At the beginning of a New Year, most students find themselves thinking about their goals for the coming year and what they want to achieve from their college experience. If you have not already thought of some New Year’s resolutions, or if the goals you thought of have proven to be too difficult, then you should perhaps consider our five realistic New Year’s resolutions for college students that are achievable and worthwhile!
1. Don’t Just Aim for Good Grades
Whilst you might want to achieve the best grades possible, it is more important that you understand and absorb your class material. A student’s life is busy and, consequently, students can tend to focus on the short-term rather than the long-term results of their studying. This can result in good grades, but that isn’t the purpose of attending school.
In the long-term, students may realize that they have not retained any of the vital information they learned because they did not take their time to learn the material truly. Instead, they may have just briefly memorized it or quickly learned it to pass their class. Whilst many students may not need certain pieces of information again during school, many degrees lead straight to jobs, such as engineering and law, where information learned during one’s college years is required when a student begins working in that sector.
2. Keep Your Living Space Clean and Organized
Tidy space, tidy mind. If you leave your room in a mess, you will find it hard to study or work in an area you know needs to be cleaned and organized. This can distract you from being productive. This is a simple resolution for the new year that you will be grateful for later on in life, too, when you are no longer renting and are responsible for your own residence.
If you are already living in off-campus housing near Ohio University, you will know how much more cleaning is required in a house than a dorm room. Set some time aside every Sunday to clean your room and bathroom, as this means that you will be starting a new week with a clean living space that will facilitate focused studying.
3. Find Small Ways to Save Money
The student lifestyle can easily become expensive, so finding small ways to save some extra money is useful. Perhaps the easiest way to save money would be to eat food from home. Set yourself a grocery budget every week that will be enough to cover all of your meals and make your lunches at home and take them onto campus with you, rather than buying a sandwich and a coffee when you arrive at college.
To save even more money, you could walk or cycle to campus every day if it is within a reasonable distance. Not only will this save you gas or bus money, but will give you a chance to exercise during the day without even having to visit the gym!
4. Utilize Campus Resources
College is expensive, so you might as well make the most of all that your college has on offer whether that be access to the library, social events, or a study buddy scheme. Social events are an excellent way for you to broaden your horizons and meet new people with similar interests to you, and it is during these events that some of your most memorable college memories will be made.
The library is perhaps the most useful resource your college can offer you. If you get into the habit of studying in your college library you might find that that is the space where you become most productive. This will allow you to feel more relaxed when you return to your apartment in the evenings as your mind will disassociate your bedroom from studying. Once you get into the habit of going to the library frequently, you will find that you will not want to study anywhere else.
5. Be Nice
It never hurts to be nice! A small act of kindness can be anything from holding the door open for the person behind you, to stopping and having a chat with a friend who is going through a tough time. Everyone appreciates an act of kindness so it cannot hurt to make a little extra effort to treat others around us. Even better, this is a resolution that costs you nothing but will be appreciated by those around you.
These five New Year’s resolutions for college students are realistic but can be immensely rewarding if you commit yourself to keeping them. Adjust them as needed; It is all about finding some new habits that you will stick to and benefit from in the long term.
Contact Wharton Rentals today if you’re looking for housing near Ohio University during the upcoming year. We provide living spaces that will support you in achieving your New Year’s resolutions for college students!
