I’ve been getting a lot of letters from college students asking for tips that are specific to them. I’m trying to get a sense of what the big issues are in college these days. In my Taking Killer Notes episode, I talked about my note-taking technique from college. What other issues/problems did you have in college?
- What problems are unique to college students?
- What problems do college students have that the rest of us have, but that require different solutions?
One of the problems I’m having, and I know some of my friends’ kids are having now, is getting back on the horse after you’ve gotten into poor (no) study habits. Some ideas for re-establishing good study practices might help out students who have fallen in with a slacker crowd.
In my case, what helped more than anything else was setting up a regular study schedule and studying away from my dorm room, so I wouldn’t be tempted by all my shiny objects. I also shanghaied a study buddy to keep me honest, and vice versa.
Er, for “I’m having,” read “I had.” Freudian slip (work deadline looms)…
I wish I had realized the importance of professional networking (even in college). I wish I had kept better track of all the people I knew then so that I would be able to draw from their collective brains NOW!
For me, I have my own small business that tends to eat up 150% of my time each day. Add to that school — 18 hours this semester — and you have the makings of an overloaded college kid (a.k.a. — me).
I use OmniFocus and iCal extensively to keep track of it all. I have different “projects” for each class where I put assignments and items I need to prepare for. I also have a section of projects for ServerMotion, my business, and a section for my personal life. In iCal, I put things that are due on a certain date. All in all, this works very well.
Additionally, on Friday night and Saturday I usually play catchup on things that have fallen behind through the week and use Sunday to prepare for the upcoming week. I use my whiteboard to make a list of things I have to complete over the weekend and in what order, then mark them off one by one.
The downside to my lifestyle is that I don’t have much time for hanging out with friends, drinking, and basically being a normal college student. While all of that may be fun, I have enough money to live off of, I know where I’m going, and above all — I am actually, honestly, truly happy. How many people can say that?
Hey Everyone!
I’m currently a student at Western Governors University, an online-only university (for more information on them, see http://www.wgu.edu).
Since I work at my own pace, my main problem has been keeping on track. I study whenever I can, but between work, side job, farm, and family time, I have to squeeze in the studies when I can (usually during lunch @ work).
My tip: MAKE DEADLINES! No one likes ‘em, but if you don’t set them at reasonable intervals, you simply won’t get anything done. My example:
We have 6 months in a term. In this term, I have four courses: Ethics II, Natural Sciences II, Social Sciences II, and Web Technologies. That’s only four classes, but to be honest, I’m going to college for a BS in IT: Network Design & Management, NOT for government or earth science. So I schedule my assessments for the core courses two weeks apart.
Now that I know I only have two weeks to prepare for my exam in Social Sciences II, I’d better get moving! First thing: Find out what your required reading is, and GET IT. Don’t wait, just do it. Amazon sells books quite cheaply, most times. If you don’t have the money, take a preassessment, if you can, so you know what they’re looking for. Jot down information on what to study for as you go, then jump on to Wikipedia and start collecting info.
With so much information on the Web nowadays, the only excuse you have for failure is laziness. Don’t lose your drive! Even if you’re only doing a little bit at a time, SOME forward motion is better than NO forward motion (based on the law of inertia, Newton’s first Law of Motion).
Setting earlier, more challenging deadlines for yourself will help to keep you moving. I technically don’t have to any ANYTHING done until the 6th month, and I could theoretically take all four assessments in the same day on the last day of the month. But why on earth would I cause myself that much stress, particularly when I know it wouldn’t work out well? I’m busy enough as it is, so I’d rather focus on one course at a time, and give it my ENTIRE focus. If you can do this, then a couple of weeks will be a breeze for you.
I hope this helps!
Take care,
Rob
Tip: Figure out the relationship between grades and goals.
This problem is is unique to college students because the ‘grades’ thing looms so big for them yet never again matters that much.
As someone who has taught at a university level, been a student, and been a professional in a field where GPAs make little difference:
1) every term, figure out which grades in which courses matter most to you. Trying to get perfect grades in everything is great, but it may prevent you from spending enough time on key stuff outside the classroom: building ties to friends and teachers, running a group, publishing your work, starting a business, to name a few.
It’s perfectly ok to pick some key courses where you want to focus and excel and do “just enough” in others (just don’t bitch about the C).
2) don’t understand how the course is graded? Go chat with the teacher, ideally during office hours. No whining: practice that you are a grownup, too, and try to figure out where the teacher is coming from and whether it meets your goals to adapt better to what they are looking for.
Doesn’t guarantee you a better grade, but takes the mystery (and thus some sting) out of it.
Remember 1, though . If you’ve already decided to only satisfice this course (get the minimum grade needed to satisfy your goals), you may have to decide how much additional effort you can spend on this course. Talking to the teacher could reveal one of those great “work better not harder” insights, though, by channeling your effort in the right direction.
3) Never, never drop or skip a course you really want because “it’s hard and a low grade will lower your GPA.” Don’t change majors away from your passion because your grades aren’t “high enough.” This is your life: in the long run, what you’ve learned and who you learn it from matter far more than your grades. If your grades suck, though, do consider whether you’ve chosen a major you hate because you think it’s something you’re “supposed” to do.
Liz made a GREAT point there, and one I forgot. I didn’t do perfectly on my Natural Sciences II exam. I wasn’t even happy with my score. But I did pass, and the score on that exam won’t matter in the long run. Don’t sweat it; focus on the important stuff!
Learn the difference between “taking a break” and “being irresponsible / slacking”. It is important to have recreation and other down-time in our lives, especially in college when the student is usually making the transition from kid to responsible adult. It is also easy to let “I’m taking a break” turn into an excuse for massive irresponsibility with disastrous results.
As a 40-something professional in the computing industry I still find myself occasionally facing this issue. Thankfully it is much less often than before!
As someone who’s delaying going to grad school after a, shall we say, less than enjoyable undergrad experience, I’d like to say I appreciate this discussion. Is anyone aware of any good resources that aren’t geared toward beginning undergrads?
Andrew, your comment about the necessity of a study buddy is simple and profound. Thanks.
In my experience:
A shining letter of recommendation trumps a letter grade any day (or most days anyway).
Many professors, if asked point blank what they want to see in your paper, will tell you a lot of it nearly verbatim, so get good at writing shorthand and learn to schedule office hours at the professor’s convenience.
Quite often being able to discuss the course topic intelligently with the professor is more important than doing the course readings.
My academic background is all in humanities and social sciences, so I don’t know to what degree any of these apply to science courses.
I find myself doing a lot less work than my fellow students, so feel free to drop me an email or give me a call, and I can offer some more ideas to you.
Stever — great timing for me to find this post. I’ve shared tips, which you are welcome to use with attribution, at my blog. One set was my End of Semester Rant, Kinda (http://publicrelationsmatters.com/2008/05/01/my-end-of-semester-rant-kinda/) and the other was on How to Fail a Class, a tongue-in-cheek way to show my students what not to do: http://listeningmatters.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/how-to-fail-a-class-without-really-trying/