Last updated on September 12, 2020
A college education is one of the most important things that you can do to improve yourself, and to increase your chances of landing your dream job. There are the top 11 things you should learn before attempting to travel off to college.
11. Time Management. This could be as simple as learning to get out of bed when your alarm goes off, or as complex as micro managing your day to make sure you make it to all your classes on time. Either way, learning to manage the time you have available is one of the most important skills.
10. Money Management. College isn’t cheap, and even if you manage to get a full scholarship to cover tuition costs, you still have things like books, lab costs, and room and board to consider. While it may be tempting to spend all your extra money on beer or the latest electronic toy, it’s important to manage your money to make sure everything is paid for before you start splurging.
9. Computer Skills. While most of the people of the current generation have a basic understanding of how a computer works, it is important to spend some time learning and perfecting skills like Microsoft Word and Excel. These programs, in addition to a couple of others, will be the ones that you use for your entire college career.
8. Writing a Resume. Whether it’s for college or for a potential employer, it’s important to learn how to write a resume that will impress. When it comes to applying for a job, your resume is your first impression and you never get a second chance to make one of those. Spending a little time learning how to write a professional resume can mean the difference between winning and losing your dream job.
7. Note Taking. Your professors deliver a lot of information at every class. Even if you have a portable recorder to record the lectures, you’re still going to need to take notes to summarize all of that knowledge. You need to be able to take clear and concise notes.
6. Personal Responsibility. You’re an adult once you enter college, even if you’re barely 18 chronologically. One of the main things that many younger people miss is the fact that you need to take responsibility for your own actions. Trying to have your parents come in and yell at your professor over a bad grade will get you laughed out of the lecture hall.
5. Getting Along. There is a good chance that your professor will assign you at least one group project where you will have to work with people you don’t know or don’t like. It’s no different than having to get along with your coworkers in the working world, so it will prepare you for your life after college.
4. Spelling and Grammar. Spelling and grammar check in word processing programs will only take you so far. If you can’t tell the difference between their, there, and they’re, then maybe you’re not ready for college.
3. Humility. You may have had a 4.0 GPA in high school, but once you enter college, there’s a good chance that you will not be the best in your class. One of the most important things you can learn is to accept that fact, as it will save you some humiliation and suffering in the long run.
2. Basic Math. You may not be able to handle long division or trigonometry in your head, but most professors will expect you to be able to handle basic addition, subtractions and multiplication without needing a calculator or a piece of scratch paper.
1. Touch typing. The most important skill you need to perfect before you go off to college is how to properly type. Every article, essay and assignment will need to be typed and you can save yourself a lot of time and effort simply by learning how to type properly. Proper touch typing techniques can easily halve the amount of time that you spend on your school work, leaving more time for fun. More about typing tips here.
This is only a fraction of the things you should learn before heading off to college. Other things such as cooking, cleaning and being able to do your own laundry can also come in handy, but these 11 skills are invaluable to making sure you have a successful and stress free college experience.
Adam Fort, educator and touch typing enthusiast. His goal is to help kids around the globe to learn touch typing.
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