Second semester is coming upon us and I know some of us are either going back or starting out in the college life. Back in high school, I was not that good at making the grades. I always found myself falling behind and struggling to keep up. It caused me to hate school and maybe not even go to college. That didn't sit well with my parents, so I ended up continuing my education. Going to college taught me to play with different ideas and tips that involved studying and doing well in my classes. After finding these different things, I love to go to school and I love to learn. I'm excited about starting new and learning even more than I did. If you're now starting college or you didn't do so well last semester, here are my study tips for you.
1. Remind yourself that you are the one paying for all of these classes.
This is the first thing that I need to remind myself before I start a new year. College is expensive and if you're going to choose not to do well in any of your classes, that's just another $5,000 or more that you're wasting. I was taught to be careful with what I spend and so it only makes sense to put in all my effort for the amount that I'm paying.
2. Make it a habit to go to 'your quiet place' everyday.
Strangely enough, this is my favorite realization from last semester. I learned in the middle of last semester, that getting into the habit of going to the library everyday got me into the habit of doing my homework and studying everyday. It got me into the habit of being more careful when doing my homework and not rushing to finish it before midnight. Also, it got me a chance to get out of my dorm everyday and do something productive. With that, YOUR DORM CANNOT BE YOUR QUIET PLACE. When you go to your dorm, you have so many distractions and there's so many things that you can do besides studying. When you go to the library or even the study room in your dorm, you kinda set yourself up to do studying and only studying.
3. Rewrite your notes and make them look neat.
Something I've learned about myself is that I am extremely OCD when it comes to my notes. I was not gifted with the handwriting that automatically looks good when I write something down for the first time. I will write my notes in class and once I get to the library, I sometimes have to rewrite them. When I rewrite them and they look neat, it's easier for me to flip back and look at them again. Plus, rewriting them gives me time to really think about the notes I took.
4. Keep a planner and keep it updated.
This one is mainly for the guys who think that they don't have to do anything because they will remember everything. Wrong. My dad taught in middle school for 25 years and so he would always tell me that when you're on top of your classes, you're on top of everything. Keeping a planner, really does keep you on top of everything. BRING IT EVERYWHERE. Your planner is essentially your 'store bought baby'. Unless you're doing something totally un-school related, you need to bring it and write everything in it. Whether it be to class, meetings, especially chapter meetings, you need to have it with you.
5. Make time to keep everything organized everyday.
This is one of those givens. Making sure that everything is where it's supposed to be. If you make it a thing to do it everyday, it will only take 5 minutes everyday. Having everything organized will make it so much easier to study.
6. Work on the same thing everyday.
I've learned that woking on the same subject everyday helps it stay in your mind more. Last semester, I worked on math everyday when I went to the library and slowly but surely I got it and ended up with a good grade in that class.
7. Check your grades everyday.
Checking my grades everyday has taught me to be responsible and has given me that feeling of staying on top of my grades. It has helped me know where I stand and motivate me to make that certain grade. Also, it prevented me from falling behind in school and getting that feeling not being able to catch up.
School is hard. Not only in college but in high school too. Good luck on next semester!
Much Love Always. -Addison.
