Build Good Study Habits Before College
College is hard and adapting to a new environment, culture and workload can make the transition to campus harder than students expect. But students who build strong academic habits now can alleviate some of the pressure.
U.S. News collected tips from experts to help students find out which study skills and routines will help teens become star college students.
Ask for Help
College freshmen are often uncomfortable reaching out to their professors or tutoring services.
Get in the habit of seeking help when you need it now, and don’t wait until you’re falling, which may be too late to make a difference. Reach out to your teachers and take advantage of any tutoring or support services that your school provides. It can help you build the confidence and practice of asking for help that you’ll need in college, experts say.
Block Off Time to Study Outside of Class
“You really have to force yourself to set that time aside and devote that time to understanding and trying to comprehend new material,” says Ron Elsenbaumer, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at University of Texas–Arlington.
Students may need to spend an hour or two on college coursework outside of class for each session, Elsenbaumer says. Getting in the habit of scheduling time to study will pay off in the long run.
Use Your Peers
Your classmates can help you better understand your material, experts say.
Work with your classmates to absorb your lessons and build the communication skills you’ll need to survive group projects in college.
Get Organized
“Use a planner,” says Neva Lozada, director of writing services and supplemental instruction at Monmouth University in New Jersey. She encourages students to look through their syllabus, find out when exams and major assignments are due and work backwards to determine when to start working. Allow time to reach out for help if you need it, she says.
Go to Sleep
Staying up late to binge-watch Netflix will be even easier to do when you leave home, but pulling all-nighters in college and downing energy drinks to cram for an exam can negatively affect your grades.
Eliminate Distractions
Technology can be a great study tool, but if you get lost every time you log onto Snapchat or Twitter, it may be time for you to disconnect.
Establishing media-free zones can help you retain your attention span.
Maintain Your Health
College is stressful. Eating right and staying active will help you keep your mind sharp.
“Students tend to do better when they have at least some sort of exercise incorporated into their daily activities,” Elsenbaumer says.
Track Your Habits
Do you study better in your room, or at the library? Do you need visual aids or recorded notes? Do you need more study time for math than English?
Being self aware can help students create a schedule that matches their needs.
“They need to be aware of their weaknesses and strengths coming in and they should know after high school what courses were the hardest for them,” Lozada says.
Stop Procrastinating
“Sometimes it’s not even that they’re struggling with academic content. They’re just not organized and they’re not managing their time effectively,” Lozada says. “For that reason, they could do poorly in certain courses.”
Students who wait to the last minute to study or do assignments score worse than their more prepared peers.
Work on Your Soft Skills
Read, write and learn how to work in teams. These tasks will help you build the communication and critical thinking skills that will help you ace your classes.
Get More Tips on Preparing for College
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Find out how to prepare for your freshman year and learn which first-year mistakes to avoid.
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10 College Study Tips that High School Students Can Master Now originally appeared on usnews.com
