Sitthichai 1

Isaraporn Sitthichai
December 8, 2015
Professor Lerdahl
Essentials of College Study
Assignment 20
E-Portfolio Assignment
Dear incoming college freshman,
First things first, I would like to congratulate you on graduating high school! Here, you
are called a traditional student. When I enrolled into college and started my first day of classes, I
was surprised at the change in environment which is a feeling that you will probably also
experience. In college, there is so much diversity we have people from different ages,
backgrounds, incomes, and cultures. There is one thing that we all have in common, however,
and it is the fact that we are all trying to achieve a higher education. A mistake I made when I
first started college was thinking that I could procrastinate. I advise that you throw that habit out
of the window right now, because professors require intense and vigorous work from you
throughout the entirety of the time you are attending.
There are many ways to make your college experience an easier one. First, you can start
by identifying long term and short term goals. Goals serve as a motivation to get things done.
Long term goals are things you wish to accomplish in years time, while short term goals are
things you wish to accomplish in days, weeks, or a few months. An effective way to set up goals
is by using the SMART strategy. Meaning, your goals should be specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant, and has a time referenced. Obviously, your goals should be positive and
correlate with each other. Lastly, always use must instead of will when writing your goals!

Sitthichai 2
Another important strategy is developing a weekly routine. Weekly routines serve as a
way for you to schedule your schoolwork in between work, leisure time, family duties, hobbies,
and social time. An efficient way to do well in your classes is by spending two hours outside of
school for every one hour of class you take. For example, if you have to2 hours of math class a
week, you are to spend a minimum of 4 hours outside of class studying math. Prioritize the items
on your to-do list by labeling them. Put an A on an item that needs to be done immediately, a
B for things that needs to be done but can be put off for later, and C for things are can be done
at any other time.
In college, it is inevitable for students to come across presentations. A way to prepare for
this is by conquering speech anxiety. Learning the nine Ps will greatly help you, they are: Prior
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance (of the) Person Putting on the Presentation. To do
this, you need to establish your topic and introduce it in a manner that is not mundane. Always
end your presentations with some form of conclusion. Making eye contact and realizing that your
peers are there to support and not make fun of you will boost your confidence.
Last but not least, the most important strategy I found while attending college is adjusting
my attitude. It is very easy to become overwhelmed since you are set in a new environment, with
new people, and schoolwork that requires a lot of critical thinking. I was not excited to start the
semester, because I was scared that it would be a lot worse than high school. Thus, I began
adjusting my attitude by looking forward to my classes something that was different from when
I was in high school. Now, I love my college experience and adjusting my attitude has really
motivated me to do well.
I hope these strategies have helped you! Good luck!
Isaraporn Sitthichai