1.  Find a mentor. If your college offers a mentor program, sign up for it. Studies show that students invariably benefit from the more nurturing relationship mentors can offer. If your college has no such program, pick your own. Ask your adviser or a professor to introduce you to an upperclassman who knows how to succeed in college. Ask them for their advice.
  2. Join a study group. Students who struggle and students who don’t struggle join study groups. They’re just a great way to share the knowledge — okay, and the pain — of tough courses. They’re also a pretty good way to get to know people. And they’re free.
  3. Visit your professors. In high school, visiting teachers often was considered a) totally uncool, and b) totally uncool. In college, visiting professors is good business. They will be impressed by your initiative, you’ll learn more and you may even wind up friends. Besides professors sometimes have special connections to programs, scholarships and jobs, so it pays to ask their advice. Find out first what their posted office hours are. If you don’t have anything specific to talk about, ask your prof what projects he is working on. They love that.
  4.  Investigate learning communities. Studies show that it’s virtually impossible not to benefit from learning communities — or similar groups such as freshmen interest groups. Learning communities are classes organized around themes, so that groups of students share several classes. That’s because when you know your classmates and discuss what you’re learning, your brain gets more exercise and your grades go up. Ask your adviser about these communities.