Millennial Expert Shares Top 5 Mistakes To Avoid For College Freshman
STUDIO CITY (KCAL9) — Headed off to college?
Millennial Expert, Christine Hassler, stopped by KCAL9 Tuesday to share her top five mistakes that college freshman should avoid!
The Financial Mistake
Most college freshmen are not familiar with good spending habits; they tend to easily rack up credit card debt.
How to avoid: Learn ways to save money and cut spending habits with simple tips from renting text books to implementing financial responsibility with budget planning and managing.
• Tools: Bluebird by American Express (just named #1 prepaid card by Consumer Reports); My Campus Wall; Amazon Student; Chegg
• Apps: Bluebird by American Express; Mint; Grocery Gadget
The Health & Wellness Mistake
College students fall into the trap of not sleeping, not watching what they eat and overindulging on alcohol.
How to avoid: There are easy-to-use, fun tools to track health and ways to encourage a fitness regimen to avoid that freshman 15.
• Tools: Up by Jawbone; on-campus counseling
• Apps: Lose It!; Fooducate; iFitness; Map My Fitness
The Academic Pressure Mistake
Many students come into college thinking they need to have everything figured out academically which detracts from the college experience.
How to avoid: Manage stress by taking advantage of academic resources like tutoring and professors' office hours. Use online resources to help if one-on-one time seems intimidating at first.
• Tools: Career Center
• Apps: iStudiez Pro; Quizlet; iProcrastinate; Study Buddy; Evernote
The Networking Mistake
Many students do not realize that networking begins in college to not only build friendships, but a professional community.
How to avoid: There are tips on how to get involved and why it's important to take part in extracurricular activities rather than relying on dormitories and classrooms to meet others. Don't be afraid to reach out to older students as they can serve as great mentors.
• Tools: Extracurricular activities (sports, Greek life, clubs, organizations); professors' office hours; alumni services to connect with possible mentors
The Personal Brand Mistake
With social media's popularity here to stay, students can start building themselves a personal brand from the get-go yet often forget that everything online is searchable.
How to avoid: There are ways to brands yourself for potential employers and not just your group of friends. A solid LinkedIn presence should start in college.
• Tools: LinkedIn; academic or subject-focused blogs
