Useful tips for students and near-students: entrants, first-year students, and graduates

Useful tips for Freshmen

1. If you are a newcomer to the university, it is best to take the advice of experienced students. This will help to avoid many problems in the future:

2. University is not a school. It is different: parents are no longer responsible for you and your grades. Now you and only you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. But for the same reason, you can become a completely different person. Leave all your previous fears and complexes behind in school.

3. Start thinking about work from the first days of your freshman year. The earlier you start working on your portfolio, the better your chances of getting a good job quickly after graduation. Start a solid email account, create a resume and make it a goal to add one meaningful item to it every year: a new level of foreign language, a new professional and personal skill, etc. Attend any seminars and conferences, and attach the certificates immediately to your CV. All this now is the best investment and experience for future employment.

4. Form the right social circle. Make friends from completely different circles: that way you have a better chance that at least one of them will get to the top. And that’s not a bad prospect for you either. Moreover, in the case of close communication with classmates, it is they will help to reach heights in life.

5. Find out the university’s prospects. As soon as you enroll, find out what rights, benefits, and opportunities you have, what additional programs/courses/ electives/collaboration with foreign educational institutions the university has, student activities and events, associations. And as soon as you know, be sure to join/enroll/participate, because in this way you can solve several problems at once: make new friends and be in good standing with the university administration. Be sure to find out whether your university has opportunities for internships.

6. Socialize as much as possible. Be friendly. This promotes socialization and networking, qualities that are essential for future job interviews.

7. Set big goals for yourself. First, the more incredible the goal, the more heights you can conquer, even if you never reach the final goal. Secondly, in the future, you will not be so brave and reckless to dare to take risky steps. So now – it’s time to take risks because you have nothing to lose.

8. Separate from your parents. Yes, this is the escape from the comfort zone, which we all so do not want to lose. Only by separating from your parents, you can scale and grow.

9. Make a list of companies in your industry. Study their requirements, corporate ethics, and internal values. Now you can begin the “crusade” to conquer them. Don’t worry, you have at least 5 years to try, fail, and try again! Don’t be afraid to look pushy and stupid. The worst that will happen to you is you will never get the job. But you might get it.

10. If you can travel, do it. Travel will not only allow you to see the sights, but it will broaden your horizons, help you make new acquaintances, change your worldview, find new places and inspiration for self-actualization, discovery, and perspective.

Tips for Middle School Students 

1. Trust yourself. If you have already taken several courses and you feel that you do not want to study here – withdraw your documents. As a rule, a year is enough to understand the direction in which you want to develop.

2. Make friends with your seniors. Collect their lecture notes, seminars, cheat sheets, and even research papers. All of this will make a great base for preparing for classes when you’re in the same course as your more experienced friends. You should agree that it’s not like writing a term paper or diploma on your own.

3. Come up with your own system of symbols and signs. This will help you take notes faster. Yes, at first it will be hard to get your bearings. You will get confused and lose your way, but you will soon build up the pace and skill you need.

4. Prepare for the session from the first day of the semester. You’ve already learned from first-year experience that starting to prepare for exams at the beginning of a session is a bad idea: there’s not enough time, there’s too much information to master, and your emotional state is frayed. So be smarter and start learning the material as it comes in.

5. Make contact with challenging professors. This approach comes in handy not only in the period of passing the usual exams and tests but also in the period of selecting a supervisor for term and graduation theses. At least, it won’t be a surprise for you to cooperate with a person you don’t know at all.

6. Watch your attendance. Do not exceed the allowed limit and find out the permissible limits from each teacher. This will avoid many problems in the period of passing credits and examinations. Some principled lecturers will not give you a good grade even for a flawless answer to a question just because a student’s attendance was very lame. Students’ absences are perceived as personal disrespect, and this is a source of problems.

Tips for Graduates 

1. Have you reached the finish line? Congratulations! But it’s too early to relax. Here are tips from those who have already crossed this milestone and want to reduce your suffering and the likelihood of mistakes.

2. Get enough sleep. So many sessions are behind you, and you should have realized that the better you rest, the better your brain will think. And this is especially important in the final year when the student will pass state exams, defend a diploma, and some – even work or look for work.

3. Start writing your diploma as early as possible. Ideally, as early as your fourth year, right after your term paper. Also, the earlier you start writing your thesis, the less busy you’ll be with your supervisor.

4. Filter out unnecessary things. Calmly go to classes, prepare for the homework and diploma, and then do everything else – in order of priority. Devote time only to what will be useful and necessary for you. And if you have a problem with your studies and you’re not keeping up – you can think about who will write my essay for me.

5. Start looking for a job. It’s a good time to start actively monitoring the job market. Engage all your acquaintances and relationships. Go to interviews as much as possible – it will help you to overcome your natural shyness and learn to avoid the popular mistakes of beginners that prevent you from getting the desired job.

6. Work on your self-esteem. Until you learn to like and respect yourself, no one around you can either. It’s good to have an objective view of your personality. But in any case, always consider your strengths and emphasize them in solving the employer’s problems. Just because you don’t have experience doesn’t make you bad or unworthy – it’s just a temporary feature that your employer once had, too. So be firm and confident in your abilities, because you will succeed.