Can you believe it? We are almost done with the fall semester and much closer to the holiday season.

Habits that I’ve formed since starting college

Switching from high school to college was a huge adjustment for me. I had to figure out how to operate in ways that allowed me to succeed and, if I did fail at something, to learn from my mistakes. In this post, I want to share with you habits that I’ve formed since starting college.

Habit: Planning more time to study

College exams are definitely different from high school exams, so I have learned to prepare well in advance especially if it is a subject I struggle with, like math. I’ve recently been using two planners, one to keep track of things for my job and the other for stuff that relates to my courses during the semester. I make sure that I have enough time to get time-consuming assignments done and study within a good length of time, so I won’t need to cram at the last minute. When I do plan time to study, I also plan time for myself. I find that I work better when I spend time on things that I like to do before studying and when taking breaks.

Habit: Organizing and planning any assignments

Losing points and having late work isn’t appealing to me so I focus on maximizing the number of points that I can get for each class that I take. I organize my assignments in my planner so that I know when an assignment is due and the time leading up to those due dates. This helps keep me on track with what I need to do to avoid missing out on any points.

Habit: Studying and completing assignments in a good environment

Before attending Missouri State, it didn’t really matter to me where I studied, but now I’ve found that it’s very important to limit distractions because I absorb the most information when I’m in a quiet environment. Having classes online during the pandemic presented a challenge because I have younger siblings (they love being loud). That experience reinforced for me that a good environment for studying or just getting work done can help you to be more successful in your classes.

Habit: Going to class, even if you don’t feel like it

There may be times when you’re feeling lazy or you just don’t want to go to class. I’ve felt that way myself throughout my college journey and most likely still will. However, if I get to a point where I’m questioning going to class or not, I usually think about what I’ll miss out on or what additional work I’ll have to complete to catch up. You can miss out on important material or the chance to communicate with your professor if you don’t attend class.

Habit: Asking for help

I have been guilty in the past of not asking my instructors for help and thinking that I can do it all on my own. I’ve found, though, that when I do ask for help, I have a better understanding of the course material and struggle less than when I try to get by on my own. Don’t be afraid to communicate, whether through email or face to face. In addition to talking to your instructor or professor, you can always seek out upperclassmen, who can be a great source of information on campus, instructors, classes to take, fun hangout spots, etc.

Thoughts for this Week

Being a student at Missouri State has challenged me to adapt and develop good habits that can last me a lifetime. Your habits might not be exactly like mine but I’m hoping that learning about mine will get those wheels turning about your own.

~Alexandria

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a Senior Business major at Missouri State University.)

Hello all,

It has been a rollercoaster ride to just get to week eleven, but we have finally arrived. This semester has been very different for me, but I’ve been rolling with the punches and challenging myself to face whatever comes up.

Lately, I have been thinking about how much I’ve changed since freshman year. Missouri State was a new playing field for me and it took me some time to figure things out. This week I want to share some of these lessons with you—maybe they will help you out!

Five things I wish I knew about college when I started

1. A better understanding of the financial aid system

Life at Missouri State came with a lot more responsibility and freedom than I was given in high school and I had to adapt accordingly. Freshman year I had to figure out what holds were, how to make payments on my student account, and where to go on campus when I needed in-person help with my account. I learned to save myself from a lot of stress by keeping up with any documents that I needed. The Office of Student Financial Aid has always been there when I really didn’t know what I was doing financially for school or when I wanted to know what I was paying for on my account.

Lesson learned: Don’t avoid or ignore financial aid.

2. Your mental, physical and emotional health will be challenged

I expected to be challenged academically when I started at Missouri State, but I found out that living away from home and keeping up with other aspects of life resulted in additional challenges. I was prepared to do laundry, cook for myself and keep everything clean, but balancing all that with my courses during my first two semesters was hard. I realized that I would have to adapt my schedule to accomplish everything. As I worked on a better schedule, I included time for studying, being with my friends and having some alone time. After a few months, I learned what worked for me, so that those different challenges weren’t so overwhelming anymore.

Lesson learned: Find ways that will help you deal with the new challenges you face as a college student. Not all of your challenges will come from academics but may interconnect with other things going on in your life. Missouri State offers some wonderful services to help you out like the Counseling Center (I’ve used them and will continue to do so), so try them out if you ever need help with your mental health.

3. There is nothing wrong with meeting your advisor

In the beginning, I didn’t enjoy having to meet with my advisor and talk about my future or what I was going to do on my path to graduation. I found it stressful to make decisions that I wasn’t so sure about especially when it was time to register. After realizing I didn’t know everything about my major, including which classes to take in which order, I started to understand how important and useful it was to meet with my advisor. She was there to help me plan out each of my semesters, listen to what I had to say and any concerns that I had. Now, as a senior, I frequently meet up with my advisor. Honestly, I think that I made my advisor’s job a little harder these past few semesters (😆), but she has been a great help to me in any way that she can.

Lesson learned: Don’t be afraid to meet your advisor, even if it’s for something small. They really do help you. Registration for the spring semester has already started, so be sure to contact your advisors soon.

