The Twenty Mistakes you Don’t want to make during your Manipal Days

Trust is essential for having anything meaningful in your relationship with any person. Building trust takes a lifetime in many cases and can be crushed in an instant!  It may be tempting for you to be associated with the ‘In’ crowd and to flaunt your social connections. But finally you’ll fall prey to the many social climbers and booze whores that you’re going to surround yourself with. You may think that surrounding yourself with these so-called ‘Inspiring people’  is the fastest way to make a name for yourself, the only thing you’re achieving is faking your life.

Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve always wanted to be in the ‘Hip’ group, I’ve been a part of the ‘Hip’ group, I used to want to live their lives and be embarrassed to tell them about mine!

Make connections with people based on trial and error, not on what you think will improve your reputation based on what someone else is telling about them. If you ever want people to take you seriously, then you have to take them seriously.

16. Damn it Dude! We only live once! Let’s chill!!

No longer are parents insisting on a respectable bedtime or restricting activities during the school week. Who wants to wrestle with calculus when there are so many new Manipal experiences to be had?

A life of partying, weed and pretty much having that YOLO attitude will leave you flat on your ass. Scholarships can be lost if a GPA goes lower than an agreed-upon average. Are you willing to throw away free money and potentially your future, just to attend a party in Manipal? Remember that your primary goal as a student is to succeed in your classes so that you can get a real (or better) career with plenty of paid vacation and the funds to enjoy it, which, I might add, beats Dee Tee any day of the week.

15. Waiting until the last year to begin the job search

Some students view Manipal as an interim period in their lives, one in which actions have no real consequences. Most of us wait until the final semester of our senior year to visit the career counseling office and then complain that we can’t find a job. This process should start in the second semester of your freshman year at Manipal (More so for students at Manipal Institute of Technology).

During this time you should begin your assessment of yourself and consider applying for internships, connecting with Manipal alumni and discussing your future with your mentor/guardian/parents.  You should have internships or jobs throughout your Manipal years to build a résumé and balance those with extracurricular activities that show different skills.

The people you meet along the way, including professors and deans, can be references too. The job search process is part of the total Manipal  experience.

14. Not differentiating your wants from your needs

Expensive girlfriends, cheap thrills, expensive parties and outings to Goa and Gokarn are not needs. They stem out of our wants, our desires to be associated with the social crowd, and in Manipal this is accentuated every Saturday night. Setting the foundation for your future and academics is far more important than updating your wardrobe and chasing sex. Differentiate between what you want and what you actually need. Make sure you understand your priorities.

13. Forgetting that family comes first

Friends come and go. But forgetting the people who helped you get in to a Manipal University college in the first place is unpardonable. They’ve supported you, financially (the course fees at Manipal are not exactly peanuts) and emotionally right from your diaper days and deserve a lot more respect and love then you’re offering them.  Don’t forget to call your mom and dad ever so often. Keep them updated on your life in Manipal and your dreams.

12. Not Studying At All

Ah, what we could get away with in middle and high school. As a teacher at Melaka Manipal Medical college, I sometimes ask my students whether they’ve bothered to study for their exams, especially after they’ve done miserably in the test. If you choose not to prepare for a test in middle school or high school, you might still survive since the information necessary to succeed on these tests will be less than on a college exam. Not so in the Colleges of Manipal, here you’ll fail miserably. Miserably. And professors have a tendency of not looking the other way and passing you anyway just because you are a good kid.

11. Not Asking for Assistance

I see a lot of students, earlier at KMC, Mangalore and now at MMMC, Manipal,  visiting me once they’ve scored low in their exams. Before the exams the professor’s sit in front of empty desks and hope students turn up and ask questions on their subjects.  Then their parents call and enquire about why their wards aren’t performing well in class!  Freshmen often make the mistake of talking to a professor only once they’re in hot water, and not spending a few minutes talking to her so that they can understand a difficult concept or get some guidance on a research paper. If you’re putting everything into a course but still struggling to keep your head above water, consider getting help. . To overcome this problem, it is helpful for students to remember that it’s hard-earned money of their parents that pays for a professor’s time both in class and in the office.

