Articles for February 2020

Ball’s in Your Court: Tips from a Busy Student-Athlete

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Student athlete. There is a lot of responsibility within those two simple words, and it can be hard to balance it all.

All student athletes have a full class load, spending a good portion of their day in the classroom. Then there is practice, games, or team workouts followed by homework and studying. That is a full day all by itself, and that does not include going to the dining hall or spending time with friends.

Incorporating all of these activities into each week can be hard, yet rewarding when you look back on your college years.

You may be thinking, how do you accomplish all of this?

Time management is the most important skill that any student can possess, but, for student athletes, it is the key to success.

Establish what you have going on during the week. Putting each activity on a calendar or in a planer is the best way to keep yourself organized.

Start with activities that are at a specific time such as classes, practices, games, or team workouts, etc. These are times that you are already committed to doing something; therefore, anything added after has to work around these events.

After your time-specific activities, add in homework due dates and any quizzes or tests for the week. By doing this, you will have a visual of what you have to accomplish throughout the week. From there, you can easily find the times that are available for either doing homework or studying.

Once you have an idea of when you can get all your work done, it will be clear as to when you have free time to go and support other student athletes, participate in campus activities, or hang out with friends.

We have all heard someone say that as a student athlete you are a student before you are an athlete. This is true since you have to maintain certain grades in order to participate in sports at the colligate level. If this is something that you find yourself struggling with, there are several ways to get yourself on track.

Talk to your teammates. Chances are, one of your teammates has taken the class you need help in and would be more than willing to assist you. For some students, they feel more comfortable talking to a teammate that they know well as opposed to a tutor. If they are a good teammate, they will find a way to help you succeed.

The Academic Support Center is also a great place to get help or to study. Just about every course has a tutor who can be found through the Academic Support Center. The tutors are eager to help students. Going in with a positive attitude will increase your chances of gaining knowledge from the session, so make the most of it!

Get together with a group of classmates. Together, you will help clarify any missing information or get different explanations, which may increase your understanding of the material.

Meet with your teacher or coach. They can help you come up with a plan to improve your academic success.

Learn from your experiences. If you do poorly on a test, use that to gauge what you have not grasped fully and find a way to learn the material. The points made above will help you with this. Maybe you need to start studying sooner or find a new way of studying.

Balancing all of the activities that you have going on can be difficult, but there are ways to ensure that you accomplish it all. When you look back on your college experience, you will feel proud of your performance in the classroom and on the field. Just remember to keep yourself organized and use the resources available to you.

 -Makenna Thorne is a sophomore majoring in Business Marketing at Castleton University. An outfielder for Castleton’s Women’s Softball, she also finds time to work in the Academic Support Center’s Writing Clinic.

 

Really Free Money: Strategies for Scholarships

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If you’re like most college students, your financial aid package is a mixture of loans, grants, work study, and scholarships. And if you’re like many of your peers, you may be pretty vague about the details of your package. No question about it, college financing is confusing; that’s why colleges and universities employ experienced professionals to staff their financial aid offices.

But even if you avoid financial details, here’s one principle you need to remember: you want to borrow as little money as possible. You’ll have to pay back loans, whereas you won’t have to pay back scholarships and grants. Therefore, you want to apply for as many scholarships and grants you can.

Unfortunately, many students don’t bother applying for scholarships. Often, they assume they won’t qualify; sometimes, they think the application process isn’t worth the award. Above all, they’re simply unaware of the breadth of scholarships available. The fact is, if you’re a college student in decent academic standing, you qualify for scholarships! Here are some tips to maximize your scholarship earnings:

– Get Creative – and Confident. Devote time to researching possible scholarships. There are scholarships for academic excellence, of course, but also for students from certain backgrounds or geographic areas, cancer survivors or their family members, and individuals with specific career goals or interests. Start by applying for the Returning Student Scholarship at Castleton (due March 9th). Next, look at resources in your community: businesses and service clubs, such as the Rotary or Lions Club, often offer scholarships. VSAC maintains a database of scholarships for Vermont residents. Finally, check out Fastweb, College Board, and Finaid.org to search for scholarships. On Fastweb and other sites, you may have to spend some time filling out questionnaires to be matched with scholarships; however, your effort could be worth hundreds – or even thousands – of dollars.

