Steve Jobs once said, “I will always pick a lazy person to do a difficult job… because he will find an easy way to do it.”

The easy route in college is the lazy route. Rather than trying to learn everything in our courses, we should just “try to get by”. This, as students, helps us prioritize our efforts. There is a certain mystique about college and being a college student. We tend to think people will be successful or part of the upper echelon if they get a college degree. Though that is true to a large extent, does that mean it’s hard?

What helped me get through my basics was having this in mind: “just get by”.

Ten to fifteen hours a week you listen to a professor describe information you will be tested over and how he or she will test you over that information… So pay attention! Another tip; take an online course. This gives you extra time and flexibility. During tests you can pull up other browsers and “Google” answers. Use ratemyprofessor.com to see which professors are “easier”. Use the resources at San Jac like the library, the student success center and other places where there are educators.

Also, balancing your budget will create less stress because college can be expensive. Courses will require textbooks. A lot of times we can “get by” without buying some, if not all of them. Usually the syllabus or course calendar lists pages in the textbook needed to be read/studied, so check out a copy at the library and make copies of those pages; this saves you from buying an $80 or $100 book and you also get the benefit of studying in the comfort of your home.

The most important tip I can give to make college easier or more “doable” though is to read the syllabus.  Not necessarily to see class rules and policies, but to see the grading rubric! See what assignments are worth the most and compare them to the ones you shouldn’t do in the first place. Hint; if homework is only worth ten percent of your grade and there is a lot of homework due every week, that’s taking up most of your time, don’t bother. Focus mainly on the exams… That is of course if you are just “trying to get by”.