From time immemorial, students have made the same mistake: They study in the dark. That is, they delay studying until late in the day and then don’t get enough studying done. My advice: Study in the sunshine. You’ll double your GPA.

— Roderick P. Hart, dean

Take teachers, don’t take classes.
Challenge yourself by taking a few classes that sound really interesting even if they’re not relevant.
Have fun, seek out adventures.
Get involved in some activities—it’s a great way to make friends and enjoy college.
Learn how to learn

— John Daly, Communication Studies

Get involved. Find experiences that will give you direction whether it is through a student organization, student media, volunteer experiences, internships, study abroad programs, or research opportunities. Even discerning that you despise a certain experience that you thought you would enjoy still gives direction...just a different direction than you might have imagined.

Get to know your instructors and academic advisors. They can be good resources for internship ideas, career advice, job opportunities, industry changes, letters of recommendation and networking. Meet with them to talk about your hopes, goals and dreams! Your advisor wants to help connect you to special programs and opportunities that will help you get there! They may be aware of a perfect program for you that you, otherwise, might miss. Meet with them every semester to reassess your goals and degree planning. Courses and special programs as constantly evolving.

Apply for scholarships. Free money? Always good.

— Wendy D. Boggs, academic advisor, School of Journalism

Don’t just earn credits toward a degree and don’t wait until the second semester of your senior year to ask the question “what I am going to do when I graduate?” Use all of your time at UT to explore your career options through your classes, campus involvement, internships, jobs and volunteer activities.  Connect the dots between what you are doing inside and outside the classroom to identify answers to that “what do I do next?” question.  Develop the ability to manage your career path,   because you’ll use that skill throughout your professional career.

— Matt Berndt, Director, College of Communication Career Services

Engage with your professors. Don’t be shy about asking questions in class, and visiting after class or during office hours. These opportunities for conversation about the course material and more in-depth mentoring can make the college experience come alive.

— Mark Bernstein, Associate Dean, Office of Student Affairs

Learning how to be an engaged member of a community (however you define community - be it a class, a dorm, a major, all of UT, a voting precinct, a workplace, a church, etc.), should be a top priority for the next several years.

— LeeAnn Kahlor, Department of Advertising

The best professors are wrong about half the time. The trick to a successful university career is choosing the best professors and then figuring out when they are wrong and should be ignored.

Always be open to the possibility that things you believe to true beyond doubt are completely wrong.

— Robert Jensen, Professor, School of Journalism

Worry less about the grade and more about what you are learning; doing so does two things. First, it relieves the stress of gunning for a certain grade. Second, you will grow richer as a person and student. In the end, the likelihood of a good grade is sure to increase when you reduce the angst associated with grade chasing.

— S. Craig Watkins, Associate Professor, Department of Radio-TV-Film