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4 Useful Tips for Attending College in 2021

Written by CB Community

The year 2020 has been bizarre beyond belief, but 2021 looks as though it might return us to normalcy.

There’s no presidential election on which to focus, and many companies are working on vaccines.

One should be ready pretty soon, and we should see coronavirus infection rates and deaths go down.

Many Gen Z members have just graduated from high school and they’re thinking about going to college. Some of them may have put it off because of Covid-19 concerns.

However, you can still go to college if you do it right. Here are a few tips that can help you as you get ready to embark on this next life chapter:

1. Look into Remote Learning

A vaccine may be coming, but it’s not here yet. Because of this, you should look into online learning if a college admits you. You should do so because:

  • You don’t have any coronavirus risk that way
  • You won’t have to commute to class

You might want the college experience where you sit in class and get to see and hear the lectures in-person. That’s just not practical at the moment.

We seem to be moving slowly back toward normalcy, but until all students and faculty receive vaccinations, the old way of doing things remains out of reach.

You might not have ever thought about attending college from your apartment or your bedroom in your parents’ house, but that’s what’s happening in the world right now.

2. See About Scholarships

One thing that has not changed about college is how much it costs. You can easily spend tens of thousands of dollars on higher learning, or even more for Ivy League schools. You should look into:

  • Academic scholarships
  • Athletic scholarships

Look into each avenue and see if you qualify for anything. You might have eligibility based on your sports accomplishments, gender, ethnicity, or many other possibilities.

Maybe you can’t get a full-ride unless you have rare and special physical or mental gifts. Still, even if you can get a scholarship that pays for some of your tuition, books, etc., that’s better than nothing.

3. Figure Out the Best Living Situation for You

If you’re going to college but doing remote learning, you might start your undergraduate career without ever leaving your parents’ house.

Again, it’s probably not the way you ever envisioned your college life, but that’s the current reality.

This all depends on whether your parents will allow you to continue living with them. It’s true that some parents can hardly wait till you’re eighteen so they can push you out the door.

Still, some families will allow their kids to continue living with them as they start college, and for Gen Z members in this situation, it’s not the worst thing to ever happen. You won’t attend any wild parties, but presumably, your parents are not charging you any rent.

You might help them out by getting a part-time job and putting the money toward the rent or mortgage payments. You can also help out by doing chores around the house. 

You may be eager to leave, but keep in mind that this is not forever, and in the meantime, it’s nice of your parents to allow you to keep living with them.

4. Decide on Your Major

Before you start school, you should also think about your potential career path. Perhaps you have no idea what you want to do, and you don’t declare a major your freshman year.

There’s nothing wrong with that since you can take many different classes to build up some credits. At some point, though, you’ll need to declare a major and start working toward a degree in your chosen area.

Think about what you like doing more than anything else. If you like technology, maybe you want a computer science degree. If you enjoy reading and writing, you might get an English degree.

Usually, if you think about it long enough, you can come up with a possible career path. Remember that you can change your mind if you’re taking some of the required courses and it doesn’t feel quite right to you.

Takeaway

It’s a strange time for college students, but it’s that way for everyone else as well. Everything has seemed surreal these past few months.

It’s not indefinite, though, and the pandemic’s end could be in sight. We all need to focus on doing the best we can and staying the course, and that certainly includes young people with higher learning aspirations. 

About the author

CB Community

Passionate members of the College Basics community that include students, essay writers, consultants and beyond. Please note, while community content has passed our editorial guidelines, we do not endorse any product or service contained in these articles which may also include links for which College Basics is compensated.