Ask anyone who graduated from college and they will tell you that they wish they knew a certain piece of insider information before they went to school. College is full of myths and half-truths. Here’s a list of the top five.

Myth 1: You don’t have to know what you want to do until your junior year.
This myth has been perpetuated by counselors and academic advisors all throughout the country, on both the high school and university levels. Although it is true that you don’t need to choose a major until your junior year, you better have some clue about what you want to do before you say yes to that acceptance letter.

If you are an entering freshman, and you have absolutely no clue what major to choose, two years of taking general educations requirements will not magically bestow you with educational clarity. If anything, two years of multidisciplinary exposure will leave you with more questions than answers. Figure out what your goals are before you get to school. You can always change your mind, but if there are certain things that you know you want to experience (i.e. traveling aboard, taking an internship, creating your own major or combining different majors), then you’re more likely to accommodate these considerations if you know what you want to get out of school before you arrive.

Myth 2: You must to choose from a rigid set of majors and class schedules.
College is very customizable. If your major isn’t offered at your school of choice, then try to create it. If you want to take a course on 21st century terrorism, and the class doesn’t appear on the schedule, then make it up. Independent studies are awesome. If your proposed courses of study are approved (usually through the tacit support of a professor or academic advisor), then you can set your own curriculum. You read what you want, write what you want, and your only class time is face to face discussion sessions with your advising professor (usually during office hours). These tailor-made learning experiences can be very rewarding, because they can be created by you to suit your own personal academic interests.

Myth 3: College is one big party.
Sure you’re going to rage it up while you’re in school, but if you don’t get your stuff done, you won’t be partying for very long. Time management is extremely important in college. If you allot enough time for work, you’ll still have plenty of time to play. Just make sure you know when to say “not tonight, I have to cram.”

Myth 4: Living on campus is fun.
If you’re an incoming freshman, nothing sounds cooler than living on campus. You get to meet new people and you live just outside your classes. You can stumble out of bed and stroll into your lecture without a problem. If you have the opportunity to live off campus, do so. On campus living is overrated. You could be faced with the dreaded my-roommate-is-a-chump syndrome. If you want peace and quite, you might have to complain to your noisy neighbors. If you want to be noisy, you might have to deal with your complaining neighbors. Live with people who you like and respect, and live off campus. When you live off campus, you can immerse yourself in school when you need to and remove school from your living situation when it’s necessary.

Myth 5: College is too expensive.
College is by no means cheap, but there are endless opportunities for you to secure extra funds while going to school. Fill out FAFSA forms early and religiously. Apply for every grant you can. Exhaustively explore every scholarship option. If your mother’s second cousin was an Eskimo employed by the Coca-Cola Company, then there’s a scholarship out there waiting for you. Make a list of every category that you qualify for (race, class, gender, religious beliefs, athletic abilities, musical prowess, subject and career-specific interests, company-specific employment and so on), and apply for as much free money as you can.

College is an experience that is different for everyone. What’s true for one university may not be standard practice for another university, so make sure to do your research. Ask as many questions as you can before you commit to a particular institution or program. Talk to students past and present, schedule a visit and meet with professors before you decide on a particular school. The more informed you are, the better.

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As you expand your mental faculties in college, you can’t neglect your physical well-being. College stories are filled with tales of sleepless nights, top-ramen diets, celebratory excesses and so forth. Don’t believe the hype. You can still experience all the disagreeable activities of college, while also maintaining a healthy outlook on life.

Avoid all-nighters, or at least adjust your sleeping pattern to compensate for lost rest. If you create too much of a sleeping deficit, you will have to spend time balancing yourself out. A tired student is a poor student, so don’t underestimate how much sleep you’re going to need.

Try and eat properly. This sounds a lot easier that it is. With the dining hall serving mysterious meals and budget concerns always looming large, you have to make a concerted effort to consume healthy and balanced nourishment. When you go shopping, buy real food. Learn how to cook quick meals, and don’t starve yourself. Long periods without food are not conducive to learning.

Don’t drink too much. You can rage all night and still make your 7 a.m. section, if you play your cards right. Know your limits, and know when its time to call it a night. Moderation is the key to having fun in college, while still excelling in your studies. However you party, don’t over do it.

Secure health insurance of some kind. If you are faced with a health concern, you need to be in a position where you can do something about it. Whether it’s a simple prescription or a complicated surgery, you will have an easier time dealing with health issues if you have insurance. Most universities have health insurance plans specifically for students. If you are still insured through your parents, make sure that you are not paying extra for insurance that you don’t need. Review your tuition bill and try to get health payments refunded if you are already covered.

Keep your place clean. College dorm room and living spaces tend to get pretty messy. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart, but you should recognize that your cluttered living space will have a detrimental effect on your productivity and general outlook on life. By a Feng Shui book. Purchase a house plant. Do your dishes and don’t let your laundry mountain get out of hand. If you keep your environment clean, inviting and balanced, then you’ll feel a whole lot healthier as a result.

Don’t overlook your need to stay healthy. Eat and sleep right. Exercise every now and then. Don’t party too hard and don’t make your living space a health hazard. If you keep your body harmonized, you’ll be more able to develop mentally. Just maintain a healthy standard of balanced living, and you’ll increase your ability to perform scholastically.

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Working for a professor can be one of the more rewarding on campus work experiences. If you are lucky enough, you may get a job working for your favorite professor. Even if he or she is unfamiliar, working for a professor can give you a behind the scenes look at college education.

In college, there is less of a dividing line between student and teacher than in high school. Students are invited to come by a teacher’s office. In addition, students might spend time with a teacher socially—though this may be frowned on in certain educational settings. Working for a professor is the best way to get to know a professor both personally and professionally.

