Royane Real

By Julie Samuel  

Setting off to college for the first time in life can be a daunting ordeal for student; leaving home, being away from friends and family, learning to cook, fending for yourself, sharing a dorm room, the list goes on and on.

On top of all this, where are you going to find not only the time but the motivation to study and pass your exams?

To help you out, below you can find our top 10 study tips which if you follow are sure to make your freshman year that little bit easier.

1. Work life balance

First off, it is important that you understand that you need not dedicate your entire life to study, in-fact it would be unhealthy to do so!

That’s not to say you should be out partying every night (although the temptation too to so will be very high). It is important to find a healthy balance of work and play.

Make sure that you are on top of your work load but also make sure you allocate time to doing the things you love to do. Set yourself work goals to complete and then give yourself rewards for completing them.

2. Plan

So this brings us on to our next point, college life is going to be busy, where are you going to find the time to attend all your classes, study, socialise, play sport, cook and so on?

At first it can all seem a bit over whelming, but if you sit down and plan it all out, you will soon realise you have more time then you think.

Start with a blank piece of paper, write down all the tasks you have to complete each week, each month and each semester. Once you have your list, begin to prioritize them.

Then get an A4 sheet of paper and create 7 columns (one for each day of the week) and 16 rows (one for each hour of the day).

Using this weekly planner you can begin to mark down when your classes are, and then begin to allocate lectures, time for study slots, socialising etc. This is your general week by week planner.

Now for bigger tasks, buy a calendar and highlight all assignments and exams and allocate any study/revision days that you need to do leading up to these exams.

Planning allows you to maximize the time you have available. Having both the weekly planner and your calendar on your wall will enable to plan your weeks and see exactly what deadlines you have coming up. If you are true to yourself and stick to what you have agreed upon, you will pass your exams and have time to do all the fun things you enjoy in life.

3. Understand what motivates you

One of the biggest reasons college students drop out in their first year is due to too much partying!

A big reason that college students especially freshman’s give in to temptation is a lack of motivation to study. This point is very important - your success at college is very closely linked to your motivation to learn.

The key lies in understanding that you are mostly driven by emotional needs and not necessarily logical ones.

It is logical to go to college; however it is my emotional reasons that will motivate and see me through my study and exams.

So as a student you need to find a deep emotional reason for achieving success otherwise all logic can go out of the window.

Once you know this, you will have the motivation to study. Ask yourself; what is my emotional reason for being here, what do I ultimately want college to give me?

4. Study Resources

Make use of all study resources on and off campus. On-campus; labs, videos, computers and tutors.

Be sure to sign up for any orientation sessions on your campus. Get to know the key people that will be vital to your success – students and professors.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you are unsure. There are plenty of resources to help you off-campus; Google is your gateway to the world’s information.

As with everything, try to get a different perspective on a topic, websites like Wikipedia provide accurate accounts on virtually any subject, other websites allow you to buy research material and college essays to provide you with a different point of view on a topic. When using such websites - do not pass the work off as your own; they are intended for additional research only.

About the author:  Triathlon fan looking to get faster.  Used to write music reviews.  Would love some peace and quiet, once in a while.  Give me fine dining and some wine and I'm happy. 

Article source:  www.goarticles.com 

Read part two of this article at this address:  http://www.royane.com/articles/get-smarter/795-top-10-study-tips-for-college-freshmen-this-year--part-two 

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