School's In.....Time to Study!

You spend four years in high school preparing for college. Lab experiments, pop quizzes, homework and chapter tests....with a little fun thrown in....football games, pep rallies, prom. Graduation comes and you move to the next four years. College.

University life brings more freedom. If you are away from home, no one is there to tell you when to do anything. You can get up when you want, go to class if you aren't too tired, stay up all hours of the night and mom isn't there to readjust your attitude.

University life also brings more responsibility. Someone is paying for you to go to class......scholarship, parents, rich uncle, or even possibly you pay the tuition bill. So what is college all about? You may be thinking "now it is time to live it up!" But as a mentor, teacher and friend, I will tell you what I told my kids when they headed to college.

"The next four years [or whatever you need to complete your degree] is a time of intensive training. This is the time to prepare for your career. Work hard now and you can play later. Play now and you will work hard the rest of your life."

By this I mean, learn everything you can about your major and then some. Study, attend classes, and do your assignments with 100% effort. Learn all you can to make yourself the most marketable candidate for your internship and subsequently, an entry-level position. Graduate and start the climb toward financial independence.....then you can retire early, relax and let the fun begin.

Play while in college......skip class, only give 50% (or less) effort on assignments and party instead of studying. You will be looking for excuses when your grades slide and you have a hard time getting an internship.....or a job for that matter. If you think employers can't pick the slackers out of a line-up of applicants, think again. Employers want workers, not slackers.

So, school's in......time to study!