I am teaching a first year seminar at UVM right now, which has a significant advising component. In preparation, I asked friends, colleagues and family members who teach at the college level what they as professors think new college students need to know to succeed, and distributed the list of suggestions to my students this week. My only requirement was that the advice be supportive rather than scolding. In some cases I have paraphrased, and in others condensed/combined related or redundant items. Here is the compiled list, in no particular order. I have of course added many of my own pieces of advice to students, and can only personally take credit for those. Thanks to all that contributed, including those whose insights I received secondhand!
WHAT YOUR PROFESSORS WANT YOU TO KNOW
- Know all of your professors’ names. Call them Professor [Last Name] unless they explicitly tell you to call them something else. Spell and pronounce their names correctly.
- Read the syllabus. All of it, carefully. Know the policies and deadlines in each course.
- Check your university email regularly. Respond to email in a timely manner.
- Write polite emails. Sign them with your name.
- Go to all of your professors’ office hours every semester, even if it’s just to say hi. We like it!
- Meet with your academic advisor regularly (at least once/semester).
- Use campus resources like the writing center and on-campus tutoring.
- Put all of your exams and deadlines in a calendar.
- The university is here to support you in many ways—don’t hesitate to reach out when you need help.
- Be proactive about getting help BEFORE things get to a crisis point.
- Your professors want you to succeed and are on your side. They are not angry at you when you don’t succeed. It’s not personal: your learning is our job.
- If you WANT to piss off your professors, using your phone, smartwatch or laptop for anything other than taking notes during class is a reliable method.
- Don’t ask “did I miss anything important?” if you miss a class. (Yes, you did.) Instead, do what you can to get caught up (do the readings and get lecture notes), and go to your professor’s office hours with specific questions about things you didn’t understand.
- Know the consequences for your choices (missing class, not passing in work) and act accordingly.
- Buy a stapler. Use it.
- Do the reading. You might be able to pass without it, but you won’t earn an A in most classes.
- Go to class regularly. Get there on time. Take good notes.
- Actively participate in discussion-based classes and class sessions.
- Take responsibility for your own learning. Be persistent when you are struggling to learn something new, but also be patient with yourself if you don’t succeed right away.
- You start each class with zero points and earn up to 100. You do not start with 100 points and have them progressively deducted.
- Slow and steady: if you do the work and show up to class you are setting yourself up to succeed, even if you’re not doing everything perfectly every time.
- Come to class ready to learn, and acknowledge what you do not understand.
- Come to class with informed, thoughtful questions. Write them down for yourself. Read them aloud if you need to, if you are shy.
- Don’t only look at the grade on your papers. Read all of your professors’ comments on your work carefully: their only purpose is to help you learn and to do better on the next assignment.
- Learn from your mistakes. If you don’t get the grade you were hoping for on an assignment, figure out what you can do differently next time. Ask your professor if you are not sure.
- Follow up if a professor invites you to talk to them more about something.
- Take our advice when we suggest you get help on your writing (or any other particular skills).
- Throw your whole self into understanding the world better through your studies rather than stressing about the grades you earn for your coursework.
- Support each other. The other students in your classes are your colleagues, not your competitors. Swap contact information with at least one person in each class.
- Think about college as a progression. Each year you will advance in terms of knowledge and skills.
- Use software well. Learn all of the relevant features of programs like Word and Excel. Investigate things like citation software and Dropbox.
- Use the internet well. Learn how to do effective Google searches.
- Study abroad.
- Discuss any need you might have for a deadline extension with your professor BEFORE the deadline.
- Take care of your health. Eat well. Sleep enough. Wash your hands a lot. Exercise. Wear sunscreen. Practice safe sex. Go to health services when you get sick. Get therapy if you need it. Dress warmly in the winter, even if it means sacrificing fashion.
- Take care of the health of others: stay home when you are contagiously sick.
- There are nearly endless valuable resources at the library. Explore them and use them!
- Spell check and proofread everything.
- Plagiarism is always a terrible idea.
- Citation is always a good idea.
- Always back up your work, either in cloud storage or on an external hard drive. Do it regularly.
- Learn a second language. Then learn a third one.
- Work/life balance is important. Find stuff you like to do that isn’t academic, whether it’s a sport, a club or a hobby you do on your own.
- PS: read the syllabus.