The Best Studying Tip Of Them All…

Your first test in college can be an intimidating event, and understandably so. You’re in the big leagues now, and those tests will make or break your college career, from an academic standpoint at least. While it feels like you face a daily deluge of tests, reading, and studying, you’ll face an equally impressive array of studying tips. Parents love to provide them, professors love to provide them, and even friends provide many too. All think they know the secret to studying and doing well in college, but no matter who’s providing the tips, keep in mind that what works for them may or may not work for you.

The single best studying tip in college is simply to find what works for you and to do it. That sounds simplistic, and it is, but it’s one tip that’s easy to forget amid all the others. Some will say you need to highlight material so it stands out in your memory; others advocate reviewing material immediately after class while it’s fresh; still others call for reading every chapter twice. There are so many study tips out there that trying to learn them all would be a course in itself.

Based on the work you did in high school, you’ll have a good idea of what works for you. So try some different techniques and find out what sticks. Whether you go the highlighter route or the recording-every-lecture-to-listen-while-you-sleep method, the quicker you can figure out what works for you, the better off you’ll be. There will be no shortage of studying in college, so figuring out the best method for you early provides a big advantage.

Knowing how to study is as important as knowing when to study. Certain times of the day are better study times than others, yet that all depends on what works for you. Of course, your class schedule will limit you as to what times you have, but stick with trying out mornings, afternoons, and at night. In truth, college life will have you studying whenever you can squeeze it in, and not merely at your convenience only. Still, if you’re a morning person and your classes don’t start until later, don’t waste that time. If you find studying relaxing—yes, it’s possible—plan on studying before bed and soak in the day’s material.

So go ahead and take in the waves of study tips coming your way. Just don’t plan on trying them all, and remember there will be no need to try them all. A couple good tips, tried and tested, will be all you need. It would be too stressful anyway to attempt to tackle the latest studying fads and tips, so don’t get tangled in it. So study your best when you study best. Sure it’s simple, but it’s the best study tip out there. 

How To Deal: Facing And Succeeding In A Class You Just Don’t Like

You’d really be kidding yourself if you think that you’ll like every class you take! We all just have to be realistic at times. So when you’re facing a class you don’t like, the first thing to figure out is why you don’t like it. Maybe it’s too difficult; maybe it’s too dull; or maybe it’s both. Either way, facing and dealing with classes that you just plain don’t like is part of college. Hopefully you like most of the classes in your major, but for those gen. ed. classes, you’re bound to struggle with at least a few.

If it’s a matter of difficulty, it’s understandable that that class won’t be very enjoyable. You can tell yourself you’ll just study harder or try harder, and that might help, but don’t be afraid to seek some extra help. You know what resources are right within reach: You can visit a professor or TA, ask a classmate, or simply search online for some extra explanation when your textbook proves confusing. To do well, you’ll have to actually read that textbook, a simple solution that’s often overlooked!

Still, you might loathe a class because you have no interest in the material. Fortunately we all have at least some subjects that we do find interesting, but on the other side, you probably have at least a couple class subjects in which you have no interest. For those classes, you can always look on the bright side: No matter how uninteresting a class might be, it will last only for one semester. In a couple months, that class will be a memory. If you need some motivation, think about what would happen if you perform poorly in the class. You could have to retake it! We’re sure you don’t want that.

Probably the biggest problem with facing classes you don’t like isn’t so much that you’re not interested in the material, it’s that because you’re not interested, you might find yourself not caring as much about the class. Your GPA doesn’t reflect how much you like your classes, and every grade counts. Since there’s no magic way to suddenly make you like a class, sometimes facing reality and realizing how important each and every class is to that GPA is all that’s needed to keep you motivated enough to give it what you’ve got.

Not liking a class, believe it or not, can be important to learning too. Hopefully you’ll be able to pursue a career path that you like, but you’re bound to come across a few tasks at work that you could do without. Whether in a college class or in the workplace, it takes discipline. Learning and making yourself do some of the less-enjoyable tasks and taking not-so-fun classes can be an exercise in discipline and balance. After all, if every class was your favorite class, you wouldn’t be able to appreciate as much the truly enjoyable classes out there!

