College is a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work. Here are some tips for incoming college freshmen to help make the first year a successful one!

1. Don’t schedule your classes too early in the morning. In high school, you were used to having a class every morning at 8 a.m. But trust me, it’s different in college. Maybe it’s because Mom isn’t there to tell you to go to bed, or maybe because you realize that your bedroom absolutely has to be cleaned at midnight, but whatever the reason, college students tend to stay up later. The later you stay up, the earlier 8 a.m. is going to seem. Take my advice and try to not schedule yourself for early classes every morning. And if you do, invest in a large travel coffee mug; you’ll want it later. Read the rest of this entry »

Graduation is over, you’re reaffirming to your parents everyday that you’re an adult now, and all you want to do is move in to the dorm. The summer prior to your freshman year of college can seem terribly long, as you’re wrought with anticipation of this new life outside of high school, curfews and younger siblings. The freedom can seem intoxicating, but it will be short-lived if you don’t prepare now.

Use these coming weeks to really prepare yourself for the college experience, especially if you’re planning to move away from home.

1. Drive the Distance. If you’re within driving distance, make at least one practice drive to campus from home, and vice versa. New territory can be hard for anyone to navigate, and if you’re not used to highway or interstate driving, it’s worth taking your college ride for a spin to familiarize yourself with the route.

2. Check-out Campus. While you’re there, familiarize yourself with campus. You likely took a guided campus tour, but this time you should do it on your own. Find your dorm, the cafeteria, the shopping district or mall and decent restaurants. Read the rest of this entry »

With my senior year drawing closer and closer to its close, and college enrollment beginning, it’s interesting to think about where I will be this time next year. Obviously, down in good old Tulsa, Oklahoma, but how much of me will have changed by then? I remember talking to a parent of a friend recently about majoring options and college and they commented on how in the first six months of college you will experience more change than you experienced in all four years of high school.

This little bit of information was actually a scary thought for me. I will know how to do my own laundry and how to iron by the time school starts, but do I want to change? The key to happiness, in my opinion, is being happy with who you are and knowing you are. In the past four years, I have learned plenty about myself and who I am and I am unsure about this whole changing thing. But thinking about it, maybe there still are some changes that need to be made! Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re a typical freshman, you have all kinds of stresses in your life — a new roommate, homesickness, worries about finances, worries about classes, and so forth. When you’re a princess, though, you probably don’t have these worries. Princess Beatrice of York — the oldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson — just started Goldsmith’s College in London, where she plans to study history and the history of ideas.  Beatrice is living in nearby St. James Palace, so she doesn’t have to worry about dorm life and cafeteria food and such.

What you do have to worry about when you’re a princess and a college student is that the media’s going to be watching your every move, especially in the UK, where there’s an insatiable appetite for news about the royals. Poor Beatrice quickly learned that after a night of partying that caused her to be 20 minutes late to her philosophy class, she’s all over the tabloids.  Oops.  There’s also much ado being made about her pricey Louis Vuitton satchel that she uses to carry her books.

Think of that the next time you’re 20 minutes late for class.  Yes, you have to worry about roommates and tuition, but you don’t have your every move scrutinized by the media.