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You'll only have to read it again anyway. Better to just take a break, and go back to it with fresh eyes when you're more rested.

My best advice to you about college reading: Keep up with your daily/weekly reading assignments! It's so much easier to read twenty pages a week for fifteen weeks than it is to cram 300 pages the week before final exams!

3. WRITING SKILLS

As mentioned for Math and Reading, you will most likely have to take a placement test in Writing, as well. Most degree programs require at least one college-level writing course.

College writing is very different from the writing you use in your day-to-day life. Papers will need to be written in a much more formal language than what you use in, for example, memos and emails. Abbreviations and Instant Messaging slang are never appropriate in college work. Spelling and grammar do count!

4. CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Critical thinking is loosely defined as being able to analyze information and make a good judgment as to whether that information is reasonable and logical. We generally don't get a very good education in reason and logic in American society (but that's a rant for another day)!

Critical thinking especially requires you to have a healthy skepticism towards much of what you see and hear in the media. For example, when researching information for a term paper, you will need to be able to evaluate whether or not a website or article is a credible source: is it a true fact, based on solid evidence... or just someone's opinion?

In college, you will also be presented with many new ideas and perspectives. Many of those ideas will challenge your beliefs, and this could be uncomfortable at times. But this is why you are in college- to broaden your horizons. Learning requires an open mind. I'm not suggesting you necessarily have to change your mind, but in the long run, being fair and tolerant to other opinions is a helpful quality.

5. COMPUTER SKILLS

Things were very different when I was in college the first time, a few (coy smile) years ago. The only computers on campus were in the registrar's office and in the computer science department. If you weren't majoring in programming, you might never touch a computer. Today, campuses are wired for the internet, and there are computers everywhere. Computers are a way of life on campus.

If you have basic computer skills (using Microsoft Windows and using the internet), you have a very good start. Expect to learn new software applications, such as MS Word for typing papers and Powerpoint for making slide presentations. There are many great books (the "For Dummies" and "Total Idiots" series are super) devoted to learning computer software, as well as online tutorials. If your college offers a basic course dedicated to common applications used in schools and offices, definitely take it.

6. RESEARCH SKILLS

This ties in somewhat with #5 (Computer Skills) above. You may remember something called the library. It was a quiet, almost holy place, filled with books.

Library and Information Technology has drastically changed with the rise of the internet! You will of course still use actual books in your research for papers and projects, but there are now many other resources: academic databases, websites, ebooks, and more.

Internet research is a lot more than just typing a keyword into Google.com; as mentioned in #4 (Critical Thinking Skills), your professors will expect you to cite credible sources. Ask your librarian for help finding academic databases and credible websites.

The amount of available information is vast. Your college library will be a vitally important resource in your education. Ask your librarian for help. Librarians are there to help you find the information you need!

Learn more about this author, Christine Conte.
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