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Study Skills

1. Don’t miss your first class in each course. -- It’s during this time that your instructors usually introduce the course, and explain what will be required of you (tests, exams, papers, etc.).

2. Attend classes regularly. -- Don’t skip a class unless you have a very good reason. Remember that there is an attendance policy for freshmen and instructors can fail you if you exceed the allowed number of absences.

3. Get to know someone in each class. -- You’ll feel more comfortable if you have someone to talk to; and if you’re ill and miss a class, you’ll have someone from whom to get the assignments and borrow notes.

4. Purchase your textbooks. -- As soon as the instructor announces the text, go to the Bookstore and purchase it. Do this whether or not you are given a reading assignment right away. Sometimes, the Bookstore runs out of textbooks because more students are enrolled in a course than expected. If you go right away to purchase your book, chances are good that you won’t have to wait while your book is re-ordered.

5. Organize materials. -- Buy an 8 1/2" x 11" notebook for each class. Loose leaf is best, but spiral bound is also good. Buy a folder for each class in which to keep handouts, the course syllabus, quizzes and exams. Date all materials before putting them in your folder.

6. Buy a small assignment notebook or pocket calendar to keep track of all assignment due dates and exam dates. It is your responsibility to remember these dates; the instructor is not responsible to remind you once an assignment or exam is announced. Write every assignment and test down, and cross them off once they are complete. By keeping track of your tests and assignments in this way, you will eliminate a problem that many students experience— realizing, at the last minute, that an assignment is due or a test coming up, and then frantically trying to complete it or cram for it.

7. Organize your time. -- Practice Time Management and begin following a schedule right from the start.

8. Be sure to get into the habit of sleeping at least 7-8 hours each night. Go to bed by 11 p.m. or midnight and get up by 8 a.m.–even if you don’t have a class! Use your daylight hours to do most of your studying. Don’t waste time between classes. You are much more productive during the day because you have more energy. Study sessions after 9 p.m. aren’t as productive, because you don’t retain what you have learned. Keep this in mind when you make your Time Management schedule, too!

9. Eat a balanced diet and get enough exercise daily. -- Eat three nutritional meals each day! A hurried donut and cup of coffee in the morning won’t hold you until lunch. Eating well and exercising regularly will help to keep you fit physically and alert mentally.

10. Take some time each evening for yourself — even if it’s only 15 minutes. Relax and think about your experiences that day. You may even want to keep a diary or journal and write of your experiences. If nothing else, it will certainly be fun to read one day in the future!