College. The best 4 (or 5 or 6, in some cases) years of your life! Never again will you have such a carefree and responsibility-free time in your life. You should make the best of your college years and have fun but use the time to do well in your classes, build a social network, and get involved.

Use these 10 tips for college students to make the most of your time in college.

Tips for College Students: How to Have Fun and Be Successful

Whether you’re a first-time freshman heading to college for the first time or a returning student, everyone could use some tips to make the most of their college experience.

While it’s important to focus on academics you should also make time for fun and socializing, as well. Seeking out campus groups and organizations to get involved in could be some of the best experiences of your college career.

1. Get To Know Your Roommates

If you don’t already know your roommate or roommates, get to know them. They’re going through similar experiences and are a great safety net. You have built-in friends to eat with and socialize with when you might not know anyone else on campus.

Get to know the others in your residence hall as well. Many residence halls plan activities for their residents, giving you a great opportunity to socialize with other students who live in the same place as you.

Who knows, you might meet a life-long friend or your future husband or wife in your residence hall!

2. Get Organized

Most college professors are not reminding you of due dates and holding your hand through homework and projects. You will receive a syllabus on the first day of class with due dates and other important information on it, and your professor might not mention it again until it’s due.

Get a planner, use your phone, or get a desk or wall calendar to write down all of your assignment due dates and exam dates. Do whatever it takes to make sure you’re meeting all of your deadlines. Don’t sabotage your grade in a class because of poor organization.

3. Go To Class and Utilize Office Hours

This should seem like a no-brainer, but many college students skip classes and suffer because of it. Even if there is no attendance policy, you’re still missing important information in class, announcements, and not making yourself known to your professor in a positive way.

If there is an attendance policy, your final grade could really suffer simply because you skipped too many classes. Not only should you go to class, but you should also utilize office hours.

Every one of your professors will have office hours dedicated to student meetings. Use this time to stop by for any questions you might have or just to introduce yourself to your professor.

Remember: when it comes time for grad school, scholarships, or jobs, you’re likely going to need recommendation letters from those professors. Make sure they know who you are so it’s not a struggle getting references later on down the line.

4. Get To Know Your Advisor

Your academic advisor is an expert in the academic requirements for your degree. Get to know them and use their expertise. They might have some tricks for you on classes that can count for multiple requirements, for example. They’ll also be able to tell you if you’re on the right track to graduate on time.

You don’t want to find out a month before you think you’re going to graduate that you are missing a class. They can also help with dropping or adding classes and helping you with any transfer credits or anything else you might need. Get to know your advisor and see them as soon as possible and as often as you need.

5. Strike a Balance Between Work and Fun

College should be about working and studying hard so you can play hard. Don’t spend all your time with your head in the books, missing out on any fun stuff happening on campus.

On the other hand, don’t have so much fun that you drop the ball in your classes. Find a balance between academics and your social life.

6. Get Involved

Related to number 5, get involved with a group or two on campus. Whether that be a fraternity or sorority, honors organization, club, intramural sports team, or club sports team, find something that interests you.

Not only will this expose you to other students with similar interests, it will also help give you a well-rounded college experience. Extracurricular activities also will benefit you when it comes time to apply to graduate or professional school or your first job,

7. Strive For Good Grades

Maybe you got good grades pretty easily in high school. A lot of students come to college and are surprised when they take their first exam and don’t do nearly as well as they did in high school.

It’s likely that your college classes require much more reading, note-taking, and listening than your high school classes.

Getting good grades in college might be more difficult and require more effort than high school. Good grades will not only please your parents and give you a good GPA, they’ll also make you more competitive for scholarships, grad, school, or professional school, like medical or law school.

And, they’ll keep your academic advisor off your back. Most schools have GPA requirements for students or else they’ll be put on academic probation and face dismissal if they can’t get their grades up.

Use this weighted grade calculator to calculate your GPA and make sure it’s where you want it to be.

8. Make Good Financial Choices

If you’ve never had to make and stick to a budget before, now is the time to start. You’ll likely get lots of credit card solicitations. Try to avoid those as much as possible.

Be sure you are fully aware of how much you are taking out in student loans and understand what needs to be paid back (loans) and what does not (grants and scholarships). Most students are shocked when they graduate and see how much student loan debt they have accumulated and how large their payments are.

The average student loan debt of students graduating in 2017 was nearly $40,000.

9. Utilize Campus Resources

Your tuition dollars don’t just pay for your classes and room and board. Fees that are included in your tuition also are used to provide a number of different services to students. Health and wellness services (such as the student rec center where you can work out), counseling services, the health center, career services, academic success, writing centers, etc. are all services offered by many colleges.

Most of the time, these services are included in tuition and fees or available for a nominal fee. Take advantage of the resources offered right on campus. In most cases, you’re paying for them anyway, so utilize everything available to you.

10. Make Good Choices

The choices you make in college can impact your future, both positively and negatively. Make good choices in college so you don’t jeopardize your enrollment or your future grad school or career plans.

Final Words of Advice

College comes with a lot of freedoms. For many students, it’s their first time away from home living on their own. Don’t let this freedom and lack of parental supervision go to your head.

Work hard and play hard. Make smart choices. Use these tips for college students to ensure your success after graduation and check out our website for useful tips and stories sure to entertain you!