In fact, get through your sophomore year successfully, and you'll almost certainly return for your junior year, according to a large body of research.

It is the freshman year that students find most challenging, and it is the freshman year when they are most likely to drop out. It's not too hard to figure out why. The first year of college is a time of transition and adjustment, and neither is easy. However, if students follow a few simple rules, they'll be OK. Here are five.

1. Attend all scheduled classes. There is a reason this is the first rule listed. If you think it's OK to miss classes, remember this; you're just a freshman...you don't know anything yet. You only think you do.

2. Manage your time intelligently by making a schedule and having the self-discipline to stay with it. Do not ever study or sleep fewer hours than scheduled.

3. Don't get behind. Review the syllabus in each of your courses, be aware of when assignments are due, and know when the busiest periods of the semester will be for you. That way you can do your best work without having to cram or be under the kind of stress students feel when they have not stayed on top of their coursework.

4. Remember the "all things in moderation" speech that your parents or teachers gave you? If not, as painful as it may be to hear again, ask them to repeat it. That's because it's true. If you stay up all night, drink too much, and spend more time seeking romance than looking for the answers to your math problems, you could be joining the work force before you planned to, and in a different position than the one to which you aspired.

5. Get involved. Don't return to your hometown every weekend. Take part in events and activities on campus. Be open to new friendships. Join at least one student group. Be an active part of the college or university community. You'll never regret it.

The five rules above aren't very complicated. And, they shouldn't be terribly hard to follow. Yet, if everyone adhered to them, the average six year college graduation rate in the United States would probably jump from its currently disappointing 55% to the 90% plus seen at some of our most selective institutions.