I have motivated myself to improve on my fitness and eating habits. It is truly rewarding when you consistently work for something and see the payoff by the end of the school year. Also, once you devote some time for self-improvement, it builds your confidence to go out with your friends and meet new people.