BP Human resource management

Do you know how may students drop out before their second year of college? At some colleges, it's 60% of the class. Here's how you can be in the other group.

1. Be aware that you're not still in high school. The day you begin college, say (out loud), "I'm not in high school anymore". Then, repeat it five times, and never forget it.

2. Mom won't be there to tell you to get a good night's sleep, but she was right, you need one to maintain your health and perform at your potential.

3. If you're consuming a significant amount of alcohol during the week, even in the evening, after your work is done, you're severely hurting your chances of being successful in college.

4. Drinking excessively, even on weekends, is not "part of college life", as some folks would have you believe. Heavy drinkers frequently fail to complete college.

5. Procrastination "kills" freshmen. Get your assignments done ahead of schedule.

6. A good lap top can be your best friend. Take notes on it, revise notes on it, and use it to write at least two drafts whenever you have a major paper. Use jump drives to back up everything, and to make it easy to print out your work wherever there is a printer.

7. Lots of students "bite off more than they can chew". Be careful of the number and difficulty of the courses in which you enroll until you have had time to adjust to the academic rigor of college.

8. If you plan to work, limit yourself to an absolute maximum of twenty work hours a week. More than that will make you four times as likely to drop out (literally!).

9. A small problem ignored frequently becomes a big problem. Having trouble in one of your classes? Not getting along with your roommate? Feeling homesick, anxious, or discouraged about your work? There are lots of folks on campus who can and will help. You can start with the counseling center.

Just faithfully adhere to the simple rules above and use your common sense, and your odds of success in college are high. Remember, unless you're majoring in physics or engineering, it's not rocket science.