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Ten Tips You Need to Survive College
(Your first-aid kit--10 tips to keep you
afloat.)
- 1. If you haven't already registered, try not to
schedule back to back classes. You'll wear yourself out besides missing
the best times to study--right before and right after class.
- 2. Begin the first day of class. Know what's
expected of you Take notes from the first day even if it's routine stuff you
think you already know.
- 3. Establish a routine time to study for each class.
For every hour you spend in class, you will probably need to study two hours
outside class. Studying for each subject should be at the same time, same
place, if possible. Study includes more than just doing your homework. You
will need to go over your notes from by class, labeling, editing, and making
sure you understand them. Study your syllabus daily to see where you are
going and where you have been. Be sure to do reading assignments. (Don't put
them off just because there's not a written assignment.) Read ahead whenever
possible. Prepare for each class as if there will be a pop quiz.
- 4. Establish a place to study. Your place should
have a desk, comfortable chair, good lighting, all the supplies you need,
etc., and of course, should be as free of distractions as possible. It
should not be a place where you routinely do other things. It should your
study place.
- 5. Do as much of your studying in the daytime as you
can. What takes you an hour to do during the day may take you an hour
and a half at night.
- 6. Schedule breaks. Take a ten minute break after
every hour of study. If possible, avoid long blocks of time for studying.
Spread out several short study sessions during the day.
- 7. Make use of study resources on campus. Find out
about and use labs, tutors, videos, computer programs, and alternate texts.
Sign up for an orientation session in the campus library and computer
facilities. Get to know your professors and advisors. Ask questions.
"I didn't know," or "I didn't understand" is never an
excuse.
- 8. Find at least one or two students in each class to
study with. Studies show that students who study with someone routinely
make better grades. You will probably find yourself more motivated if you
know someone else cares about what you are doing in the class. Teaching a
concept or new idea to someone else is a sure way for you to understand it.
Studying in a group or with a partner can sometimes become too social. It is
important to stay focused.
- 9. Study the hardest subject first. Work on your
hardest subjects at a time when you are fresh. Putting them off until you're
tired compounds the problem.
- 10. Be good to yourself. Studying on four hours of
sleep and an empty stomach or junk-food diet is a waste of time. Avoid food
and drink containing caffeine just before or just after studying.
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