First Week of Class | So you've finally finalized which classes you're taking (yay!). Now it's time to take a look at each course's syllabus. Write down dates/times of midterms, papers and finals in your agenda. Take a look at the expected workload for each week. Are some weeks harder than others? Are there pop quizzes? Daily quick writes? Lots of reading? Make a note of anything- well- noteworthy. And don't lose the syllabi!
Before Class | Do the reading before class. I am not kidding. After making this a habit, classes became more interesting, I completely understood what the professor was saying and I felt way more confident participating during both lecture and discussion. While professors don't expect you to read every word, thoroughly read every text's introduction and conclusion, skimming important headings and introductory paragraphs throughout reading. If you're in a time crunch, this can be enough, however after lecture make sure to go back and fill in any details you missed. Often times things that confused you in lecture are things that confused you during the reading.
During Class | Take notes and participate!
Immediately After Class | Don't move. Spend 10-15 minutes reading all of the notes you took in class. Now is the time to highlight, add more information and come up with thoughtful questions about what you just heard. Studies show that retention rate is highest if you review something right after you learn it.
A Few Hours Later/The Next Day | Take a look at your notes with a refreshed set of eyes (preferably post-workout when oxygen is flowing to the brain, making it extra alert). Consider visiting office hours to clear up any remaining questions or attend a study group for your class to work collaboratively. Try some practice problems and make up sample test questions.
The Weekend | Tackle a lot Friday afternoon and Saturday before 5. I try to treat school like a 9 to 5 job. That way I can really let information sink in rather than spending all of Sunday in the library. I spend the weekend working on normal work, long term projects (see below) and filling out any applications I need (for clubs/internships etc). I also make a big to do list for errands I need to run off campus.
Papers | Within 48 hours of an essay prompt being assigned, come up with a list of at least 5 things to write about. Make sure everything is specific. Take your 3 best ideas to your professor during office hours to discuss. Often, professors have extra sources they can point you toward. First, roughly outline essays. If they essay is a research paper, incorporate evidence into the outline under appropriate headings. Work until an extremely rough draft is completed. This entire process should take maximum 3 days. Then wait at least 1 day before going back in to edit. I try to work on essay drafts every other day so I always have fresh eyes.
Midterm Period | Start 4 days before a mid term making flash cards or outlines and reviewing notes. Hopefully at this point you don't have to go back into readings/textbooks. Come up with test questions and answer them to prepare yourself for tests. Time yourself. The best way to prepare for a test is to take a lot of tests. Even if the questions are different, time pressure is always nerve wrecking.
Finals Week | Finals week is hard because there are so many tests happening in so many subjects at the same time. Rotate studying completely different subjects in different locations so information doesn't get confused. Take a break to grab a meal or work out between study sessions. Use the same midterm tips to help practice for written tests. Try to finish papers before finals if you can, or work on them as a "break" from studying for things that aren't open book/note.
Good luck!
xoxo