Almost Time!

I can't speak for all of my readers but I'm sure that most of you are moving in soon or already moved into school; some of you may have started class too! As for me, I just moved into my apartment and my classes start on Wednesday. The time between moving in and the first day of class can be the most fun of the semester. There's very little you have to worry about until classes start. As it goes for this blog, I think I've prepared you the best that I could for that first college class you attend. Here are some things you can do to make that first class a breeze:

• Show up! This is most important. Start the school year off on the right foot. 
• Relax. It's only the first day of class.
• Take notes. Most professors will use the first day to tell you about their class and what to expect from them.
• Be ready to do some work. Hey you're paying a pretty hefty tuition to be in school. The professors want to teach you and you want to learn. Don't be afraid of getting some homework.
• Embrace your inner nerd. Be ready to break out the highlighters, flashcards, and scrap paper. Also, be ready to serve some time in the library.

You worked your butt off to get here and you're going to have to work hard to stay here.

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony

Welcome Week Radar

Hello all! As I can imagine, these next few days can be quite hectic as you start preparing to move in to your dorms. Welcome Week is upon us and classes are right around the corner. Welcome Week is a time to familiarize yourself with campus and prepare for school while having some fun on the side. Here are some things to keep on your radar this welcome week:

• Where are your classes? Take some time during your Welcome Week to figure out where your classes are. This isn't high school anymore; classes aren't just down the hall. You need to figure out what building, floor, and room your classes are on. The best strategy is to literally walk to each individual room. This will give you the best idea when it comes to gauging how long it will take you to get there. There is NO excuse for being late to class the first day. Take an hour or two one day and figure out where you're going.
• Class materials. Take some time to put together and organize your binders. Also organize your supplies. I've found it easier to find my stuff when it was organized.
• Textbooks. These are sometimes a welcome week issue but most people wait until classes have started to purchase theirs. The plus to buying during welcome week is you can avoid some of the lines and the books won't sell out. However, many students wait until they are a couple classes in to decide if the book is needed or not.
• Be safe and smart. Welcome week can get crazy sometimes. Always remember to be safe and make smart choices. You don't want one bad welcome week decision to hang over you the whole year. True story, my high school friends got in trouble with their RA the first night up there! 

I hope these small tips can guide you through welcome week and get you better prepared for class!

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony 

Also, check out JoggingwithJewelz for tips on how to get fit and eat right. She has tons of information to share. Also, check out my posts on the DSS Equature Blog. 

Using Google Drive For Note Optimization

During your college years you're going to take a ton of notes. In fact, if you're not taking notes then you are either super intelligent or the exact opposite. In high school I hand wrote all my notes but once I hit the college stage, I quickly switched over typing. I found that typing notes made them look neater as well as easier to share with others. Here are the pros I found to storing all my notes with Google Drive:

• It's free. No need to pay. All you need is a Gmail account and drive is automatically integrated into the tool bar. Just click over to view it and it will pull up all Drive files you have created or that have been shared with you.
• Compatible with Microsoft and Apple. No need to worry about installing some weird plug-in to get it to work. You can easily share your drive files with others.
• Accessible whenever you have internet. There is no need hardware storage with Google Drive. All you need is a device and an internet connection and you can pick up right where you left off before.
• Easy to share files. If you're sharing files with other Gmail accounts, all you have to do is hit the "Share button" and type in their gmail account name. You can even give them certain permissions with the document itself. Google Drive can even generate a shareable link giving anyone with the link itself permission to view and/or edit the document.

Google Drive is defiantly a versatile tool you should put to the test this fall. While it is great for taking notes and making presentations, formatting in Google Docs can be a challenge. This can be detrimental if you're doing a paper that needs to follow an MLA or APA format. In order to overcome this, I would type my reports in Google Drive and then copy and paste them over to Microsoft Word to do the finishing touches on the formatting. 

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony

Also, if you have time, check out my weekly posts on the Equature Blog regarding public safety and communications. Even if these topics don't concern you, the blog is well worth a read! Lastly, my friend and part time editor for my blog, Julia started her own blog, JoggingwithJewelz. She's filled it with many useful tips and tricks to stay healthy (Which may not be a bad idea as you are going to face the Freshman 15). 

How Much Effort Do I Need To Put Into A Class?

This is probably the question that everyone has but no one wants to ask. College courses can be rigorous and vague as many professors will give SUGGESTED problems that will never be collected or graded. From what I've noticed, when professors give suggested work, it is rarely looked at or completed. Many students will put this off to focus on other classes or to have more time for socializing. When it comes down to how much effort you need to put into a class, here are some guidelines:

• Extra work doesn't make you dumber. You don't lose any knowledge from doing this work. If you do extra work and for some reason it isn't collected or graded, you still gain knowledge of the material.
• If the professor suggests problems for you, there's probably a reason behind it. In case you didn't know, the professor creates your exams. Chances are that the problems they suggest will appear on an exam down the road. Doing these problems is a great way to study. For my stats class, my friend and I sat down and went through all the suggested problems the professor gave us. We found them to be a great study tool when preparing for the tests.
• What you put in will reflect your grade. Note there are some exceptions to this rule. However, the grade you get will reflect the effort you put into the class. People who skip classes, don't do homework, or don't study for the tests will have lower grades than those who do. In my Intro to Criminal Justice class, I read the book, took notes on the book, went to class, and had separate notes for class. When people asked me how I was doing so well I told them everything I was doing outside of class to stay on top of the material. Most people told me that was too much work for them. Let's just say I got the 4.0 and they didn't. 

College isn't easy and it will take some effort on your part to get the grade you want. Just remember to always aim high and put your best foot forward.

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony

PS. Don't forget to check out JoggingwithJewelz for tips on leading a healthy life (even though I'm drinking a monster energy drink as I create this post).

Nifty Dorm Room Ideas: Message Board

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a chance to check out my last post about advice for incoming freshman. I want to thank everyone who took time out of their busy summer to share the advice. Now when you go to school, you're going to be spending tons of time in your dorm room. It'll be where you sleep, study, and unwind. In order to combat homesickness, make your dorm as personal and unique as possible. Put up things that will remind you of where you came from and make your dorm feel a little more like home. One great thing to build that'll keep your mind off homesickness is a message board. A message board is a board that is covered in different things that are personal to you. I made one at the beginning of second semester and it was both fun to build and great to look at as the year went on. Attached to this blog is a list of the things I put on mine. Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the finished product so you'll have to imagine what it looked like. Feel free to replicate what I did or take it a brand new direction:

• Pictures of family. Always need family. 
• Pictures of friends. Friends make everything better.
• EE Cards. I got these from work and I saved the funniest ones to post on my board. They were always great laughs.
• Music. I'm an full bred metal head so I had tons of pictures of my favorite bands on my board.
• School Spirit. This is another must. Your school defines who you are for the upcoming years. Embrace it! I had a couple Sparty pictures on my board. 

My board came out excellent and it was a great way for me to get my mind off of being so far away from home. Try implementing it into your college life and it'll work as good for you as it did for me.

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony

PS. Please check out my other blog about 9-1-1 dispatch improvement! blog.equature.com

Also if you have time, check out the blog, JoggingwithJewelz, created by my friend Julia. Julia has been an editor for my blog since the beginning and now she's creating her own. She has some great tips on eating healthy and exercise and even massages.