It’s always hard to know what tips will actually be helpful for other people, so I’m just going to share some tips/realizations that were very helpful for me in school.
- Sit in the front, make eye-contact with the teacher, and treat the lesson like a conversation. My brain does a lot better processing information during two-way communication than one-way communication, and most teachers appreciate participation.
- Use flashcards. What? Stop rolling your eyes at me. Seriously, use flashcards. Here’s a free flashcard program that helped me a TON in some of my toughest college classes.
- Don’t take notes on every single thing that’s said. The times that I tried that, all it did was cause immense frustration, and I didn’t actually process any of the actual concepts being discussed (just a bunch of seemingly random facts.) Instead, focus your notes on your “ah-ha!” moments in class. When a concept is discussed and you think of a way that it applies to your life, or you think of an analogy that helps you “get it,” THOSE are the kinds of things you want to write down. Because it will help a ton to have those when you’re studying later on and need to “get it” again.
- Always start a project or paper the day it’s assigned. I’m not saying you have to finish it that quickly of course. And I’m not saying you have to pour a ton of energy into it right away, because there’s a good chance you’ll have other projects with more urgent deadlines that require your attention. What I AM saying is that you should do at least SOMETHING (even five minutes of work) on a project the same day it’s assigned. Because it will be a whole lot easier to continue that project later on, than it will be to start from a blank page.
- Get married. OK, obviously this tip doesn’t work for everyone, but seriously my performance in school increased about 300% after I got married. (Also, my wife is the coolest study buddy ever.)
- Ask questions. Ask questions in class. Ask questions over email. If your instructor has dedicated office hours open to students, walk over there and ask questions then. ASK QUESTIONS! If something is unclear to you, there’s a good chance that someone else is confused about it too. And even if you ARE the only person with the question you’re asking, it’s STILL worth asking.
- Avoid any classes that require you to draw maps. Like seriously, just do anything you can to get out of it. If it’s a requirement for the class, see if you can drop the class for something else. If you can’t drop the class, find out if you can still graduate if you flunk the class. If you have to pass the class in order to graduate, figure out how well you have to score on all other assignments and tests in the class in order to get a passing grade, even if you score zero on all map assignments. I guess this isn’t really good advice, I just really hated assignments that required drawing maps.
Great tips!
A few things that worked for me:
Starting a paper/project that day is great and often enough for me it just meant opening a word doc and doing the cover page/title stuff up on a corner and typing out the assignment so I could just open it and refresh myself about what needed to be done.
A lot of my “notes” were doodling unrelated things. I find a retain information a lot better if I’m writing/doodling. Not even related stuff but just mostly mindless doodles I’m not invested in while listening. Just be careful as some professors can be offended if they see you doodling nonsense in the front seat of their lecture instead of paying attention. Didn’t happn often but it isn’t a thing you want them to think.
Front row is a real good idea. Helps keep you honest so to speak. You know they will more readily recognize if you miss a class. It is easier to participate. Harder to stop paying attention.
Also be honest about when you can take classes. Doing 8 ams as a freshman was a terrible idea but by senior year I knew I could buckle down and do what I needed to.
Also take note of resources available to you. Most/all schools ha e tutoring available and school it is usually free. I worked on the writing workshop and would utilize my coworkers to help with my own papers. Just having another set of eyes who understand the expectations is incredibly valuable.
Reblogging for these A+ additions!
Also, there’s just one more I wanted to mention…
- Leave your phone in your backpack. If you think you are really so sneaky that you can text without anyone knowing, you are lying to yourself. And you’re only hurting yourself too. If there is ever a situation that is really so serious that it needs a response during class, step out into the hall first. When my wife was in the third trimester of her pregnancy, I spoke to each of my professors privately before class and let them know there was a chance I would have to step out if my wife called. They were all totally supportive and understanding of that, including teachers who absolutely loathed cell phones in class.
And while I realize this probably makes me sound like a grouchy old man, please keep in mind that I am, in fact, a grouchy old man.
Regarding cell phones:
If you’re extremely paranoid like me, chances are leaving your phone unattended will make it very hard for you to focus on anything else. What I did in college was keep my phone under my thigh. If anything urgent happened I would feel it vibrate immediately and my leg would muffle the noise (a vibrating phone in a backpack is L O U D). And if the paranoia got too bad, I could flash a glance at the screen just by shifting in my seat. Oftentimes I was so engaged in class I forgot I even had my phone– at least every other day a classmate had to remind me so I didn’t leave it behind. Having it on hand, but out of sight and easy reach really helped to set my mind at ease. I wasn’t worrying about calls or notifications, and if the teacher called a bathroom break or something I could get a jumpstart on checking my phone.
But honestly. This is college we’re talking about. Don’t text in class. No snapchat. (Yes, I have sat behind people snapping in class. I don’t know HOW they didn’t get caught.) You’re there to learn, and I sincerely hope you intend to because if you do, college will actually be much more fun. Even if you hate the subject or the teacher, being engaged makes it easier and helps it go faster. So this is a PSA from a grouchy young man; don’t mcfreaking text in class you chicken nugget.
The Chaos Bitches 