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Mastering Those ‘Freshman Fifteen’

By Marcy Kraus, dean of freshmen and director of the College Center for Academic Support

Many students find themselves working harder when they begin college. But are they working smarter? Successful college students are strategic in approaching their academic lives. And rightly so. The game has changed, and the rules that worked so well in middle school and high school don't apply anymore. Just as experienced baseball players rely on spring training to fine tune their skills for the arduous upcoming season, so must college students (novice and experienced) recognize that ability and talent might not take them as far as they hope to go.

Students who challenge themselves to master the "freshman fifteen" will find that they will go further in college than those who blissfully believe that they'll do fine if they just do what they've always done.

Freshman Fifteen: