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What should I do to help stay focused my 1st year of college?

Any study ideas or advice on how to push through if things get hard? #c #college

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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Shontell D. I see that you posted this question a little while ago so I hope my answer to you (or others who may read this response) is still helpful.

I can appreciate that the ability to stay focused during your first year of college can be a bit tough. There is so much to see and learn at that time and there is a lot less restriction than what many students are used to coming from high school.

What helped to focus me was a couple of things. 1) Financial resources meaning I knew that for every additional semester it might take for me to finish my degree, that meant more $$ towards my student loans. 2)Getting into engineering in a real way meaning because of the interest I had (and still have) in engineering and specifically network engineering, I was very eager to finish, get my degree and get a job where I could put what I was studying into practice. 3) Seeing my learning progress meaning because of the structure of my curriculum, I knew that I couldn't be as successful in the classes that really interested me, if I didn't focus on those early ones that come up in freshman year like calculus and statistics.

In general, individuals use different means to get and stay focused. Even with all that I have shared, do your best to enjoy not only your freshman year but all the years of your college journey. It is my hope that you see the richness that this experience will bring both inside and outside of the classroom.

Best of luck to you!
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Ken’s Answer

Here are some tips on how to proceed in a focused manner. throughout your education/career journey. It starts by getting to know yourself better and learning which career areas are most suitable and getting to know people in those areas.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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