Counselors ease transition and daily life
Whether this greeting finds you in your first semester or you’re a seasoned college student, we want to welcome you to Georgia College. It is our sincere desire that your experience here is the absolute best and that you are successful.
Have fun and enjoy your freedom, but take care of yourself and your work. You can do both. If doing “those things” that you know you “should” do causes an internal uprising, beware. If you hear yourself thinking, “Hey, I don’t have to do this. Who’s going to know?” that just might be the slippery slope of avoidance.
Tasks like reading lecture notes or textbook chapters every day or going to class daily when there’s no attendance policy requires a lot of self-discipline and maturity. It’s easy to convince yourself that “it’s ok” when there’s no immediate negative consequence. Problems most often arise down the line when the cumulative effect of those choices has led to failing grades or being overwhelmed at the work required to catch up.
Here are some of our time tested suggestions for how to stay on track.
- Get your studying done first and reward yourself with fun. That way fun is guilt free! (Most fun, that is.)
- Read and review lecture notes daily.
- Keep up with readings in your classes.
- Go to class, even if there’s no attendance policy.
- Find a few places to study besides your room. Your friends will find you there and convince you that what they want to do is more important or at least more fun than your work.
- Be mindful to keep your health in balance – sleep, nutrition, exercise, etc. (Don’t get to the place where you’re surviving on naps. That’s a warning sign that you’re out of balance.)
- Do something good for yourself regularly –meditate, pray, spend time alone, etc.
- Get to know your professors. Go by and see them during their office hours. If they’ve never seen you, and you go in at the end of the semester requesting a favor, they may wonder who you are.
- Stay in communication with your family, but try to handle your problems at school by yourself. This builds self-reliance and independence.
- Get involved in a few groups – registered student organizations (RSO’s), social groups, etc.
- Get to know the people in your living area.
- Go to meals with different people. Have a variety of friends.
- Become familiar with campus resources and use them.
Counseling Services also provides voluntary, confidential, and free professional counseling to enrolled students for a wide range of issues, including:
Personal Issues: Individual concerns, such as relationship issues, anxiety, and depression
Career Choice: Deciding on a major and a career field
Academic Skills: Time management, study skills, test-taking, and test anxiety
Alcohol and Drug Education: Learning more about alcohol and other drugs, screening and referral for treatment if needed
Referral: Assistance in locating additional sources of help, both on and off campus
If you’re worried about an immediate threat to anyone’s safety, call 911.
Other emergencies might include sexual assault, severe trauma, or a non-immediate threat of suicide or homicide.
During regular office hours (Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.), contact our office at (478) 445-5331 and tell the person answering the phone that this is an emergency.
We are also on call after hours for emergency situations involving students. In a residence hall, contact your resident assistant or residence director. Students in The Village should contact their community assistant or assistant director for apartment living. Any student can contact Public Safety at (478) 445-4400 for help.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Aug 8 2008. Filed under News.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
