1. An iPad Will Be Your Best Friend
The moment I switched from handwriting my homework and notes to taking the completely digital route changed my life as a student entirely. Not only do I no longer have to lug around heavy notebooks and binders in my backpack, but I get to have all of my notes and homework organized in one place. I’ve found that having an iPad really motivates me to write neater notes, especially with the GoodNotes app. There are so many color options and the ability to erase and resize your writing as many times as you want.
2. Take Advantage of Office Hours and Help Rooms
As an engineering student, it’s completely normal to feel completely overwhelmed with the classes you’re taking and not know how to solve certain problems or grasp the overall concepts. If you take the time to go to office hours and help rooms for your specific course, it can truly be a game changer. You often can find other students who are struggling with similar concepts and work together with them to push through it. There are also TAs that can assist you with working through problems and even give you advice on how to study for the course’s quizzes and exams.
3. Start As Early As You Can
This piece of advice is certainly easier said than done. However, pushing yourself to start assignments the day they’re assigned can set you up for success. Being a busy student, there are always going to be moments when unexpected assignments and deadlines are thrown your way, so even just starting a few problems in advance can allow you to have the extra time to get everything done on time. This goes for studying as well. I’ve found that starting a week or two in advance allows me to study a little bit each day and retain all the information. This keeps me from getting overwhelmed trying to cram all of it in my head in a short amount of time.
4. It’S OKAY TO FAIL
As a perfectionist, coming to terms with this was a tough pill to swallow. Engineering is known to be a very difficult major in college, so it’s inevitable that you will have moments throughout your courses where you might not do as well as you hoped. With Engineering being a male-dominated field, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and compare yourself to everyone else in your classes. It’s important to remember that everyone learns differently and at their own pace, so your definition of success will certainly not be the same as everyone else’s. Whenever I don’t do as well as I hoped on a quiz or exam, I usually take the time to ask the professor where I went wrong and practice a little extra for those concepts in anticipation of getting tested on them again.
5. Prioritize Time Away From School
This one is probably one of the most important things I’ve learned. It can be so easy to get caught up in school and spend days and nights on end completing assignments or studying. However, I’ve found it’s so important to take time for myself or with friends to indulge in something non school related. Doing this really helps me manage my time and feelings of stress, along with having something to look forward to doing each week. Personally, I like to work hard during the school week so I can keep my weekends lighter and save them for enjoying a night in for myself to relax, or going out with my friends.