I’m not here to say that you must be perfectly prepared or #BreeziDeezi for college, but you can at least be better prepared than I was! One Bachelors degree and One Master’s degree later, here are 7 things I wish I knew.

Why am I writing this?

I have long finished undergrad and graduate school, but my work and family keep me tied into the University life. This blog is for everyone, but I wrote it with my cousin/lil sister Kamryn Reed in mind. If you recall, I wrote a blog on her after her high school graduation. I want to now add some advice.

7 Things I Wish I Knew Before College

• Some professors will baby you, some will let you sleep through classs and then give you a test. I’ve experienced both. Shoutout to my favorite professor ever and mentor, Dr. Crawford who’s class in African American Studies was so engaging that I couldn’t stop talking and learning. Contrary, boring professors will turn off the lights, sit down and play a powerpoint knowing that they are putting everyone to sleep in the classroom, only to set you up with a test later. Don’t fall for it.

• Financial Aid is not credit, it is not “free money”, it is a HIGH-Interest LOAN. So, I bought a car with my first refund and macbook with my second. I needed a car, but perhaps not what I bought. I needed a computer, but did it really have to be a Macbook? Don’t forget that you will have to pay back every dime of your refund check and the money that you dont see – the money that allows you to sit in class, print at the library and even eat on campus. Each time that you skip class, you are wasting money. Here is some simple math that helped me stop missing class: 1 class – $4,000 for 16 weeks. That is $250 a week, but there is only class twice a week. Therefore, each day of class costs me $125 dollars. You better get up and GO, you’re paying for it!

• If you dont use your meal plan, you lose it. Try not to overload your meal plan card because if there is money on it at the end of the semester, there is no way to get it back. But guess what? You still have to pay for it when you graduate.

• Try to avoid buying books at the on-campus book store. Some professors write their own material (in my experience, these books are always overpriced and full of typos) – but there are some books that you can buy anywhere. Be sure to look on Amazon, PDFread.com, Barnes and Noble, and ask friends for the books you need before going to the on-campus book store. Think about it like this – almost anything that is easy to get, is overpriced. The books at the bookstore on campus will be pricier becuase you can buy them there and head straight to class. Just as, the snacks. inthe campus store are far more expensive than the corner store. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself. And then, avoid the campus stores as much as you can. You are already giving the university so much of your money.

• Test out of any course that you can. This applies to qualifying math and english courses, if you admittance scores were low in that area. In Texas, the TSI is a great tool to test out of the classes, save money and finish school earlier. Qualifying courses do not count towards your GPA, but they do count towards credit hours. This means that if your degree requires 120 credit hours, but you needed basic math for two semesters, you will NOW need 126 credit hours (and more money) to graduate.

• It is never too early to get an internship. Although my internship was amazing, I did not obtain it until my last semester. BIG MISTAKE, but I was more consumed with working so I could have an apartment. Any summer break, or time during the semester as long as it doesn’t interfere with studies, is a great time to get an internship. Also, try to have more than 1 or 2 internships before graduation. Experience IS Education.
• College is for you. If you are going for anyone or anything else, you won’t make it. My decision to go to college was solely for me, although my parents wanted me to go to college closer to home, I accepted that going away would bring struggles but also development that I couldn’t get anywhere else. On the contrary, I have seen so many friends go to college just to get out of home, or to live freely without parents, or to party – only to end up failing and asking me to write them an academic appeal. By the way, my academic appeals have a high success rate, but they do not help you if you get back into school and make the same mistakes. You must want to go to college for your personal development, money and career goals – that’s just the bottom line.

These are the 7 things I WISH I knew before college. What would you add? Please, comment below!

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