6 Powerful Topics to Maximize Your College Years

In this article, we’ll explore the six most valuable topics every college student—current or prospective—should focus on for success.

Each topic will be covered in at least one in-depth article, with some topics possibly featuring several. We plan to release a minimum of one article per topic by May 2025.

These six areas of focus are designed to help you maximize your time and energy. Start by researching each one, then apply what you’ve learned to enhance your college experience. We’ve ranked these topics by importance, based on their potential return on investment:

1. Establish Direction

2. Evaluating Expenses

3. Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Self-funding

4. Tools and Resources to Invest in for Academic and Social Success

5. Beware of Misinformation

6. Tips to Become a Professional Student

1.) Establish Direction

Ask yourself the following questions:

Is higher education the best choice for me right now, or in the future?

What career path should I take and what major best supports this path?

How can I refine my choices to identify the right major and career path?

How do I confirm that I am going down the path that is best for me?

What action steps can I take to turn this vision into reality?

How do I envision college for myself? What activities do I want to participate in and what are the goals I wish to achieve?

Here are a few tips to help answer the questions above:

1. Research job descriptions on sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter. 

   
   

   Look for roles that genuinely excite you, regardless of salary, and create a list of what you like and don’t like about each. This is a valuable exercise at any stage of life, helping you better understand what draws you to specific fields and roles.

   
   

2. Take personality and career assessments to gain deeper self-awareness.

   
   

   Answer honestly—don’t try to steer your responses toward a career you feel pressured to pursue, as you’ll only end up misguiding yourself. Authentic answers will help you discover roles that truly align with your personality.

   These assessments often ask questions you might not have considered before, offering insights that confirm or even expand your self-understanding. Pay attention to common themes that emerge across multiple tests; seeing consistent patterns can be a powerful confirmation. Remember to view each test as one piece of the puzzle—while a single test might not be completely accurate, combining results from various sources can provide a more comprehensive view of your strengths, preferences, and potential paths.

   
   

3. Gain real-world experience by shadowing and volunteering. 

   
   

   After identifying some careers of interest, reach out to people in those roles to see if you can volunteer or shadow them. Not everyone will say yes, so cast a wide net, starting with your most preferred choices.

   
   

4. Explore student organizations related to your interests. 

   
   

   Most colleges offer a variety of student organizations, and many have a search engine on their student activities website to help you find clubs and groups aligned with your goals.

   
   

5. Surround yourself with high-performing individuals in your field of interest. 

   
   

   When you’ve found direction for a career path, seek opportunities to be in proximity to the people who excel in that area. By volunteering, shadowing, or simply being around experts, you can learn from them directly and may even gain opportunities to work with them if you make a good impression.

   
   

   Other ways to get in proximity to like-minded people is by attending masterminds, conferences, and expos. These events are great for networking and can provide valuable insights, helping you confirm that you’re on the right path. Being in a space with others who share your goals and aspirations, and are further along the path than you, can not only deepen your understanding of your chosen field but also open up new opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and professional growth.

2.) Evaluating Expenses 

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimated budget that outlines a student’s projected expenses for the academic year, covering both living and educational costs for either 9 or 12 months. Each school’s COA is unique, influenced by tuition rates and the local cost of housing, food, and other necessities. The COA is adjusted annually to reflect changes in the local market, so students attending schools in larger cities generally face higher living expenses than those in rural areas.

At each school, every student has a unique COA based on the program they are in (undergrad, grad, professional program, etc.), how many credits they are taking, do they live at home with their parent(s)/claimant(s) or live on their own, and their residency status.

The three largest expenses within a COA are typically housing, tuition, and food, which together account for 85-95% of the total budget for most students. To manage these costs, students and families should consider finding the most affordable housing option they’re comfortable with and carefully review meal plan options to avoid unnecessary expenses. These strategies can significantly reduce the overall COA.