Bringing Some Routine To The Chaos Of College

Now that you’ve been at school for a few weeks, things are starting to feel routine… or are they? Hopefully you’re getting your class routine down and not having to look at your schedule every day just to know which class to go to. And as for regular meals, you’re probably quickly learning just how irregular those meal times are! Dinner at 10 p.m. and cereal for dinner? Sounds like the average night.

So maybe college life isn’t known to be the most routine or organized period of life. But that doesn’t mean every night has to end in a disheveled wreck of textbooks, papers, and chewed-up pens. Even if college life isn’t always very predictable or routine, bringing some routine to daily life has plain and simple advantages. Trust us, just because you’re attempting to make college life more routine doesn’t mean it will feel like high school.

For starters, let’s go back to those meals. Lunch might be at noon one day, 3 p.m. the next day, and then you never get around to it the day after that. Sound like your average week? Probably. But eating meals regularly and at the most regular time slots that you can permit has more advantages than not being hungry. The whole daily cycle of living and how it affects your body has plenty to do with what you eat. Eating regularly will help you avoid getting too tired and will cut down on binge eating later on. By at least making regular meal times for yourself, you can also better plan out the rest of your day as you bring some regularity to the chaos of college life.

Next up is study time, which could be anytime. Even 3 a.m. But how about bringing some scheduling to that as well? If you tell yourself that you’ll study every night from 7-11 p.m., you’ll not only be more likely to actually do it, you’ll also make the strenuous task seem less stressful. At some points you just might have to pull all nighters, but by keeping regular study hours, you’ll stay on top of your work and also know when it’s time to quit. It can seem daunting to go in with plenty of reading and studying ahead of you, but tell yourself you’ll quit at 11 and head to bed. Problem solved.

One way to live more routinely is, ironically, to make yourself busier. Go ahead and join a couple clubs and organizations. You can be sure that they’ll have regular meetings based around their schedule, not yours. This means you’ll have to go at set times, thus forcing you to plan other activities, like meals and studying. By being more involved, you’ll actually have more of a schedule, which leads to having more control over crazy college life, or at least making it feel that way, which is just as important.

If you’re not the type to plan things out, you can keep taking every day in college as it comes and seeing where the day takes you. But you’ll get more done and stay more organized by adapting to a daily schedule. No, it doesn’t have to be as permanent and rigid as a flight schedule, but you should bring some control to college life and see just how much better you can live it.

Making Friends In College… With Professors?

You might picture your average college classroom filled with hundreds of other students all staring up at one big projector and doing their best to soak in some education. Whether it’s a big class like that or a smaller class, you’ll be spending plenty of time listening to your professor talk. So pay attention! But more than that, you’ll be doing yourself a favor if that teacher knows who you are! Whether it’s a big class or a small class, that teacher is worth getting to know, or at least making it so he or she knows your name.

College professors meet hundreds of students each year. No, even if your professor won’t remember you very well five or ten years later, it can’t hurt for her to at least learn your name. If you’re in a big class, take a minute after class to introduce yourself to the teacher, and stop by during office hours to brush up on material. Although teachers should and will, for the most part, grade you based on tests and other material, one who knows your name and remembers you as a student who cared about her work can look only more highly upon you—yes, even when it comes time to grading.

If you’re in a small class, you can be sure your professor will learn your name, so take things another step. Actually participating in class will always score a few points with professors, but as with the big classes, take time to visit this professor during his office hours. Any professor who recognizes that you’re putting effort into your classes is bound to like you better, and while you shouldn’t do this only to help bolster your grade, effort and attitude do have influence when it comes to grading. Sure, college classes are largely about tests and papers, but any teacher who recognizes a student has put effort into his work is bound to give more credit where credit is due. Aside from helping out your grade, actually visiting with professors lets you learn more and see a different side of the material and that particular teacher. In front of a class, any teacher has to teach to inform a wide range of students. But on your own, your professor can tailor any questions and explanations to your needs.

Even if you’re not looking to become best friends with your professor, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll have a better overall college experience if you take the time to get to know a couple professors. As for the academic side of college, teachers play the main role. If you can look back on a couple teachers who really influenced and inspired you, you’ll be glad you took the time to get to know them.

Professors are people too. When you talk them with them in instances other than raising your hand in class to answer a question, who knows what you might hear. Perhaps they’ll share a cool story or snippet from when they were young. Whatever it is, they’ll share something that will make them be more personable, and maybe you guys will end up becoming friends.