I am an educational researcher, so I’ve spent my career studying what works and what doesn’t. We’re still learning, but there are a few tidbits I can share with potential students. Do these things and you’ll enhance your chances for success.
Register early. If you wait until August to register for classes, it’s a recipe for disaster. If you wait until after classes have begun (a practice many colleges are disallowing now) your chances for success are greatly diminished. Get started now. Apply and enroll as soon as you are allowed to. You’ll be better prepared, you can have your books on time, and you are more likely to get the classes you want.
Understand the process. This one is perhaps the biggest gap for first generation college students; they don’t know as much about academic culture as students of parents who completed college degrees. But there are a few things that are fairly universal. Your catalog is your college bible; it is your contract with the college. Shakespeare it is not, but read through it anyway. You’ll understand how the college functions and important policies.
There are four basic tasks students should typically complete before enrolling for the first time: get assessed, attend an orientation, see a guidance counselor, and complete a student education plan. Students who complete all four of these are substantially more likely to be successful.
Question your placement. When you take an assessment test, for math, English, or other subjects, it has a big impact on your college career. These tests aren’t all that predictive of how well students will do in those classes. Many students are required to take two, three, or even four classes before enrolling in college level work and some of them could have been successful in the college course. If you think you were placed too low, ask questions and look at the catalog for the college’s challenge process. Don’t waste entire semesters in classes you don’t need.
(There is a lot of recent research that is leading to changes in assessment and placement processes, a topic for another time.)
Take math and English your first term. This is especially important if you are placed below college level because you’ll need multiple courses to progress. But it is helpful for everyone as these subjects are fundamental for succeeding in all of your coursework. Putting them off accomplishes nothing and can derail your entire college career. In math especially, many students procrastinate out of fear and anxiety over the subject. This is counterproductive.
Take a full load of course work. What is a full load? Contrary to what you might have heard, it is not twelve units. That’s the minimum number to be considered full-time for financial aid purposes. To complete a two-year college degree in two years or a four-year degree in four years, you need to average at least fifteen units per semester (it will differ a bit if you attend a college using the quarter system). If work or other responsibilities prevent you from taking fifteen units, see if you can get a class in the summer. At the least, understand the repercussions of taking a lighter load.
Colleges are partly responsible for creating a culture in which many thought twelve units were sufficient. Many are now marketing a “15 to finish” mantra. At the small community college where I work, students who take 15 or more units in their first term are fifty percent more likely to complete than those who take 12 to 14. At the other two colleges in our district, the difference is greater, nearly double.
Participate. Stop by the Veteran’s Center, or see if you qualify for Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS). Or disability services. Or the associated students. Or just join a student club. Students who are connected to and engaged with the college community in almost any way are more successful.
Persist. Maybe you didn’t or can’t do some of the things I’ve suggested. Keep going. Maybe you can’t finish in four, or even five years. Enroll for the sixth. Keep going until you actually succeed.
As a little fish once told us “Just keep swimming…”
—A version of this piece appeared in the Porterville Recorder on April 4th, 2018.
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Photo: Getty Images