Don't give yourself choices you don't actually have!

There is one simple and highly effective tip for success in college. 

Go to class. 

Go to EVERY class. 

Resist the urge to skip class just because nobody is "watching." 

Nobody will be watching - there are plenty of professors who don't take attendance.  Why?  They assume that if you are in college, you want to be there and you want to learn.  College is not required. 

They will give you a syllabus, with the dates of exams and projects, that they may NEVER refer to again, but you still have to show up for tests and hand in the papers.  You can't skip class the day something is due, and just get a make-up test or an extension on your work. 

So make it easy on yourself. 

Unless you are ill and contagious, go to class.  Go to class if it is boring, exciting, dull or fascinating - it doesn't matter.  Go to class.  You are earning "credits of mastery," which lead to your degree. 

If you do this one simple thing, and RESIST all the temptations (I need a nap, my friends are hanging out, my allergies are acting up, I need to do work for other classes, etc.), you will be more than halfway to success. 

Why?  Because you will be present, the professor will see you, you can participate which equals points, you will absorb far more information than if you try to teach it to yourself, you will connect with other classmates, you will hear their questions and learn from that as well.  If you add in taking good notes (topic of the next blog), you'll be king or queen of the world!

Far too many college students get into trouble by giving themselves choices they don't REALLY have.  That means if you registered for a class, why would you presume that attendance is optional?  You already MADE the decision so follow through. 

What happens with missing class is it grows, like a fungus, and the absences pile up, and the due dates get missed, and the next thing you know, you feel like you can't possibly catch up so you "disappear" or withdraw.  DO NOT DO IT. 

Grit is about pushing through.  Make the decision to attend all your classes and the hardest part of college is DONE.  And you are the one who has done it!