This is especially important if you are thinking about getting a PhD in order to teach in the future. If you are entering the business sector, working with certain high-profile professors can look very good on your resume. Having a reference from a professor you have worked with—as opposed to just being a student in a class—is enormously helpful when applying for a job right out of college.

The type of work you will be doing depends on the professor’s department. Working for a professor of history will be much different than working for a chemistry professor. In the former, you may be doing clerical work, such as answering phones, organizing files, and the like. If the professor is working on a book, some research may also be necessary.

If you are working for a master’s degree, you may be required to work as an assistant professor. In some cases, you may run a class yourself. This is separate from on campus employment, as an assistant professorship is required as part of the degree itself.

There are also grants available in which graduate students are able to work directly with a certain high-profile professor on research projects. Many science professors, for example, are not just teachers but working scientists. Such a grant will allow students to work in a laboratory setting as well as help the professor with clerical and non-laboratory research work.

Undergraduates can find listings for working in a professor’s office on college job boards. These jobs will list the credentials necessary—either undergrad or graduate—and the hours required. Generally, working for a professor pays the same amount as other jobs on campus and undergraduates are only allowed to work twenty hours a week maximum.

It is usually easiest to get a job with a professor if you have taken his or her class in the past. These jobs are often given to a star pupil—especially if the job requires a lot of hands on research work. If the job is mainly clerical, the job will available to other students as well, though normally only those who are studying within the same department.

Whatever the case, working for a professor can be one of the most educational experiences on campus—; it’’s like combining a course curriculum with real world experience. A student can use the knowledge gained from the experience as he or she applies for a job after graduation.

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These days, a huge emphasis is being placed on the importance of education. But, as everyone knows, a lot more happens in school than just learning. School plays an important role in shaping the social lives of students, which could determine future adult relationships. But do you know how to determine what’s important while you’re in school?

The first step of learning how to determine what’s important while you’re in school is to think about where you want to go after school. Will you go on to further your education, going to a different school for higher learning? Will you join the work force? Will you pursue goals of having a home and family? Knowing where you want to go is very important when deciding where you want to end up. Know where you want the future to take you to know how to determine what’s important while you’re in school.

If you have an idea of where you want your future to lead, you can focus on how to determine what’s important while you’re in school. The school life you lead now will have a direct impact on the future life that you make for yourself. If higher education is in the picture, it’s important that you focus on getting good grades, passing your courses, and making good test scores at the end of the school year. Knowing this, set aside some time after school every school night to devote to homework and study. Don’t just work on assigned homework, but do a little extra studying every school night, reviewing things you’ve already learned. This will help you get good test scores, and help you maintain a high grade point average that will help you get into institutions of higher learning, like colleges and graduate courses.

If you know how to determine what’s important while you’re in school, you’ll get the most out of the time you spend in school. Getting good grades and good test scores is important if you plan to join the work force when you graduate, as well. When you lack experience but have a strong background education, you can use your school record to impress potential employers. You’ll have a better chance of getting hired if you can show employers good school attendance records and a high grade point average. Your school life can have a direct impact on you well after you have already graduated — so present the best possible picture to future employers who will be interested in your past scholarly achievements.

The most important thing to learn from school is that your past schooling and schoolwork will set a foundation for you that you can rely upon for the rest of your life. When you know how to determine what’s important while you’re in school, such as getting good grades and maintaining a good attendance record, you will have a better chance of succeeding in all your future endeavors. Forming study groups is a good way to socialize with other students while still staying ahead of your school work. Determine what’s important while you’re in school and stick to your plans for the future. There’s no telling where you might end up, or how high you could potentially go.

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Having an MBA can open so many new paths to you. The sky is truly the limit when you have your MBA. Suddenly, a whole new world of opportunities is open to you, and you can pick and choose what you want to do and where you want to do it. Maybe that sounds great to you, but you want some cold, hard facts about getting an MBA: What can you do with it? How can you get it for free? Well, I’m going to try to answer a couple of your questions.

What Can You Do With It?

Anything. I mean it, you can do almost anything with your MBA. You may not be able to be a brain surgeon, but you can certainly tackle most upper level jobs and ask for promotions more easily than you can now. With advanced management skills and documentation to prove that you’ve been trained with advanced management skills, you can qualify for most upper level management and specialty jobs in the business world.

An MBA, or any kind of Master’s degree actually, can also open a different door – education. When you have a Master’s, you are qualified to teach most remedial and many general education classes. At some schools, you may even be able to be an adjunct professor in the business department. Even if you’ve never thought about teaching before, the pay is usually decent, and it’s a lot of fun to have a positive impact on a student’s life.

How Can You Get It For Free?

Another common question is “How can I get my MBA for free?” You’ve probably heard the great stories about other professionals getting their Master’s degree for free, and you want to know how to do the same. It all starts with your employer.

Many employers are willing to pay for your education if you promise to work with them for a certain amount of time. They want to reap the benefits of the education they are paying for, but they are usually willing to give you the raise you’ve earned once you get your degree.

Most employers will have an education policy in their handbook, and you can read over it to see if (1) it’s worthwhile and (2) you’re eligible. If your employer doesn’t have an education policy in writing, talk to your immediate supervisor about your interest, why it would be good for the company, and what you are planning. With the right sales pitch, you just might get your education for free.

Living Large

An MBA allows you to expand your options, and with all the competition in business, expanded options is certainly a good thing. If possible, get your education for free so that you will no longer have to worry about student loans. Once you get your degree, you will have thousands of options and you’ll be living large.

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