10. Studying for Hours on End

One cannot expect to go without food or sleep for hours on end, staring at the books without a break. The words will blur and run together. The mind will wander. While it is a great idea to begin the study process the night an exam is announced, 45 minute studying sessions with a 15 minute break make more sense than five hours straight. The best thing would be to keep abreast of the class schedule and study the topics before you attend the class. This boosts the retention power and helps score brownie points with the professor.

09. Not having Exercise or Taking Exercise breaks

Get some air! No, not the stuffy Manipal hostel air that reeks of Axe spray residue and sweaty socks. You have been breathing that in probably too long. Give yourself some time for physical exercise every day. Your brain will appreciate it. My personal favorite was a 30 minute bike ride in the evenings and a jog up to End Point Manipal in the early hours of the morning. Work up a sweat. Shower. Come back refreshed and ready to study some more.

08. The Cram Session night before the Exams

Ok, I’ve been guilty of this on occasions. But tell me,how many of you have attempted to study on the bus the morning of a large exam? And how many of you were actually successful at it? Manipal college exams are a bit more thorough. Cramming, known as the art of waiting until the last minute to prepare for a test, is not good for the brain which cannot usually absorb a ton of information simultaneously. So this patented move needs to be tossed immediately. Study well in advance. University is not little league, son.

07. Not staying organized

College can be a full-time job,especially for those in the Medical Colleges at Manipal. Keep the chaos to a minimum by investing in an organizer and comfortable, well stocked study nook. . Spending too much time on activities such as video games and social networking can also derail a successful college experience. Forgetting assignments due to a lack of organization is another classic mistake, as Manipal university professors do not make a practice of reminding students about upcoming assignments.

06. Not getting enough sleep

Not getting enough shut-eye is one sure way to undermine your efforts. If you want to survive your classes, let alone your college career, make sleep a priority.

A large proportion of Manipal college students are sleep deprived, regularly getting less rest than they need each night. When students routinely have problems with sleep, learning and memory suffer.  Motor skills can be impaired.  Resistance to illness drops, particularly important in Manipal, where most of the students stay in the hostels and in Apartments outside the Manipal University campus.

05. Choosing a classic college diet (i.e. pizza and beer)

The average college student is often pressed for time, under a lot of stress and eating on the go. You may find it difficult to avoid bad habits like skipping meals or frequenting fast food restaurants. But eating a healthy diet can help you fell better, cope with stress and do better in the classroom and on the athletic field.

It can be difficult to keep up a healthy diet on a student budget, but that’s no excuse for relying on fast food and frozen dinners (assuming you remember to eat at all).  Stick to fresh produce, lean proteins, whole grains and lots of water. Also try to squeeze in common brain foods, like nuts, fish, blueberries, spinach and green tea.

04. Taking a course that does not suit you!

I’ve seen many students joining a college in Manipal under pressure from their parents and peers and then performing badly because they lack interest in the subjects in the course. Not everyone is suited for the fields that many consider practical, like accounting or Engineering. Don’t live with the assumption that your choices are limited. You are likely through life to cycle through many jobs. Show how smart you are by building that 9 point GPA where you have a passion. Talk to alumni about what they have done with their majors. The information can be surprising. Find where you can be successful in your courses. Smart counts.

03. Bunking Class

The classes are taken for a reason, they provide most information in a small amount of time. The professors instruct you in the important aspects of the topic which you need to concentrate on. When you miss a lecture in Manipal, it not only deprives you of information on the topic, it also deprives you of an important link in your study chain! There is nothing more true than the fact that whatever goes around comes around, and you are not immune to the cosmic forces that be.

02. Getting Angry!

Manipal college life may seem unfair! The rules of Manipal University may seem to be too strict at times and you may think it snatches away your freedom. This can make you very angry. But remember, the rules are provided for your protection and to make sure you are provided a safe and stress free environment ! It is okay to feel angry. What is not cool is to act angry. Or to suffer anger in silence and self-sabotage. Or damaging Manipal University property.

Go to the proper person (not the Chancellor) and ask nicely for help. Explain your point of view or your concerns. Show that you have done some homework. Be willing to work things out reasonably.

01. Procrastinating.

Many students believe in “no work before its time.” They put off papers until the last possible minute and pull “all nighters” right before the test. Careful planning and time management are essential to college success, and that, without parents and teachers to tell you what to do (and when to do it), “you’re in charge of this college thing.”