Here are some examples of COA's:

University of Florida In-State Undergrad 9-month COA (Fall and Spring) = $23,530

University of Florida In-State Undergrad 12-month COA (Fall, Spring, and Summer) = $31,683 = $23,530 + $8,153

University of Florida Out-of-State Undergrad 9-month COA (Fall and Spring) = $45,808

Cost of Attendance | UF Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships

NYU 9-month COA (Fall and Spring) = $93,184

NYU is a private school, so it has same COA for in-state and out of state students

Cost of Attendance

When reviewing financial aid offers from schools, be sure to check whether each offer is based on a 9-month or 12-month COA. This distinction is essential for accurately comparing costs and understanding the true financial commitment for each school.

3.) Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Self-Funding

Financial aid and scholarships are funded from four primary sources: federal, state, institutional, and third party/private/strategic aid.

Federal

Federal aid is typically accessed by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or through affiliation with certain federal agencies.

If you do not have financial need and are not planning to take out a federal loan (such as a Parent PLUS Loan or an Unsubsidized Loan), you are not required to complete the FAFSA.

For those who do borrow, it’s important to be aware of current interest rates for federal student loans. These rates are set annually and can be found on the Federal Student Aid website.

Interest Rates for New Direct Loans | Federal Student Aid

State

Be sure to check with your high school guidance counselor or college prep counselor to find out about any state scholarships you may be eligible for. Completing a FAFSA will help you get need based aid if you attend an in-state school.

Institutional

Institutional aid is usually awarded based on your admissions application. Not only are you trying to get into the university, but you are also trying to beat out other applicants for scholarships. Institutional aid also provides need-based aid based on your FAFSA results.

Universities also have their own scholarship search engines or partner with CSS Profile or Scholarship Universe.

Third party/private/strategic aid

Scholarship search engines are a popular way of finding this category of aid. Also, keep your eye out for scholarship opportunities from your high school, local county school board, and small, medium, and large businesses.

University Preparations Scholarships

There is need-based aid and non-need-based aid.

Need-based aid is dependent on your family having financial need based on the criteria of the FAFSA. If you qualify, you can get federal subsidized loans, Federal Work-Study, and gift aid like grants and some scholarships that require merit and need.

Non-Need-based Aid can be given through the FAFSA for all students. This includes Federal Plus Loans and Unsubsidized loans. If you do not complete a FAFSA, you can apply for a third-party/private loan from lenders like Sallie Mae, College Avenue, Discover loans, student loans through banks, and more.

Merit-based aid is a form of Non-Need-based Aid that you can earn from multiple sources listed above and the article below.

Check out our accompanying article "Mastering Merit-Based Aid: Scholarships, Waivers, and Assistantships" for more information on this topic.

4.) Tools and Resources to Invest in for Academic and Social Success

Invest in tools and resources that will help you succeed in school. Save for quality items such as a: laptop, smart phone, mini fridge, e-scooter, quality at-home office equipment, wireless headphones/earbuds, etc.

Make strategic purchases that will help you save time by helping you complete assignments efficiently.

5.) Beware of Misinformation

Talk to the subject matter experts to verify information you've received. All information regarding your enrollment is nuanced. This includes your degree audit requirements to graduate, financial aid, and all other important processes.

An academic advisor and the campus tour guides are not subject matter experts in financial aid.

Parents in the Facebook parent group, as well as peers, are not subject matter experts in anything. Always verify their information!

You are your best advocate! Research information for yourself because people are busy with their own issues.

Faculty and staff members are very busy with the rest of the students and work that their employers assign to them. At big universities, there are thousands of students for every one of them.

When a faculty and staff member, such as an academic advisor, meets with you, they are most likely pressed for time. They may overlook situations, like not seeing that you have met certain degree audit requirements, and suggest unnecessary credits that delay your graduation. Be prepared for all your meetings beforehand and fact-check the information after your meetings.

While the faculty and staff have good intentions, they can feel overwhelmed at larger institutions.

6.) Tips to Become a Professional Student

It pays to be Patient!!!

Example:

At the University of Florida, there are various enrollment options available for high school graduates. The most favored pathway is the Freshmen admit for the Fall semester following high school. The preferred order of enrollment options ranges from Freshmen Summer B Admit, Innovation Academy Admit (only for Spring enrollment), obtaining an Associate's degree and applying as a transfer student for any semester, to several other less popular pathways.

