Tips for Learning Outside the Classroom

Attending a university in the heart of Atlanta has many benefits if you have the right resources. The Atlanta/Campus community provides a wealth of opportunities from internships, job opportunities, to professionals in your related field of study.
In this video, students discuss the benefits of learning in such a unique environment as downtown Atlanta, and talk about some of the ways their classes and professors and they personally have taken advantage of the learning opportunities Atlanta provides.
The following material has been excerpted and edited from Cuseo, J. B, Fecas, V. S., & Thompson, A. (2007). Thriving in College & Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success and Personal Development. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
Studies consistently show that students who become socially integrated or “connected” with other people in the college community are more likely to remain in college and complete their degree. Below is a list of “top ten” tips for making important interpersonal connections in college. We encourage you to start making these connections right now, so that you can begin constructing a base of social support that can strengthen your performance during your first term and serve as a solid foundation for your future success in college.

1. Connect with a favorite peer or student development professional that you may have met during orientation.
2. Connect with peers who live in your student residence or who commute to school from the same community in which you live. If your schedules are similar, consider carpooling together.
3. Join a college club, student organization, campus committee, intramural team, or volunteer-service group whose activities match your personal or career interests.
4. Connect with a peer leader who has been trained to assist new students (e.g., peer tutor, peer mentor, or peer counselor), or with a trusted peer who has more college experience than you (e.g., sophomore, junior, or senior).
5. Look for and connect with a motivated classmate in each of your classes and try working together as a team to take notes, complete reading assignments, and study for exams. (Look especially to team-up with any peer who may be in more than one class with you.)
6. Connect with your favorite faculty in fields that you may be interested in majoring by visiting them during office hours, conversing briefly with them after class, or communicating with them via e-mail.
7. Connect with an academic support professional in your college’s learning resource centers to receive personalized academic assistance or tutoring for any course in which you want to improve your performance.
8. Connect with an academic adviser to discuss and develop your future educational plans. Find your adviser.
9. Connect with a college librarian to get early assistance and a head start on any major research project(s) that you have been assigned.
10. Connect with a personal counselor at your college to discuss any difficult college-adjustment or personal-life issues that you may be experiencing.