|
|
Passage
H
|
Tips You Need
to Survive College
-----------Your first-aid kit
|
|
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 be 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.
(515 words)
|
|
|
|