For students admitted to the Innovation Academy, they have to start in the Spring semester. These students are usually eager to get started because of the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) from their peers who start school in the Fall. UF is an SEC school, meaning they are missing out on College Football and the excitement that comes with a Fall semester. These admits usually try anything to attend in the Fall, and the only way they can take classes in the Fall is by taking Non-Degree seeking classes. Non-Degree seeking classes do not allow students to receive any Federal aid or merit-based aid. These students end up having to self-fund their first semester.

Instead of taking non-degree classes in the fall, I recommend that students get a full-time job, a part-time job, volunteer, or shadow somewhere in the college town they wish to attend. You can buy general football season tickets or even find a way to get student tickets. At most schools, students are able to buy accompanying tickets to get a guest into the student section. I would also recommend joining a club or multiple clubs at the school to meet new friends and feel a part of the school.

By following this advice, you will be in proximity to other students, enjoy the university culture, save money on taking frivolous classes (that don't receive financial aid and scholarships), potentially make money from a job, and gain experience for your resume.

Become an expert in your student portal, e-learning platform (Canvas, etc.), your university email, and all other resources your school gives you.

I encourage you to play around with the tools to better understand the systems. These platforms deliver a lot of information, but most students do not know how to interpret the data. On most student portals, there is an "account activity" section that shows all the payments from self-funding, financial aid, and scholarships. The "account activity" is usually highly detailed with itemizations. As a student, I did not know how to interpret the data, but after some time working in the financial aid and bursars' office, I mastered it.

This may seem self-explanatory, but a lot of students don't check their resources and tools and miss information because they don't use their university email or student portal.

Maximize Your Funding Opportunities: Federal, State, Institutional, and Private Programs Tailored to Your Student Profile

I recently assisted a father of three who was unaware that he qualified for a state-funded program due to his status as a disabled veteran. His oldest son, now in his final semester of college, missed out on funding from this program during his earlier college years—amounting to a total of $18,000 ($6,000 per year from freshman to senior year). Meanwhile, his daughter, currently in her second semester of college, and his stepson, a high school senior, are both eligible for this funding moving forward.

This state program provides $3,000 per semester for each eligible student, in addition to the family’s existing financial support from state merit-based scholarships and military benefits. Initially, the father assumed no additional aid was available because their current funding seemed sufficient. However, the state program for children of deceased or disabled veterans stacks on top of existing merit-based scholarships and military benefits—something they didn’t realize.

The family had never completed a FAFSA. Had they submitted the FAFSA annually and received need-based aid, their eligibility for the state program would have been impacted. Instead of receiving $3,000 per semester per eligible child, the state program would have either reduced the refund amount or provided no additional funding. This is due to federal need-based aid restrictions, which calculate Federal Need as:

Cost of Attendance (COA) - Student Aid Index (SAI) = Federal Need.

If your Federal Need is fully met and you have federal, state, and institutional need-based aid, any additional aid received will require repayment of the need-based aid until only merit-based aid remains. Unlike need-based aid, there is no limit to the amount of merit-based aid you can receive. Merit-based aid can exceed your Cost of Attendance (COA), and you are allowed to keep the excess funds as a refund. However, any excess aid is considered taxable income and must be reported on IRS Form 1098-T, which your school provides by the end of January.

Takeaway

This family’s experience highlights the importance of thoroughly researching all funding options available to you—federal, state, institutional, and private—and understanding how different types of aid interact. Missing out on programs like this can cost families thousands of dollars. Staying informed about aid opportunities can significantly enhance the financial resources available for college.

Is there an accompanying article(s) for:

1. Establish Direction = No

   
   

2. Evaluating Expenses = No

   
   

3. Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Self-funding = Yes

   Mastering Merit-Based Aid: Scholarships, Waivers, and Assistantships

   
   

4. Tools and Resources to Invest in for Academic and Social Success = No

   
   

5. Beware of Misinformation = No

   
   

6. Tips to Become a Professional Student = No

   
   

If you wish to know in-depth information on all six topics prior to the release of all the accompanying articles, sign up for any of University Preparation's three services. During our hour-long advising sessions, we will discuss all six topics and apply them to your life to save you time, increase your earnings, reduce your expenses, and enhance your overall college experience.