I'm concerned that because college will be more challenging academically than high school that I might have some trouble keeping my grades at a top level. How can I make the adjustment to college learning without stressing myself out?

Hello Rachel,

I am glad you asked this question, because many students share your same thoughts and are in the same predicament, but hesitate to say anything. It's normal to feel nervous and it's great you are thinking along these lines. My first advice to you would be to adopt a process or system that will help you stay organized. Web based project management software (trello, basecamp, asasna etc.) are excellent on keeping you on task. Tip: they are GREAT for group projects! Another tool you may want to explore if you haven't yet is Evernote, its absolutely fabulous for taking, saving, editing and creating notes for your courses (worth every penny)! Also, create a school calendar in your Google account, I would event suggest to have a separate one for school purposes only. My next tip would be to know thy self, I mean knowing your weaknesses and strengths early on helps to determine the areas you will need help. Everyone believes they know how to study and wonder why they do so poorly in College [Freshman year], while they ace's high school. Easy, the idea is to internalize the material, you don't need to memorize all of it if you understand it! Spark notes is a graeat resource to help break down materials or Google Scholar. Be truthful to yourself and find those weaknesses and work on them every semester, until there aren't any left! Mine was Math and noise, I learned that I was easily distracted for courses that involved math, so I went the library to study. If the subject was not penetrating, I would friend the expert in the class, started a study circle and met up once a week (sometimes more) in a study room we reserved religiously. Do this exercise: write down in a piece of paper the subjects you love and dislike the most and go from there. I bet you will discover a lot about yourself, especially when you have to convince yourself that you aren't that bad at something, when you may be awful at it. Lastly, balance your workload/schedule. Do yourself a favor, don't take heavy courses all at once. If you are taking 6 classes, let three be challenging and the others light or fun! Trust me, Freshman year it the most challenging, so don't make it more harder than it needs to be. If you do some or all the things mentioned above, you will be breezing through college life! Have fun, stay organized and balance everything nicely! Good luck!

You have to set a routine for yourself and stick to it for the most part. Once you get into the groove of a routine it will be much easier for you to manage your time and have enough time for everything you need to do (including relaxing). Make yourself to-do lists on a weekly basis, use Google calendar or a planner to keep track of events, deadlines, and due dates. In addition to setting a routine and sticking to it, plan out relaxing activities into your day. Or set aside a time, after everything is done for the day, that you can have "me" time. I have also personally found it essential to not only find time for myself but also make use of that time in a way that is best for me and my holistic wellness. I have found the HeadSpace app to be an essential tool in helping me relax and generally feel more relaxed throughout the day, Guided meditation, even if you have a busy schedule, will make you feel more at ease and relaxed throughout the day as a whole (not just when you have the time to relax and focus on that "me" time).

Set a routine.Use Google Calendar.Set aside Me TimeWrite weekly to-do lists and use a planner.Find a peaceful and restful activity that will help you feel relaxed.