There is a lot of stress to college life. There is work, school and of course, the occasional social life. How about the reason we are actually here? To learn. There is no point really to attend school if grades are not a major priority.
The best way to learn is to study. While I am sure this is not breaking news to anyone, I do think that there are some students who still have not figured out the most effective way to retain information. Studying should not be hard and begins before classes even start.
Here are some helpful tips to use as a guide through future courses.
Your Prep
Start by glancing over the chapter of the book and looking at the syllabus before the first day of class. Go over the syllabus, even if there is no required text. Find out what the class will generally cover and write down questions about the next chapter. This will help to get a head start as well as often earn brownie points with the teacher.
Take good notes.
Asking questions without taking notes is pointless. A good way to take notes is to paraphrase important info and write questions down in the process. Thinking of questions as along is a good way to stay focused on the topic and make sure the information is sinking in.
Once one class session is over, glance back over the notes and book but not for too long. Coming back to these things at a later time will help with repetition rather than getting bombarded continuously with this same information.
Go back over everything later and condense the notes and information down to smaller chunks of information which will be easier to remember for tests and quizzes. Putting more information than needed puts extra stress on the brain. Try to find a happy medium of info that will most likely be on the test.
Do not be afraid to ask the teacher if certain info should be taken down in the notes, either. When in doubt, always ask! Most teachers will at least point students in the direction of where to find the answers for studying purposes.
Remember these steps and all should go well in your next class.
