VickyInResearch

1. Stay out of your room

In the time of the internet and economic instability (2026), I believe it is important to remember that you are not just paying for the chance to learn specialized knowledge to gain a ‘piece of paper.’ But half of what you are paying for is to have access to people, resources, and opportunities that you realistically wouldn’t see outside of higher education. Any degree you choose will be hard, but so would career advancement without a degree. I would suggest that while you are in college, you join a club or organization related to your career goals or major. For example, I was in AFROTC (Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps) for three years because I initially wanted to be an officer in the United States Air Force. While I unfortunately did not stay in AFROTC, I was able to gain experiences not commonly available to the average citizen, such as gaining a small scholarship solely for taking a few flight lessons because the Air force was trying to get more people to raise more interest for pilot careers; the only catch was all the money had to be spent by a certain deadline.

However, another reason you want to stay out of your living space as much as realistically possible is that this is a good time to look for opportunities to build your resume, with relevant experiences for future graduate schools and internships. In the physics department at my university, the students tend to volunteer at local “STEM” nights and other community-hosted events so that they can build communication and teaching skills, as well as test their own knowledge. In the GIF below is a clip of me at such a community event called “Physics Roadshow”. During the Physics Roadshow, the students travel to schools while on a road trip to teach elementary to middle school students science through physics demonstrations.

2. Write it on the Calendar

If you do not use a schedule, start now because you will be busier than you expect, especially as a nontraditional student. When I was a freshman, I started keeping a screenshot of my school schedule on the lock screen of my phone. I personally like to use Google Calendar instead of a physical calendar because I can receive notifications on my phone within enough time to reschedule if I have to. It’s primarily a way to keep yourself organized and to manage your stress.

3. Motivation is Fleeting, but Discipline is unyielding

You will not always be motivated, and it is a bit unrealistic to expect yourself to always be motivated. In fact, it will be very tempting to quit, to drop out, to change to a different major. It is important to your goals and future self that you stay disciplined and push yourself. If you are going into a field of science, this is especially important because you are generally expected to be self-disciplined in research, the professors are far more likely to lead their classes in an unstructured (in my experience) way, and the coursework will feel like it is swallowing you whole if you don’t keep up. It will be hard, but you are stronger and better for it.

There are multiple ways to develop some discipline, and some are more pleasant than others. In AFROTC, one of the things we were taught to instill discipline was to set S.M.A.R.T goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound). For example, a good academic goal might be to raise your GPA from a 2.8 to a 3.0 in the fall of your sophomore year so that you can keep a scholarship. It is a specific goal that you can realistically achieve by earning mostly A’s and a B by the end of the semester while keeping track of your progress through your grades. The SMART goal method is great for building good habits and helping prevent bad ones.

The second method I call the Replace Method. An example of this might be that you developed an addiction to substances. Depending on how bad your addiction is, you can’t realistically just cut it out, so what a lot of people do is replace it with a healthier habit. For example, it is common to replace alcohol addiction with physical exercise or non alcoholic drinks (like mocktails or Diet Coke). In college, another example could be to replace video games with study methods like flash cards. Generally, this is good for getting rid of bad habits and exercising discipline in an uncomfortable, but manageable way.

The worst way to develop discipline is what I call the Survival Method. This is where discipline was formed by a harsh reality check. Unfortunately, some people learned the hard way. For example, my cousins learned the hard way for different reasons. One of them had a kid right out of high school, one went without power for a bit, and another enlisted partly because they goofed off in community college too much. Yet I know people who have faced far worse circumstances growing up. Ultimately, most people want to avoid being in that situation. However, if you are in a survival situation, first cover your basics for survival: water, food, and shelter.