Written by Kaylie Weideman. Media by Joseph Wood.
Being a college student can sometimes stressful. When you graduate high school, no one really teaches you how to be a responsible adult or what to do when leaving for college. Going to college is all about living life by trial and error. For instance, how does one be a “good student”?
High school is way different than college because you are used to having teachers that tell you exactly what to do—they tell you when your grades are low and they even helped you with a homework assignment one-on-one. Once you hit college, you either make it or break it. Being a good student involves being responsible, keeping up on assignments, knowing when tests are well in advance, and having good time management skills.
Motivation is a big part of being a good student. This can assist you in accomplishing a lot of tasks by having that extra push to do so. Keeping a routine also helps individuals to stay on track. Your inner drive to be successful should be motivation enough to stay on task and get things done in college.
Some students need a commitment to learning. Some students want all A’s and some just want to pass their classes, but being involved and intentional in your learning can improve the type of student you are by a lot.
Having flexibility in college can be difficult sometimes, but it is necessary. The college life consists of sports, extra-curricular activities, meetings, special school events, and so much more! When you want to do all of those things; having flexibility will increase opportunities for participation in all of those activities. Flexibility also improves your work ethic because you want to work hard to be able to attend school events.
Going to classes all day, attending practice, and doing homework really takes up a lot of time for student-athletes. However, non-athletes also have different extra-curricular activities that can take up just as much time.
Sam Barnhart is a student at Greenville University, who is also a member of the Greenville Student Government Association (GSGA). She says, “What makes a good student is to be someone who knows how to balance being able to study, and do homework, and still have a social life–a student who is able to take care of themselves socially.”
Barnhart also said, “The way I organize my school work and GSGA is I set times on when certain tasks need to get done, like going to the library at 7 so I am able to get to my meeting at 9 and get my homework done before the meeting.” She continued, “The advice I would give to students who struggle…is try out different methods and see what works for you. Go to the library, go see a tutor, get a group together, just try out different things until something works for you.”
Even though some events may knock you down, stress you out, even makes you think twice about college, your future is all held in this moment. Studying hard and getting good grades will make you excel in the future, too.
Being a good student is not just getting straight A’s. It also involves the desire to learn more than you already know–to expand your horizons and higher your education. A good student actively participates in social events and communicates with people to gain knowledge and become engaged in a variety of things. Keep trying your hardest to maintain these goals, and you are sure to enjoy your time at Greenville!
