Life After GRA: A How-To Guide for College Success
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IN THIS GUIDE 1 TIMELINE Dates to Keep in Mind 3
HELPFUL HINTS From the Classroom to the Social Scene
7 IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION Grand River Academy Resources 8 SENIOR CLASS INFORMATION
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TIMELINE TWO MONTHS OUT (JUNE) • • • • •
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CHECK YOUR UNIVERSITY EMAIL. Check with your college to ensure they have your correct contact information, financial aid information, and academic history. Familiarize yourself with your college’s website and calendar for upcoming deadlines and dates such as orientation, class schedules, and move in. Contact your roommate once you have his information. It will be good to get to know him and agree on who is bringing what. Schedule a doctor’s appointment to get necessary vaccines and an annual physical exam.
one month out (July)
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CHECK YOUR UNIVERSITY EMAIL. Purchase any big ticket items- laptop, tablet, phone that you will want so you are accustomed to it. Learn about your college town. What is available for food, entertainment, shopping. Also, look into local doctors/dentists if needed. If you are taking a vehicle, schedule an automotive visit to service your car and make sure you know how to get a parking permit. Make sure you know your credit card and bank information for payments and bills. Practice doing your own laundry. Enjoy your home town- eat at your favorite restaurants, spend time with friends, do things on your hometown bucket list.
one week out
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CHECK YOUR UNIVERSITY EMAIL. Purchase what you cannot get at the local Walmart or mall- things like TV, furniture, clothing- that way your packing will be easier. Pick up the rest in your college town. Know where on campus you will be living and the move in process. Send GRA your contact info like email, phone number, and mailing address.
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H E L P F U L H I N T S F R O M YO U R G R A FA M I LY “Put more time and energy into your work than you think you need. If you study, you’ll be fine!” Dylan Porter ’16
ACADEMIC TIPS •
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Go to class. Every class. No one will say anything to you if you skip every class for a month. Dean won't be there to wake you up, and you won't get campus service for missing a class. It is on you to take responsibility for your attendance and attentiveness. You're paying a ton of money for this experience. Make the most of it. Professors have office hours for a reason. Use them! Sometimes just knowing you are working hard will help if you have a borderline grade. Take advantage of other college resources like tutoring and writing labs, especially on that first big paper. Use a planner or app of your choice. When your teachers give you a syllabus with due dates in advance, write them in ahead of time. Spend time on Sunday evening analyzing what your week looks like. Don't go back to your room in between classes. Go to the library or find your favorite spot to study. You will be amazed at how productive you can be when you treat your entire school day like an 8 to 5 workday.
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Join study groups. Help somebody else learn something and it will help you remember the information that you need for a test. Pack your backpack the night before. Put everything that you need for the following day in your bag ahead of time. Do not put off homework. It is less stressful if you don't wait until the last minute. You never know what might come up. Set aside time EVERY DAY to do your homework. Even if you don't have homework, take time to read and reread your notes. Break large assignments up into smaller ones- especially the writing assignments. Give yourself 'due date' goals to keep yourself on track. Take a wacky elective... something that you wouldn't normally take!
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas Edison
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H E L P F U L H I N T S F rom Your G R A Family Emotional TIPS
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Expand your comfort zone. Join a club, team or group in which you have an interest...even if you have to go by yourself. This will be a great way to feel at home that first week. Even though you have been away from home here at GRA, don’t feel embarrassed if you get a little homesick. Make sure to keep in contact with your family regularly. And us at GRA too! You will feel out of place and unprepared at some point during your college career. Stop, and realize two things when this happens. First, realize that everyone else on campus has also felt that way, or will feel that way in the future. Second, know that you've already overcome great challenges in your life to get to where you are, and you can undoubtedly overcome any challenge that you face in college. Don’t get too discouraged if your first college crush doesn’t pan out. Be yourself and be kind, and your love life will materialize in time.
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Don't be afraid to ask for help. From professors, resident assistants, counselors, your family or GRA. Get a good night's rest. Yes, the 'all-nighter' cram session will be necessary sometimes, but if you stay current with your work, studying for tests will be much easier.
Social TIPS
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Everything in moderation. The student that seems like they're having a good time 24/7 is going to be on academic probation after fall semester, and kicked out of school in the spring. If you want the joys of the college social life to continue, indulge in moderation and put your school work first. If you're going to school in a big city, get out and explore. It is incredibly easy to spend 4 years at a school and never go more than a few blocks off campus. Being able to navigate and feel comfortable in a large city is essential. You'll be able to return to the city a few years down the road and feel totally at home, knowing your way from A to B and precisely where to find the best slice of pizza at 2 AM. Become involved! You will have a lot of free time in college. Imposing a little more structure to your week might be a good thing. Working a job, joining a club, tutoring, or volunteering will build character, give you a deeper understanding of how valuable completing that degree is, and you will also meet new people. Utilize the skill set you learned while having a roommate and living in the dorm at GRA. Things like compromise, living as a community, respect, and sharing will be invaluable to you. Be a student first, and social second. Prioritize your studies, then your social commitments. Say hello & introduce yourself to classmates, dorm mates, people in the dining hall, and around campus. “Its amazing how far believing in yourself can go. Only you can control that. You are the only one who needs to be pleased with your success. Failures will happen, but learning from them will make you more successful than ever.” Bill Jordan IV ‘05,
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R E S O U R C E S & C O N TAC T I N F O R M AT I O N David Thomas ’11, Assistant Director Of Advancement & Alumni Relations
David will reach out to you monthly to see how you are doing, offer any advice you may need, and keep you up to date with contact info of your classmates and campus happenings. 440-275-2811 ext 246 david.thomas@grandriver.org
“I cannot wait to see (and hear about)the amazing things that are in store for you in college and beyond! Please know you are always welcome back here on campus; you are forever family!” Ms. Amanda Jennings, Social Studies Faculty Member
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CLASS OF 2017 Dawoud Amad, Palestine Guilford College
Mikias (Mike) Kefe, Ethiopia Roanoke College
Joe Mauldin, South Carolina University of Tennessee
Amanuel (Aman) Borga, Ethiopia Jackson State University
Dorje Kutler, New York Manhattanville College
Trevor O’Hare, Ohio Mercyhurst University
Tiancheng (Horneil) Cai, China Stony Brook University
Jaiye (Bruce) Li, China University of Albany
Yangyiming (Vincent) Ou, China
Lixiao (Ken) Cong, China University of Delaware
Zhengjie (Kevin) Li, China Drexel University
Song (Peter) Guo, China The Ohio State University
Haokun (Jack) Liang, China Syracuse University
Graham Harrison, Ohio Niagara University
Xichang (Jack) Liang, China Pace University
Russell Hood, Georgia Mercer University
Nikolai Luethge, Kentucky Gateway Community & Technical College
Jacob Schwitters, Michigan Alma College Vincent Taylor, North Carolina Guilford College Zach Weed, Ohio Western Colorado State University Lyuliang (Jack) Zhang, China Penn State University Erhan (Dave) Zhong, China Pace University
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