College is a unique experience. Relatively few individuals get to experience this unique opportunity. There is probably no period in your life where you have more choices, more free time, and as wide a range of activities. With this period of time also comes a high level of responsibility. Three steps to help you succeed in college are: managing your time, taking effective notes, and studying.
The first step is to learn to manage your time. A good place to start is to keep track of how you use your time. Pick up several weekly schedules and do some planning. You'll discover, among other things, that if you get seven hours of sleep a night, you have 119 hours per week to do everything you need to do. That, of course, includes going to class, eating, athletic events, social activities, personal hygiene, studying, student organizations, and telephone and TV time.
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English: A Student of the University of British Co...
''Note that in this diagram, sensory memory is det...Be sure to schedule time for all these things in your 119 hours. Then try sticking to your schedule for a week. This should give you a good idea of where your real priorities are.
Use a monthly calendar to help you allocate your study time on the weekly schedule. At the beginning of each quarter, spend an hour with your calendar to enter important dates. As you receive course syllabi, enter the dates for quizzes, papers, tests, etc., on your calendar. Then estimate the time needed to prepare for each of these. For example, if you have a ten page paper due the eighth week of the quarter and it usually takes you four weeks to do a paper, start working on the paper the second week of the quarter, allowing yourself an extra week for typing and an extra week for disaster. If you stick to...