If you want to help your college-bound child learn how to study effectively as possible so they can reach their full potential now, and later when they head off to college, one of the best things you can do is help them to learn how they can deal with the various distractions that could make studying difficult.
With that in mind, here are some of the most common study distractions and what you can do about them:
Continue reading 5 Common Study Distractions (and how to help)
It takes years of hard work to get into college and on the path to your dream career. If you’ve made it to college, congratulations are in order – you’ve passed high school and got onto the course you need to be on. Of course, once you’re in college there’s a lot of pressure to do well. Most of the pressure comes from the worry of not getting high enough grades, as college classes are a lot harder than high school ones. The difference in the level of learning can be a shock to the system when you first start college.
A lot of college students struggle to get the grades that they need, so if you’re finding it hard, you’re not alone. The good news is that in most cases, there are plenty of ways you can help to improve your grades. You’ll be amazed at how making a few small changes can have a big impact on how well you excel in college. Take the below tips on board and you can give your grades the boost that they need.
This might be an obvious one, but it needs to be said. Lots of students skip classes and then wonder why they struggle to achieve good grades. If you want to do well at college, you need to attend all of your classes. Unless you’re sick, you have no excuse for not being there. If you’re serious about getting high grades, you need to make an effort to attend every class.
Copying your friend’s notes won’t let you catch up properly, as there will always be little things that you miss. The slides from the lecture might be uploaded onto the college internet, but that still won’t allow you to catch up completely. In class, there will be discussion, examples, and so on, that if you’re not there, you will miss. It’s simple, if you want to do well, you need to attend each and every class.
Every lecturer or professor has a different method of teaching. If you’re going to do well, you need to make an effort to understand each lecturer’s way of teaching. Each professor wants something different from their students, so finding out what this is early, is a must. You’ll find that by understanding what your lecturers want from you, you’ll do better in their classes.
Your grades aren’t just down to assignments but also your in-class contribution. So it’s essential that you know what your professors want from you. Else, you could get marked down because you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be. Don’t be afraid to tell your professor that you’re struggling to keep up – they’re there to help you.
Being a successful college student is all about learning to multi-task, and the key to this is organization. The chances are that at any one time, you’ll have various assignments to work on. That’s why it’s so important that you’re organized about your studies. Else, you’ll end up being overwhelmed with due dates and work that needs to be done; you might even forget something. If you’re organized about your studies, you can ensure that you spend adequate time working on each task. You won’t need to stress about forgetting anything, as you’ll have everything under control.
The best tools for staying organized while at college have to be planners. Day planners are fantastic as they allow you to schedule your classes, assignments dates, and any other tasks you need to do. There’s also room to jot down when you’re working. This allows you to ensure that you’re on top of everything and that nothing important gets missed out.
This links to organization. If you want to ensure that your grades are good, you need to use your time wisely. Of course, having a planner to schedule your time helps with this, but that’s not all it takes. In periods of free time, if you have a task to do, complete it. Don’t waste your time, use every minute wisely.
Of course, you need time to chill out and see your friends, but that shouldn’t take up a large part of your day. You need to prioritize your time, so that your studies always come first. It’s also important to break big projects into smaller parts, and schedule time to focus on each part. This makes getting the work done easier, as it won’t be too overwhelming.
Another important reason for ensuring that you’re in every class is taking notes. If you want to ensure that you remember everything from the lecture, you need to note the important things down. This will mean that when you come to write an assignment, you can look back at the notes you’ve taken in class about the topic.
After class, it’s worth typing up your notes. For each class, write the notes up on your computer and save them in a file with the module name. That way, should you lose your notebook, you’ll have all your notes safely stored. You could opt to print them out for revision and use them to make mind maps and memory cards.
A large chunk of your overall grade is down to your essays and assignments. This means that if you want to do well, you need to ensure that your writing is at a high standard. It’s not just about improving your writing style and tone; you also need to think about your punctuation and grammar. To improve your punctuation and grammar, Grammarly is a fantastic tool for checking your work. It points out any errors and makes suggestions of what you should change them to.
If you struggle when it comes to finding essay topics, you can find help online. (A lot of professors only give an outline of what they want, and ask students to choose the topic themselves.) There are examples of good argumentative essay topics online, as well as examples of various assignments. These can be incredibly helpful when it comes to improving your essay writing.
Last but not least, buy the recommended books. Your professors will give you a reading list for a reason, so make sure to take advantage of it. The books on the list might be expensive, but they’re worth investing in, especially if you want to do well. They’re a great source of research and are ideal for looking up anything from your classes that you’re unsure about.
If you can’t afford to buy them, most of the recommended books will be available in your campus library. Or you could consider getting them second hand from older students or online. Don’t let the cost hold you back, get the books that you need to be successful.
Hopefully, this advice will help to improve your grades and get you the degree that you need.
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One of the unnamed difficulties of college is the allocation of resources and time. All too often, students are blindsided by the sudden responsibility of managing and scheduling their classes, courses and homework dates without any overseeing parental body to guide their hand. The proper management of time can impact the success of academic and social lives, while the mismanagement of the many distractions and temptations will result in a convolution of unmet deadlines, incomplete assignments, and a schedule that always seems to be one step ahead of the output.
