A simple word of advice can go a long way, especially when you’re at a crossroad in your life, trying to figure out whether you want pizza or hotdogs… I mean, understand what would be the optimal choice given the very serious life situation.
Incidentally, most crossroads happen at or around the time you’re in college. And it gets even better when you find out there’s a man in this universe who dedicates a lot of his time giving out college tips in the form of TikTok videos.
Image Credits: @helpmeharlan
Meet Harlan Cohen, the man behind the College Tip TikToks, of which there are over 150 at this point. Bored Panda has compiled a list of some of the best bits of advice Harlan, with whom we got in touch for an interview, has ever given over the course of his TikTok channel. Scroll down, check them out, vote, comment, and maybe you’ll learn a thing or two. Or 150.
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#21
If you're thinking of transferring, make sure you're not running away from something. Instead, you need to be running towards something, you need to know what you want and where you can get it because otherwise whatever you're running from will find you on that next campus.
6points
#22
If you're visiting a friend's house over Thanksgiving because it's too hard for you to go home to your house, and you accidentally clog their toilets, just be honest about it. Don't just leave and let it go. Because they're going to find out it's you. They always find out it's you.
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6points
#23
If a class is full during registration, talk to the instructor physically, and explain why this class is so important to you. Ask, if you can sit in class for the first couple of weeks, so when someone drops, you can get that seat. If you advocate for yourself, beg, plead, there still might be a seat available for you.
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6points
#24
If you're overwhelmed and can't get your work done, ask for an extension. This one kids like "I don't want to do that, I don't want special treatment" and I'm like "dude, you're working 40 hours a week, you're in these clubs and activities, you're busting your butt, let your teacher help!
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5points
#25
If someone wants to have sex with you, and you say 'no', and they call you, you know, the B word. You're lucky you didn't have sex with that person, because that was never someone who deserved to be with you.
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5points
As of this article, Harlan has over 365,000 followers on his TikTok channel, with over 10.5 million likes across a myriad of short videos. And that’s TikTok alone. He also has YouTube, Instagram, and a presence on loads of other virtual platforms in the forms of advice, interviews and whatnot.
So, now that Harlan has over 150 tips out there, among many other things, we’ve asked him about his plans for the future, and he has this to say:
“I have a new book, ‘Win or Learn: The Naked Truth about Turning Every Rejection Into Your Ultimate Success.’ The goal is to help people go after what they want and be equipped to handle whatever happens next. If you are great at handling rejection, you are unstoppable. It’s like wearing a superhero cape. I want to teach people to go after what they want and live a life that creates light and joy."
#26
If a nosy classmate asks what you got on an exam, you can say "just enough" or you can say "not enough," and if they want to know your actual score, you can say "enough". Actually, I went to the last part, that's kind of rude.
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4points
#27
If your professor says "I don't accept late work", turn it in anyway and include a short explanation, sharing that you have a family emergency or you're dealing with a health issue or you also work full time and had a challenge at work, whatever is going on, let them know. They don't need to accept your work, but they can understand why it's late. And who knows, maybe they'll find just a little bit of compassion to make an exception for you.
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4points
#28
If you are in a room and someone is getting it on, when you wake up, you can quietly leave the room, you can pretend to sleep and hope that it goes away. Or you can just listen for, you know a minute or two and just shout "wow that was fast". But then talk about it the next day.
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4points
#29
If someone sends you a text message inviting you to Netflix & Chill and you're not sure if they want to be friends or more, respond "should I shower?" and if they say yes, you know the answer.
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4points
#30
If a teacher ever tells you “if I do this for you, I have to do it for everyone else”, look around and then respond with “if everyone cared as much as me they'd be here asking you the same question. Clearly. I'm the only one who cares enough to make the effort. So I think it would only be appropriate for you to do this for me.”
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3points
Keep scrolling to check out the rest of Harlan’s college tips, and if you want more, there’s a whole channel for you to peruse. Or you can check him out on any of his other virtual presences: Website, YouTube, and Twitter.
But before you run off, why not let us know what college advice you’d give students in the comment section below!
#31
Share your feelings with your classroom crush. Now, it's almost the end of the semester. If they say yes, great, if they say no, you don't have to look at them in class ever again. Now is the time.
