I graduated from Miami University in the spring of 2015. And I find it so strange that I’m only a couple of months away from hitting my one year anniversary. It’s the biggest cliché of all time, but I have to say that life moves fast. That’s for sure.

Anyway, one of the reasons I started TakeYourSuccess.com is because I didn’t find many helpful and relevant websites for college students. So I decided to write my best content on college success.

And with that as my goal, I thought a great way to help my audience would be to share 50 quick pieces of college advice that I wish I knew as a college student. Some of these pointers are what I learned personally, experienced through other people, or researched online.

When you’re reading, remember that this college advice applies directly to me. You might not agree with all of them, which is fine. But, whether you’re a college freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or fifth year, my hope is that this college advice is helpful in your journey to personal and professional success.

Get ready, because this marathon starts now.

50 Pieces Of College Advice I’d Tell Brian

School

1. Learn to completely focus whether it’s time to work or play.

2. The Chip Away Strategy is the only thing you need to get As on exams.

3. Writing papers is miserable under pressure, but with solid preparation it’s not that bad.

4. Don’t procrastinate and instead prioritize most important task.

5. Procrastination isn’t such a bad thing because if you procrastinate on the one most important or hardest activity, that means you will probably finish activities two through six.

6. Find the smartest students in the class and mimic what they do.

7. Get off to a fast start to make your semester easier.

8. Visit office hours and be friends with your professor to get the most value of your time.

9. You never know when you might need an excellent recommendation letter, so always bring your A-game.

10. A high GPA only matters to some students, and doesn’t really matter in many fields.

Health & Fitness

11. Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day.

12. Get at least 6 hours and no more than 8 hours of sleep every night.

13. While in the beginning it won’t be fun, eating for energy is far better than the good taste of unhealthy food.

14. Muscle takes months and years to build up, but quickly deteriorates if you slack on training.

15. Workout around five days a week to help productivity, avoid the freshman 15, and be happier.

16. Find a workout partner that will hold you accountable to not skip gym days.

17. Call your parents and siblings at least once a month to see how they are doing and talk about life.

18. Don’t take yourself too serious.

19. Avoid severe procrastination (different from normal procrastination), which cripples you and potentially your future.

Extracurricular

20. Join a student organization that you’re interested in.

21. Go on at least one study abroad trip.

22. Play intramural sports, especially basketball.

23. It’s cool if you drink and it’s just as cool if you don’t drink.

24. Get a job, even if it’s only 10 hours a week, if you have free time that you’re going to waste getting nothing done.

25. Look into joining Greek life, but don’t feel like you have to join one to have fun in college.

26. Stay in touch with your high school friends.

27. Branch out to meet new people from other states and with a different background than you.

28. Go to at least some of the football or major athletic events, even if the team sucks.

29. Look for organizations or philanthropies that serve the local community.

30. Start a blog!

Career & Grad School

31. Having good interview answers is the most important aspect of getting job offers, so practice it.

32. Employers love to see leadership positions and what you learned from this experience.

33. Make an intentional effort to grow your business network and stay in touch with connections.

34. Don’t only focus on the job’s salary or you risk being not happy at work, but also consider if you would mesh well with your potential manager, enjoy the company culture or not, and could you see yourself thriving there.

35. Realize that no job defines you, and you can make the most out of your career no matter where you start at your first job.

36. Your test score carries the highest weight in grad school admissions (see what else matters in these grad school application tips).

37. You can directly influence your letter of recommendation for grad school by being prepared, organized, and assertive.

38. If you’re going to go into serious debt because of grad school, you better be sure about it and love your career after you graduate.

39. Sometimes it’s in your best interest to take a year off or more to make money, be certain it’s what you want to do, and get real world experience before going to and trying to fund grad school.

40. Where you go to grad school is likely where you’re going to work after graduation, so choose carefully.

Success

41. Anyone can achieve greatness through learning and using the right strategies.

42. Success is a choice, so decide what you want and then commit all your energy to achieving it.

43. Success and failure go hand in hand, so failing means you’re one step closer to achievement.

44. If you can’t remember the last time you failed, you’re not being bold enough.

45. Patience is vital to succeeding in life because nothing valuable comes right away.

46. If you let haters get to you then they win, but if you keep progressing forward then you win.

47. A positive attitude is often the difference between winners and losers.

48. You only experience one life if you don’t read, so read as much as you can about any and every topic.

49. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can buy you time and freedom, which provides happiness.

50. Pursue what makes you happy in life, otherwise you’re wasting your time.