Adapting to university entails its difficulty, but if we have these 5 skills well trained, there will be no problem. According to the latest
report from the Ministry of Universities, 13% of university students drop out of their studies, and 50% of them do so during the first year of their degree. Among students under 30 years old, dropouts are at 11%. There are several factors that influence dropouts, such as having a low socioeconomic level or studying a double degree. In addition to the issue of dropout, there are all those people who resist but understand the degree as a horrible process that has to be endured and that they are unable to enjoy at all. To ensure that none of these cases apply to us, it is important that we make an effort to develop a series of skills that will make completing our studies and obtaining the
eTítulo more enjoyable and will also improve our social and work life.
1. Emotional Intelligence
Okay, we admit that this "skill" is a bit tricky because it is not just one, but many other skills grouped under this title. In EI (emotional intelligence) we group:
- Empathy: an essential skill for understanding the emotions of others, knowing how to act accordingly when necessary, and connecting deeply with other human beings.
- Self-awareness: an essential skill for making decisions, improving our communication, and knowing how to distance ourselves from things and people that do not benefit us. We tell you more about self-awareness in this post that teaches us how to work on it.
- Social skills: people skills, the ability to interact in society, to deal with people of all kinds, etc.
- Assertiveness: this is an essential skill that allows us to convey our thoughts clearly, know how to say no when necessary, and communicate our needs so that they are heard.
- Self-motivation: being able to set goals for ourselves and work to achieve them. Knowing how to self-motivate does not mean that we will always be fully motivated, but it does mean that we will know what to do to regain motivation when we lose it.
2. Frustration Tolerance
One of the most important skills for life in general is having good frustration tolerance. Unfortunately, day-to-day life is full of small injustices, annoying tasks, interpersonal conflicts, and other discomforts that can get on anyone's nerves. Therefore, having good frustration tolerance is essential for everything, and
here we talk about it in depth, including a test.
3. Critical Thinking
Something that we all need, especially as students, is critical thinking, which is nothing more than the ability to analyze what is happening around us, what is known, what the media tells us, etc., and question it with foundations. Be careful, because we are living in a time when it seems that critical thinking only belongs to those who deny scientific evidence, and these people make so much noise that it could seem like they are the only ones questioning "mainstream" thinking when in reality what they do is spread false facts. No, someone with critical thinking could doubt, for example, that the earth is "round," and they will read both flat earth blogs and scientific articles and studies. They will see images taken from the International Space Station (ISS), they will read, if they want to, from great experts in astronomy, and in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, reality will eventually prevail, and therefore, they will not spread unfounded rumors that are harmful to society just to feel special and rebellious. That is critical thinking.
4. Resilience
Covid-19 has taught all of us a lot about resilience. Among the indispensable skills for a university student, resilience is one of the most important, and according to the Royal Academy, it is defined as the ability of a living being to adapt to a disturbing agent or adverse state or situation. So it is easy to deduce, if we have lived a little, how essential it will be to have this skill well developed. We tell you more about it
here.
5. Perseverance
And finally, a classic that should not be forgotten: having perseverance will prevent us from giving up, from quitting, and will make us strive to achieve our goals. To develop this skill, we need to have clear objectives, plan how to achieve them, and most importantly: make an effort every day. With these 5 skills, studying any degree will be easier and more exciting. What are you waiting for to work on them?
