Secret Sauce to Graduating College

Did you know that roughly 50% of all college students who start college never go on to finish? 50%! That is an alarming statistic. Having worked in higher education for several years I have contemplated on how students can avoid becoming a drop out statistic. In this post I am going to give you the secret sacue for getting the most out of your collegiate expereince and getting to graduation.

So what is the secret in the sauce you ask? Well first of all, the most important thing you can do to ensure that you become a college graduate is to decide that is who you are. A college graduate. Yes, you must see yourself as a college graduate even before you are one. This vision of yourself needs to be so vivid and clear that it will literally carry you through both the good and difficult times right to your destination. Graduation! This key of identifying yourself as a college grad is vital to your success.

So once you have this vision of yourself is that enough? Not at all. It is the first and most crucial step, but to ensure that you get the most out of your collegiate experience and that you mitigate the bumps, pitfalls, and obstacles that will most assuredly arise, there are a couple of other steps you need to take.

I have worked with college students for well over a decade now. In that time I have seen and met just about every type of student you can imagine. From the just-out-of-high-school guy who drops out after the first 4 weeks because he is so addicted to World of War Craft that he forgets to go to class. To the single mom with three kids who works a full time job but still manages to pull a 4.0 gpa. The big question is what is the difference between these two students [aside from the obvious!] that propels one, and not the other, to graduation?

Over the past few years I have informally surveyed the most successful students. I wanted to find out what was the secret in their sauce. What was it that separated them from the other half of the pack? What helped the single mom who has far more distractions and responsibilities in her life succeed as opposed to the young man who had nothing to worry about but going to class?

What I have learned is that the most successful college students have five things in common. Not surprisingly it is pretty simple and straight forward stuff. In fact, the secret in the secret sauce is actually there is no secret.

So what are those 5 things?

1. They identify themselves as college graduates even before they are one

2. They Put Family/Friends First [this is especially important for those with spouses and/or kids] but set clear boundaries regarding their school responsibilities

3. They Practice the Art of Prioritization

4. They Create and Stick to a Schedule

5. They Develop a Solid Work Ethic. They are not afraid of a little hard work and more than a few late nights of studying

That’s it! Deceptively simple, isn’t it? The secret in the sauce is not awe inspiring nor is it earth shattering. What it is, is a simple and straightforward approach to success. Over the next five posts I am going to outline how you can execute each step. If you do incorporate these steps into your life along with creating a metal picture of yourself as a college graduate I can all but guarantee that you will walk away from college, degree in hand!