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3points
#32
Watch out for 'the turkey drop'. This is when long-distance couples get back together over Thanksgiving and realize it's just not going to work. It's also known as 'Breaksgiving'. If you're the one dropping, be nice. Don't do it at the dinner table in front of everyone, that's just not cool. And always be respectful because you never know, one day you might be like "wow, we were so much better together than we were apart."
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3points
#33
Do not wait for your teachers and professors to reach out to you. See this room? This is like a big lecture hall. Some of you go to classes like this where you walk in the back of the room teacher walks in the front of the room, there isn't a lot of interaction, which means someone needs to take the initiative. And in big classes, it's not going to be the teacher. So the best way to get to know them is to go to office hours is to bring an old quiz that you struggled with. If you've questions ask them questions. If there's an exam coming up, ask them how you should study. And if you're worried about feeling stupid, these people, they know you, they grade your papers, they know that you are intelligent and good enough. So just give them a chance to get to know you because if you do this now, when you really need something, they're going to know who you are and be much more likely to help you.
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3points
#34
When your significant other asks you "why are you so jealous?" Explain, "I'm afraid you're going to find someone better because I've never felt good enough. So when I see you having great experiences with other people, it's a reminder that I might lose you and be stuck alone in my own uncomfortable skin. And that's so scary for me."
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3points
#35
If your roommate eats all your food without telling you, I know you're gonna be so pissed off. But before you get angry and make accusations, ask your roommate if they could afford to buy their own stuff because there are a lot of people who don't have money to buy their own food. I live with the guy and he later shared with us that it was really hard for him to afford living in an apartment because his parents had cut him off. He didn't have enough money, and he ended up feeling really bad when he took our food where we're like "hey man, we're happy to share."
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3points
#36
If you are single and don't want to be, ask yourself the question "how do people find me?" Most of you are great at hiding your feelings. You don't put yourself in places where people can find you. You don't like dating apps, you don't like being set up. You don't tell people how you feel, who you find attractive, and then you complain that you're single. The problem is, people can't find you.
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2points
#37
If you are failing or overwhelmed in a class, take the W, the deadlines coming talk, to your academic advisor, brilliant high achieving unbelievable people withdraw. You had no idea what your course load was going to be. Now you know, take the W, if you need it.
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2points
#38
If you have failed a quiz or an exam, you are not stupid. You just don't know how to study in college. A lot of you didn't have to do anything to get good grades. In high school, you're just naturally smart. Then you get to college and it kind of knocks you on your ass, you're like "what's wrong with me?" Then you get embarrassed. You don't want to tell anyone, you don't tell your parents, you start to question yourself, stop it. Because studying in college is a different experience. So instead of beating yourself up, talk to a senior, talk to a junior, talk to your teacher, talk to a teaching assistant, go to the Study Center, go to the academic resource support center. Figure out how you need to study in college because you're so damn smart and capable. You just need to get the help so that you can get the grades that you know you are deserving of.
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2points
#39
When you bomb an exam, if you're doing it right, you're going to bomb an exam because you're not always going to get the score you want. Instead of beating yourself up and shaming yourself and torturing yourself, just stop. Give yourself permission to be imperfect. Figure out what you did wrong. Figure out what you could do to get it right. Talk to people who can help you and stop wasting your time being so mean to you. It happens, you got it. Alright, move on.
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2points
#40
Stop trying to be liked. It's funny because I do these videos. And I do it because I want to help people. And there are all of these like, kind of almost said a@#holes, but I didn't say I don't want to sound angry. But there are all these people who try to tear me down. Because they don't agree with what I'm saying, or they don't like what I'm saying. But the thing is, you don't need to like me. I'm okay with that. I'm just going to share things that I know are helpful. And the rest is up to you. And that same attitude you can use in college. If you're always working to get people to like you, you're going to be miserable, because there's no way it's going to happen. So instead, focus on loving yourself, offering things that you feel strongly about, listening to other people who have different opinions, but don't be so worried about what everybody else is thinking because there's no way you're ever going to be able to control them, their thoughts or what they think of you.
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1point
