The new 2024-25 academic year is newly underway. Post Traditional Admissions Counselor Leah Fassbender offers some tips to ease into the start of the new year.
Students are enjoying their last few days of summer vacation while attending county state fairs, backyard bonfires, and beautiful lake days.
While talking with students as an admissions counselor, I can feel both the excitement and the nerves of starting a new chapter. To help ease those “back-to-school-jitters”, here are a few tips that can help:
Take a deep breath.
This is a big and exciting step. This is the starting point to help accomplish your academic, professional or even personal goals. Give yourself a pat on the back for taking this first, initial step forward.
Utilize your resources.
As a fully online student, this can come across difficult as you don’t have the full interaction like an in-person student would. Thankfully, Concordia’s Academic Resource Center (ARC) offers many resources for our online students. These include our Writing Lab, Math Drop-in Desk, and our 24/7 access to our online tutoring called TutorMe. Students are always welcomed to come onto campus for these resources as well.
Be reminded, it is good to reach out for help because this will make you grow even more in your education.
Organize and manage your schedule.
While you gather all your materials, it is important to organize your weekly schedule as it can bring great success to you as a student. Designate time, either in the morning or evening, to work on your school work. Online courses at Concordia are self-paced which means you do not need to be online at a specific time each day, but it’s important to set aside homework time to spread out your assignments and avoid procrastination. Having an established study routine will help you to maintain focus and completion of assignments.
Connect with your supporters.
As I have said before, coming back to school is a huge step and having a supportive community around you can help you run the race hard and strong. Not only do you need to make sure to set aside time to do your school work to be successful, but to also have supporters cheering you on while working through your program. There will be times where you will feel overwhelmed and defeated. Those will be the most essential times to connect with your supporters to lift your spirits and remind you of your goals.
Take breaks.
Last but not least, take breaks. A lot of college students think they need to sit down, put their headphones on and work straight through assignments without any breaks. When you don’t take any, your brain will start to slowly turn off thought processes or ideas, become more distracted and start to feel defeated. It will take you longer to complete an assignment with no breaks than for you to take 10-minute break every hour or two.
Set a timer for 10-15 minutes. In that timeframe, get up and walk around. Maybe grab a snack and your favorite beverage. Possibly take a short walk around your block or street to get some fresh air and help clear your mind for new ideas to come through. Even get some chores done by throwing in a load of laundry or wash the dishes. Taking time away from your computer will help you become more focused on your assignments while taking care of yourself.
Want in?
These are just a few tips that I have found personally as an online college student that helped me become more successful. If you’re ready to take that next step and start a degree program at Concordia, don’t hesitate to reach out: admission@cuw.edu or 262-243-4300.