College is a wonderful time for students to explore academic pursuits that interest them, as well as hone the skills necessary for entering the workforce. While it is generally an exciting time for young adults, it is also rigorous and requires a great deal of dedication, focus, and hard work. If you’re a high school student anticipating heading to college, begin practicing these key skills to prepare for success in your higher-ed pursuits.

Reading comprehension

Reading may be the most common assignment college professors delve out – especially for those in the liberal arts fields. Successful college students read dozens of pages of text per day and keep detailed notes throughout the course of their reading. The best kind of note taking is both a summary and an analysis of the text, which results from meaningful time spent synthesizing the text.

Assertive writing

College students are asked to write multiple papers. Papers that are assigned in a college environment typically involve laying out an assertion – or in other words, an in-depth scientific argument. This means that in order to be a successful collegiate writer, you must become familiar with the general outlining process early on. One of the best ways high school students can prepare for this is to practice creating a thesis statement, pairing that thesis statement with two or three supporting arguments, and citing primary sources within a paper.

Seminar-style discussion

Collegiate-level courses tend to be more discussion-oriented than high school level courses, and college students will generally see more opportunity – and even obligation – to express their own opinions in class. If voicing your opinions to a group is something that still feels uncomfortable to you, take the opportunity to practice anytime you happen to find yourself in a public forum-like environment.

Ability to overcome distraction

Let’s face it – college is full of distractions. Libraries are not always quiet, hall mates are not always mindful of study hours, and college campuses are bursting with extra-curricular activities all calling for your attention. It’s important to learn self-control and organization early on so that you will be able to say “no” to the temptations which may draw you away from your focus.

Time management

Finally, even if you are well versed in all of these skills, none of them will come in handy unless they are paired with a heavy dose of strong time management. Time management is essential to balancing the heavy workloads typical of a college environment while still making time for healthy, recreational time away from studying. It’s all about finding a healthy work-life balance.