4. You have to be dedicated and passionate

Before I got to Missouri State, I was still in the process of figuring out what major, and ultimately what career, I would like to have. I met some great people through Missouri State that helped me confirm my choice to declare a business major. Being a business major has been harder than I expected, and I have figured out that I have to be dedicated and passionate to get to where I would like to be. It takes a lot of hard work to reach some academic goals, but I always keep in mind that I’m attending college because my future career is waiting for me.

Lesson learned: If you ever find yourself questioning your career choice or even your major, you should definitely check out the Career Center. I’ve met some really nice people from the Career Center who have helped me figure out what I want to do and what types of classes I should take.

5. College is a Job

I had never had a job before I came to Missouri State, but I quickly realized that college is as much a job as anything else. I spend hours working on assignments for each of my classes and keeping up with everything I need to get done.

Lesson learned: I’ve recently been using planners, Google Sheets and Excel to plan my daily life and keep everything on track.

Takeaways for the Week

Your perceptions of college from before you attend are definitely going to change as you experience college first-hand. If I had learned the above lessons before starting at MSU, I may have saved myself some of the stress and confusion I experienced in my first semesters.

See you next post! There are lots of topics to come.

~Alexandria

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a Senior Business major at Missouri State University.)

Why Should You Meet with a Peer Mentor?

My goal for every blog post is to share experiences and give helpful tips that readers can use to be successful. This is related to my job as a Peer Mentor!* A main focus of my job is to help students find academic and personal success here at MSU. Today, I want to share a few things about why meeting with a peer mentor is a great idea and how it might benefit you!

We Are Here for You

When a student meets with a peer mentor, our goal will be to find ways to address issues that may be bothering the student. We always take the time to get to know the people we meet with and understand how the situation may be affecting their success. When it comes to making a solution, it’s all about what the student wants to do, not what we think! Throughout a meeting, we talk about goals, future directions and changes that the student is comfortable making that could improve the situation.

What Can We Do?

Peer mentors have many methods for aiding a student. Peer mentors have skills in meeting one-on-one with students, which allow us to hold good conversations, maintain good listening skills and use the conversation to reach an overall goal for the student. Along with this, we have a good knowledge of campus resources and faculty, so we can connect students with other resources that could help the student find answers.

How and When Can You See a Peer Mentor?

1. Let us know you are interested by filling out the peer mentor request form.

If you have more questions or need assistance with the form, you can email CAST@MissouriState.edu or come by Meyer Library 116.

2. Set up a time to meet with us.

After we receive your request to meet with a peer mentor, we’ll contact you to set up a meeting. We do our best to be flexible and find the best time for you. We’ll meet however works best for you!

3. Come back and see us again.

After our meeting, you will be able to go off and do awesome! However, always feel free to come back and let us know how you are doing or even tell us other ways we can help you.

I hope this gives you a good idea about what a peer mentor can do and how this could be beneficial to your own success. If you have more questions, feel free to come by the office or email us! As always, thank you for reading.

*My job title changed recently from Peer Counselor to Peer Mentor; you may see the Peer Counselor title used in older blog posts.

(Bio: My name is Michael Rexroad, a transfer student from Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City. I am a senior currently studying cell and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry.)

Wherever the Road Takes Me

College is all about learning, meeting new people and preparing for a career one day. In some cases, so much goes on over those four (or more) years of undergrad that we forget it ends at some point. During that time, it’s easy to lay back and hope that we end up where we are supposed to be. Having a good plan, however, can help ensure we’ll get there! Today I want to share some ways to start thinking about the future and tips to prepare for life post-graduation.

Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

This is a common question asked during job interviews, but also a good one to help you think about life post-graduation. For some students, it is not an easy decision. A medical student may want to be a surgeon or physician; a business student may want to work in finance or business management. The first big step is figuring out what you could see yourself doing. Each of us has unique skills and personalities that will fit somewhere. And in a lot of ways, it is easy to see yourself doing something that sounds fun or interesting.

Experiencing a particular job can be a useful way to figure out if that job would be a good choice for you. This can include internships, meeting with a professional in a certain field or shadowing hours. For any future job, it is important to know what you’re getting into. You may figure out that a job you didn’t think you would like is actually a great fit for you!

How Do I Start Looking?

• My Career Path on your MSU account
  • MSU’s Career Center has lots of excellent resources for exploring careers, including assistance searching for internships and related experiences.
  • On your Missouri State account, you can go to the student tab, scroll to the bottom and find the My Career Path section. Here you will find resources such as your Missouri State Handshake account, programs at MSU and even a direct link to the Career Center where you can make meetings!

• Talk with your academic advisor
  • Academic advisors meet with and see hundreds of students graduate every year. Advisors have a lot of information on what helps students succeed, what opportunities are available, where internships and shadowing are open, and more!
• Talk with your professors
  • To me, professors are a highly overlooked resource for guidance on career exploration. They are professionals in the fields they teach, making them banks of knowledge about the things you may be wondering about.

A Clear Path

After getting experience and talking with different people, it can become much clearer where you want to end up in the future. You can then plan whether you want (or need) to go to graduate school, medical school, training programs or other post-graduation education or if you’ll be ready to get into the job field immediately after graduating.

Deciding on your future isn’t something that always comes easy. So, when you are out there trying to figure out where you may end up after graduation, make sure you take your time and choose something that you will enjoy!