Procrastination is Not Your BFF!

My name is Kaila Lunn and I am a 21-year old senior at Menlo College. Within the last four years, I've been to three different colleges. Public, private, all girls, you name it. I've seen it all and experienced everything. I'm here to share with you my advice as a senior.

Now, let's get right into the column.

As I jumped from my freshman to senior year within the blink of an eye, I looked back at the tools I used to finish homework and to succeed. I'm going to share with you some of the ways I've managed to be successful in school and still make college as much fun as possible.

The No.1 secret is time management. Yes, it is important to go out and have fun on the weekdays and weekends but it's equally important to complete assignments.

"If you don't manage your time well at the start of the semester, you'll likely fall behind in your classes and remain behind throughout the semester," Economics professor, Derek Stimel. 'This will increase your stress level and be detrimental to your overall performance in classes."

The best advice that I can give you is to create a schedule for yourself. If your professor gives you an assigned reading that's due in a week, make sure you set aside 20 minutes a day to finish that reading on time. This technique has helped me to not stress over homework and be able to put as much effort as I can into it. It also allows you more time to go out with your friends and have fun.

My first year of college, a professor told me, "you are responsible for coming to class, no one is forcing you." This completely shocked me because I knew that if I didn't come to class, my professor wasn't going to care. This is true all throughout college no matter where you go, it always stays true.

Missing one or two classes is acceptable with a valid reason of course, but the more you miss, the harder it is to catch up.

"There's no bigger trap academically than flaking out for the first part of the quarter, then racing to fill the requirements to squeak by at the end," Mass Communications professor Zaki Hasan says. "If you pace yourself for learning, you'll benefit, your classmates will benefit, and the end result will be a more positive academic experience for all concerned."

My last and final tip for success is don't let procrastination become your BFF.

Waiting until the last minute to finish an assignment or get a better grade in the class will not help you. Unless you have some magical writing or studying skills, most people I know cannot put their full effort into assignments three hours before it's due. Putting work off until the end of the semester seems to be routine for some college students, in hopes that their professors will ignore it and give them a passing grade. Unfortunately, professors pay close attention to the students that put the most effort into the class.

"I don't mind taking a single make-up assignment in the last week but my normal policy is that make-up work needs to be submitted within one week of the original due date," says Mass Communications professor Douglas Carroll. "Most professors I know believe that if a student is submitting work that fails to meet the minimum criteria to pass the course, the best thing the professor can do for the student is to inform the student that work is not up to standard by issuing a failing grade."

If you take your education seriously, prioritize, and manage your time, you can improve the quality of your work, knowledge and grades.

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Advice from a Senior is written by Kaila Lunn. Want a question answered? Send your requests to: theoaknews@menlo.edu