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Effective Strategies for Academic Success: A Comprehensive Guide for College Students

1. Introduction to Academic Success

Upon graduating from high school, many young men and women are not adequately prepared to meet the rigors and expectations of the academic world and are, therefore, not ready to make the transition to postsecondary education. Many are unaware of and fail to understand the new responsibilities and freedoms that they will face as college students. Accordingly, they lack the motivation and the overall effectiveness to succeed within this new scholastic environment.

However, by preparing themselves in advance for this transition through careful planning and by developing the necessary academic strategies and skills, high school graduates will be in a better position to achieve success in college. The purpose of this publication is to provide students with a comprehensive series of strategies and activities that will enhance their ability to succeed in college.

2. Time Management and Organization

One of the most prevalent problems among college students is time management and organization. College students must balance classes, their social life, extracurricular activities, work, studying, laundry, exercising, and cooking. The key to getting control of one’s time is to establish priorities. Here is an exercise to help recognize time priorities in life. You will need six pages of lined notebook paper, a pen or pencil, and some quiet time.

First, make a to-do list on lined notebook paper. Some of the items may include calling your best friend, doing the laundry, buying more towels, making out holiday cards, cleaning rooms, reading a chapter, making a to-do list, typing a paper, or writing to the folks back home. Typically, individuals will not make out lists, but will just think of what they need to do. Notes or lines are far too difficult to handle without keeping the list simple.

Write them in your daily appointment book. Then, note the time you want to give to these activities. This includes time necessary for getting ready, traveling from class to class, walking to the student center, getting ready for bed, and so forth. After these listings, use fresh pages for separate schedules. Use each page to summarize the hours you are typically at school, in bed, at meals, practicing your sport, working at a part-time job, and so on. Here is a schedule form: On the sample Schedule Form, write in the hours that are fixed. For example, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM is History 101. Entering the class will take about five minutes, so you won’t get that full hour at your disposal for anything else. You might break to eat with any of your friends who happen to be at the same time, so reserve another twenty minutes after class for socializing. Before writing, estimate the time consumed for classes, meals, working, socializing, traveling, and miscellaneous things. Remember to save some time for relaxation, sports, maybe just watching television. You should re-create your form Monday through Friday, hour by hour. If you have a weekend job, sports, or another activity, work each out on a separate page.

Verify your estimates for accuracy. Did they agree with what your current schedule reflects? Supposing still vacancies, consider using them for relaxation, reading, studying, or being with friends. Of course, they may differ a little day-to-day.

Adjust the Schedule Form as necessary. Try to be a touch conventional in scheduling class, school, meals, and rest periods. Once you have done it, transpose school hours to your weekly appointment book and put your weekly appointment next to the schedule. You may want to expand your schedule form to Saturdays and Sundays. Do you see something showing its colors on both the school and personal time that surprises you? Is there enough room for relaxation and freedom to attend cultural, social, and educational experiences at school? If not, then re-allocate these hours.

Think about the future. Enter helpful notes about unforeseen projects and complications in the week before they appear. Make sure you’re dealing with them cautiously, then adjust your weekly scheme as necessary. Some college students try to do everything at one time for fear of missing something. By mastering time management, students can organize their lives in such a way as to enjoy all of college’s, as well as life’s, pleasures.

3. Effective Study Techniques

Despite one’s level of knowledge and development, retention comes much easier if the subject matter is learned every day instead of at the last minute. Reserve at least two, but preferably up to four hours each day for studying. If there is an outside job, learning will have to be reduced somewhat, but an individual cannot concentrate fully on subjects for more than four hours at a time. Therefore, working full-time requires sacrificing time for other activities. Also of importance is fending off pressures from outside sources to dissuade proper dedication to learning. Grades should not be considered the only outcome of knowledge. Learning is a continual, building process; one draws upon lower level information to acquire new knowledge.

Successful learners rarely just rely on older knowledge. Even in courses where only the new material is checked for understanding, the earlier concepts have to be mastered. Therefore, one cannot acquire knowledge without work, thought, and a solid foundation. The stress and tension of procrastination eliminates more than a few potential learners; technically speaking, students seek the easiest path to the grade by selecting courses on the basis of the instructor’s reputation, ease, or evaluation methods. After the learning process ends and a long period goes by without tapping the knowledge acquired, even some of the highest achieving learners are unable to recall the information or solve problems. The establishing of meaningful linkage is just as critical as the process of learning itself. Providing brief associations or alternative methods of thinking are helpful before learning starts.

4. Building Strong Writing and Research Skills

Throughout your college years, faculty will assign a wide variety of writing projects. These papers and presentations may involve critical and analytical thinking, deep consideration, thoughtful reflection, insightful and complex analysis, thoughtful discussion, or deep consideration. The topics, length, citation, style, and research details will change, but what remains constant are the necessary steps of preparation, research, drafting, revision, and careful editing. This chapter offers some tips on research and writing based on my own experiences in college and extensive work with college writers. Concentrate on identifying thesis statements, locating support and evidence, and editing strategies. Quick activities familiarize students with library and web research, print and electronic sources, and the components of a documented paper.

CONCISE WRITING EXERCISES: Purpose? To help students concentrate on writing succinctly and clearly. Details? Example topic sentences and selected sections from student papers along with a handout explaining how to avoid wordiness. Lastly, this brief, interactive activity encourages students to remove all words and sentences not supporting their central ideas and tighten up dense writing. Are the examples applicable and compelling? A few 10-minute in-class exercises let everyone participate before collaborating on the parts of their own writing that require more conciseness and clarity.

5. Utilizing Resources and Support Services

There are many types of professionals both within educational institutions and within various local agencies and businesses that operate “driven” by participating in internships and volunteer activities found in fields that interest you. These can often provide you with advice and information and introduce you to helpful contacts. Successful individual students do not wait: they take the initiative. They actively seek guidance, advice, information, and support. The time and effort you spend building support networks and remaining connected to programs, organizations, and agencies designed to help students are valuable investments in your future.

When you are beginning a new experience, whether it is arriving for the first day of class and exploring a large campus, moving into your very first residence hall or apartment, trying to understand international student obligations and regulations, or landing a volunteer, part-time, or summer job, ask for an assistant. Asking on behalf of yourself – directly; contacting a faculty member, staff person, advisor, or mentor you already know and respect or the new one that you are trying to meet; posting an “in search of” notice on a bulletin board or other location; or utilizing the College Web sites and various social media possibilities are all strategies that can yield a “want to help” and an answer to what may be a confusing or pressing issue.