FRONT ROYAL, Va. – An undergraduate student at Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., recently wrote an article for Seton Magazine that provides tips to help homeschooled students transition to college and poise themselves for success.

Be aware of deadlines, sophomore Athanasius Clark warned students in his article, “From Homeschool to College: 5 Tips for Success.” College courses do not have the same flexibility with due dates and exam times that homeschooling often provides, he noted.

Clark described how assignments can become more daunting and difficult if they are not completed on a schedule. However, the self-motivation that homeschooling demands often teaches students strong study habits that will be vital to their academic career, he wrote.

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Clark also recommended that students learn to take good notes—a skill that homeschooling may not have required of them. Notes should be clear and organized so that they can be reviewed easily outside of the classroom. Oftentimes, note taking ability will separate the successful student from the unsuccessful one, said Clark.

Do not be afraid to seek help and take advantage of the many resources that colleges offer, Clark advised. Students can form study groups and talk to professors during office hours. Resident assistants and parents can also be valuable sources of help and support, he added.

Students should also develop a healthy work-play balance, Clark explained, and recognize that college is also a time for fun.

Finally, Clark reminded all students to pray. When deciding how to spend one’s time, “it is important to remember your priorities,” he wrote. He recommended attending daily Mass or stopping by a chapel to pray. Especiallyat a Catholic college like Christendom, it becomes a lot easier to center one’s life on Christ, he concluded.

Christendom College is recommended in The Newman Guide for its strong Catholic identity. The Cardinal Newman Society’s 2015 edition of the Guide was released alongside Recruit Me, an innovative program that lets students sign up so that the recommended colleges can compete for them.

Authored by Kathryn Zagrobelny
Originally published here by Catholic Education Daily, an online publication of The Cardinal Newman Society

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Published with permission