The college compromise means finding a way to have your personal time and your academic time with their own allotted schedules and time frames. A successful college experience doesn’t have to mean focusing on studies without enjoying the social niceties, or conversely, partying without bothering to practice and study for assignments and tests. As with much in life, moderation is a key. Managing academic chores in one hand with personal choices in the other is the kind of mature grace that the most successful students exhibit.
Of course, some of this comes from proper preparation. Making sure that you have all the materials you need to take notes, investing in a laptop ahead of time, installing note taking software, all of this can be worthwhile. The same goes for how you manage the logistics of living on or off-campus. For instance, Off Campus Living can provide a very worthwhile alternative to mature students looking for a more peaceful, mature approach to studying and university life, rather than jumping in with the ‘freshers experience’ and ‘party accommodation blocks’ we hear so much about.
Here’s a great article for your college-bound teen about STAYING ORGANIZED in college. This is one of my favorite topics for parent college coaches as well. It’s the only way to avoid feeling overwhelmed!
Getting to school means … being slapped in the face with a semester’s worth of work. Stacks of syllabi have you overwhelmed? Breathe. We show you how to manage.
You’ve been on the college scene for a few weeks, having the time of your life and wondering what all the university hype is about. So far, all you’ve had to do for your grades’ sake is skim some course readings and listen to a few professors babble in the lecture hall. But then … BAM! After an enlightening series of classes one fine Monday, you realize you’ve got a biology exam and two 1,000-word essays on Homer and Joyce due — all by the end of the week.
Uh-huh. This scenario is all too common, even among seasoned students.
Sure, you can survive it, even if it means pulling a few all-nighters. But if you always let everything pile up until crunch time, your grades will eventually suffer. And so will you.
So how can you avoid epic battles with tests and deadlines so you don’t become a scholastic casualty? Stop stressing. Now. You can tackle time management and stay organized so your course work doesn’t get the better of you. Here’s how:
• Stay on top of things! May sound like a no-brainer, but no kidding: If you don’t want schoolwork to pile up, you need to actively be aware of when it’s due. Pick up a portable planner — or if you’re computer-oriented, try an app like Google Calendar, which also conveniently syncs with your Gmail account — and copy the entire semester’s worth of assignments, exams and due dates into it from each class’s syllabus. And while we’re on the subject, be sure to carefully read all your syllabi. You may find sneaky stuff hidden in there, like “one full letter-grade drop for every unexcused absence” (true story). It’s better to know sooner rather than later.
• Got notes? When you’re trying to figure out what’s crucial to know for a test or how to arrange course content into a viable essay, having good notes can be a real lifesaver, so pick up a few loose-leaf notebooks for jotting down info. We don’t recommend taking notes on your laptop — you risk getting distracted by the Internet and missing most of what’s said. Besides, paper provides a much more harmless way of keeping you entertained during idle moments (i.e., doodling).
• Beating writer’s block When it comes to writing essays, getting those first couple of sentences down — or even just making an outline — can be a challenge, especially if it’s your first assignment. David Uskovich, a writing consultant at the University of Texas-Austin’s writing center stresses the importance of research: “It can put you in conversation with the material you’re trying to cover, which will help you make some connections so you’ll have something to start from when you actually sit down to write the paper.”
Freelance writer Lauren Brown, whose first young-adult novel is due out in the fall of 2010, offers this useful tip: “When I was in college at University of South Florida and had a paper due, there was nothing worse than staring at a blank computer screen and feeling like I had no thoughts in my head. The secret is to slowly condition your brain to start flowing by simply taking a few minutes to write via stream of consciousness. Just write down anything that comes to mind, even if you literally keep writing over and over, ‘Nothing is coming to mind.’ Eventually, your brain will warm up and more fluid sentences will emerge. After maybe 15 minutes or so of doing this, try again to start your paper. You’ll notice that you feel a bit more focused, way more relaxed, a little more creative and a lot less overwhelmed. Anytime you get stuck, just take a break and repeat this exercise.”
• Outwit exams College tests come in many shapes and sizes, but as a general rule, liberal arts classes usually stick to short-answer and essay-oriented exams, while math and sciences often lean toward a multiple-choice format. For essay exams, it helps to find out beforehand from your professor or T.A. what the test will cover. It never hurts to ask them point-blank a couple of days before the test.
Third-year UT-Austin biology major Ben Cox points out that you can sometimes find many multiple-choice test questions from homework of previous years: “Math and science professors often take the basic idea of homework questions, even optional homework, and tweak only a few figures, leaving the concepts tested by the question intact.”
If you can get your hands on exams from previous semesters, these can also be helpful. Just ask around to find out who’s taken the class before you, or find out if your professor posts old exams on the course Web site. (Note: As long as you’re not memorizing answers, we don’t count this as cheating, but check out your school’s policy to avoid things like, duh, expulsion.)
“While the questions and even content might vary some from year to year, knowing the way your professors format their tests will do wonders for your preparedness,” says Cox.
So there you have it. Just by being organized and putting forth the effort to adequately prep for tests and assignments, you’ll be able to get more z’s … and more A’s — which is sure to put you on good terms with the parentals. And that always comes in handy, of course, whenever you want an “extra something.”