– Get Organized. Make checklist of all of the items you’ll need – essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc. – to apply for each scholarship. (You’re applying for than one, naturally.) Include the scholarship’s deadline at the top of the checklist. You may even want to maintain a folder for each application.

– Get Deadlines. Remember: the deadline is the absolute latest date you can apply. Play it safe, and make sure your application materials are ready at least a week in advance.

– Get Help. If you have any questions about any aspect of your scholarships applications, check in with a faculty member or any of the counselors at Academic Support. We can also assist you with scholarship essays. Whether you need help getting started or want someone to review your draft, you can visit the Writing Clinic or schedule an appointment with Bill Wiles, our Writing Specialist. Call 468-1347 or stop by to schedule an appointment.

Like college itself, applying for scholarships takes time, effort, and organization. Expect to devote several hours to each scholarship application. Although you may prefer to use your free time to relax or socialize, think of your scholarship search as a part-time job: one that will help you on your journey to your ultimate goal. Now, that’s exciting!

Good luck and don’t forget to stop by with questions!

-Dorothy A. Dahm

Future Selves: A New Approach to Time Management

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When you hear the words “time management,” what leaps to mind? The most productive person you know? Everything you have to accomplish in a given day or week? Your weekly planner?

You already know time management is necessary for academic and professional success; you may even use a planner or planning app to keep track of your commitments and deadlines. But for a few minutes, I want you to stop thinking of what you want to do, what you have to do, and how you can fit all of them into a 168-hour week. Yes, you should download – and complete – a weekly schedule. However, instead of reviewing your current responsibilities, take some time to ponder the future. So take a deep breath, relax, and let your imagination wander.

First, ask yourself who you’d like to be a week from now. I know: it’s not very far in the future. But maybe you’d like to be a more confident, active, or upbeat version of yourself. Imagine that person going about his or her life. Then consider what that student’s schedule might look like.

Second, imagine yourself five years from now. Where are you living? Are you in your first post-college job? In graduate school? What do you do in your free time? Flesh out this character you’ve created: give yourself the social life, relationships, and hobbies you long to have. Don’t edit your dreams; let them evolve without judgement.

Next, envision the person you want to be in ten years. Where are you? What are you doing for a living? What do you like to do in your spare time, and with whom do you spend it?

Finally, make a list of things that are important to you: your highest ambitions, the most crucial relationships, your most deeply held beliefs. Don’t judge or rank them – just jot them down.

Now, come back to the present.

Think about the future selves you’ve imagined. Then consider your current schedule. Is your current time management plan likely to help you become that person? What might you do now to make that dream become reality? In some cases, this means actively doing something. For example, if you are interested in public relations, you should be applying for internships in that field. In others, you may need to reevaluate the time you spend in certain activities. There’s nothing wrong, for instance, with playing videos games to unwind or have fun with friends. But if you’re spending whole days enthrall to a game instead of immersing yourself in classes, clubs, or internships, you might have a harder time landing that position in management.

While you’re at it, look at your list of priorities. Then assess whether your current schedule reflects those values. If you’re like most people, you’ll say family is important to you. But how often do you take the time to get in touch with your grandma? Maybe you want to make a difference in your community, country, or world. What are you doing about that desire?

When you do this exercise, you may find a gap between your future selves and your current schedule, between your ideals and your daily grind. That’s normal for people of all ages. Don’t be discouraged. Instead, make small changes to ensure you’re spending your time on the aspirations, people, and principles that mean the most to you. Effective time management isn’t just doing a lot with your time; it’s making sure you’re living your most fulfilling life.

-Dorothy A. Dahm