What's In this for Me?

I want to be prepared for college. Far too often do I read of students who come into college unprepared and are overwhelmed by the amount of work and responsibility that come with a college education. My dad even knew a man who had a mental breakdown while in college. He also knew another who was a ladies man yet flunked out of Cal Poly. In short, college is a big thing. And I want to go in as prepared as possible so I'm not one of those other "stories".