This image was taken by Lauren DeSantis.
I am not entirely sure how to go about writing advice like this. There is a HerCampus magazine chapter at my university where my fellow women write fun advice articles like “top ten songs” or “absolute skincare musts,” which I read as often as I eat breakfast during the school year (which is every day). But for months, I’ve wanted to write my own advice, but I wasn’t sure about what I could even say. Everything – from studying for finals effectively to making friends to how to dress for a night out on the town – has been said by voices much more qualified than mine. So as I sit here on my final week of junior year, it hit me. I know what to say. And the more I think about it, the more I know how to say it. So here it is:
The best advice for college is non-advice.
That’s it. It doesn’t make much sense, does it?
To be completely frank, I know it doesn’t make sense. What in the world is non-advice? Am I just trying to flex what I learned in philosophy class? No, at least I don’t think I am, but I do have a definition for whatever non-advice is. I define non-advice as follows:
Non-advice (noun): advice that one gives, but based in their own experiences and may not perfectly fit in with the circumstances the receiver finds themselves in.
Now I think that makes a little more sense. We can give all the advice in the world, and it will still be imperfect. The imperfections come from the fact that any advice we can give is subject to our own experiences, and no other person would experience what we have experienced. I say this all the time. As a mentor for the first-generation students on campus, I know that I can give as much advice as I can, but it may not perfectly align with the story my mentees are writing for themselves. Both of my mentees, for instance, were commuters while I dorm. One of my mentees was in neuroscience, and the other was in business marketing. I am in English and philosophy. But I learned that the best way to mentor them was to give them non-advice. So I guess here is some non-advice from a college student going into her senior year and preparing to apply to law school.
- Time blocking is your best friend.
And no, I’m not talking about just regular time management. Or I am, depending on how you look at it. Everyone has optimal times of the day to get work done. For example, I know for a fact that my productivity peaks in the early morning hours and begins tapering off by 4 pm, and I cannot work at all after 9:30 pm. Once you know your productivity range, begin carving out exact times to do work. Don’t go over it because you will end up burning yourself out, especially when you are studying for five subjects at a time. I usually don’t take breaks, but you 100% should if you feel yourself losing focus. For beginners, I would recommend the Pomodoro method. It was a lifesaver for my first two years, and I find myself being more productive when only working for 20-30 minutes at a time.
2. Put in the work.
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Seriously. Going to office hours every week or trying to make small talk at the beginning of class is not enough, especially if you are in a large university. Professors can tell if you are actively engaged with the class and are putting in the work. Most times, other students will tell you that a professor is particularly difficult because they did not actually put in the work required for the class. I know several students whom this happened to. However, I also know people who have put countless hours into their work, and the professor is just a very picky grader. Regardless, professors will reward you for your dedication if you can show that you are really trying to do well.
3. Busy yourself, but don’t overdo it.
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The best thing about college is that it encourages you to get involved. Research, internships, club officer positions, volunteering, work study, athletics. They all exist to maximize the college experience. It is easy to overdo it and exhaust yourself, as I found myself doing on multiple occasions, but at the same time, I found myself being more productive when I had things to do every week. I had to plan out my days even more efficiently, and I felt better in previous semesters than this semester because I wasn’t just completely dedicated to working. I would recommend first-year students getting involved in at least one heavy-commitment club and 2-3 lighter-commitment clubs. And as they become accustomed to college life, they can decide on whether they can take on more or should ease up to focus more on academics. No matter what the decision is, you write your own path.
4. Friends come and go.
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Making friends is hard, especially if you are all in different states and can’t see each other over the summer. This is a problem I’ve faced for the past two years and will have to survive again. I think the best advice to give is what everyone else says: stay connected with them. But I would add a caveat: friends come and go; they can decide to continue the friendship or end it. Similar to high school, people change. Their friend groups can completely change with them. I can count on one hand the number of people whom I have remained close to since the beginning of my freshman year. But I think that is the beauty of college. You learn to change and mature into your own being. The friends that you thought lifted you up may have been holding you back all along. The true friends are the ones who will stick with you no matter how many times you mess up because they want the best for you and want to see you succeed. If you have at least a few close friends you can rely on, you are good to go for the rest of your college stay.
5. Savor it all.
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You only experience college once. Unless you are planning to go into graduate school, you will never have an academic experience ever again. So even through all the stress and excitement, find ways to enjoy it. Four years go by fast. Personally, I feel like I just finished my first year of college when I am about to go into my last. Every moment counts, even in the dullest or most ordinary periods.
So…yeah, that’s my non-advice. Thanks for taking the time to read this; it’s something that weighed on my mind for a while. I’m going to go study for the essay final I have tomorrow now.
This was written by our contributing writer, Lauren DeSantis.
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