Successful Students

10

 

10.   Successful students are good time managers. Successful students do not procrastinate. They have learned that time control is life control and have consciously chosen to be in control of their life.
An elemental truth: you will either control time or be controlled by it! It’s your choice: you can lead or be led, establish control or relinquish control, steer your own course or follow others. Failure to take control of their own time is probably the no. 1 study skills problem for college students. It ultimately causes many students to become non-students! Procrastinators are good excuse-makers. Don’t make academic harder on yourself than it has to be. Stop procrastinating. And don’t wait until tomorrow to do it!

 

The 10 items listed above are paraphrased form an article by Larry M Ludewig called Ten Commandments for Effective Study Skills which appeared in The Teaching Professor, December, 1992.

“Learning Technologies and Online Education”

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Study for Multiple Exams

Part 1

How I study for multiple exams, deal with multiple projects: Really it is my time management that I explained above. If I see I have multiple things due or to study for all at the same time I spread out my time beforehand. For example, if I have a test Monday, and 2 tests Tuesday then I will study for my Monday test Thursday and part of Friday. Start Studying for my next test on the second half of Friday and part of Saturday, then my second Tuesday test on Saturday as well as part of Sunday. Then Sunday night I can review for my Monday test because I already studied for it. When that test is over I can begin reviewing for the other tests.                                        

My overall study method: I try to break it up over several days or at least two. I get bogged down if I try to pull an all nighter

How I’ve overcome an initial bad grade: If I received a low grade I probably knew it was coming because I didn’t prepare properly or I didn’t use the right study habit for that class. I usually try to go over what I did wrong and sometime discuss with the teacher what I can do differently on the next exam or what they suggest I do for study for the next exam.

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Sarah’s Academic Success Story

Part 2

My test study method: I have different strategies for different types of tests or subjects. For me, any type of math is exceptionally difficult so I had to spend extra time on that. I would go back through the homework problems focusing on the problems that I had extra difficulty on. Many times I would ask the teacher for any additional study materials they could provide. If it was a class that required memorization or applying concepts I would create a sort of study guide for myself many times focusing on what were key focal points in the class. If I knew there were going to be essays I would try to take the terms and apply them to an example or create different questions on the concepts focused on throughout the semester.

My time management secret: I always always always carry a planner with me. I even use different color highlighters to show what each event on my calendar is for. For example, pink is personal, yellow is school, orange is work, blue is for appointments, and green is for my sorority. Although I use white-out frequently, I can see in bright yellow that if I have that project for finance due on Tuesday, I need to start working on it on [the previous] Wednesday so I can just get it done. My friends have always been amazed at how early I get things accomplished but that is really all I do.

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Work Together

Part 3

Here are my final words of wisdom for students who what to get better grades in college: A big thing that not many will say is to ask for help if you needed it. It’s not a bad thing to not understand, it’s a bad thing if you don’t do anything about it. Plan your time out so you are completing everything that needs to get done and leave time to double check. Write things down and have good time management skills. Ask for help is probably the biggest thing I can say though. If you don’t understand, go to office hours or find a classmate that does understand and is willing to help you. If you try hard, it will come to you. I find myself thinking that I would have to fail than I try to succeed. It is something that is within me to succeed. If that is not who you are, then hopefully things that I have done can show you that success is something that is amazing to find! Good luck!

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