MOM’S RULES FOR SUCCESS in COLLEGE

1.      Go to Class. Every Day. No Matter What.

2.      Sit in the front of the class. No matter what.

3.      Introduce yourself to the instructor.

4.      Read the syllabus

a.      Highlight the following

                                                    i.     Teacher’s office hours

                                                   ii.     Double check required texts

                                                  iii.     Important dates

                                                  iv.     Read over grading policies

5.      TAKE notes in class. If the professor writes it on the board, you should write it down, too. If it suits your learning style and your professor is ok with it, record the class. Then you can listen to the recording as you are re-writing your notes.

6.      GET a good calendar. Paper or electronic, whichever you are more comfortable with. Advantages of paper -  writing things down helps you remember them. Advantages of electronic – you can set alerts and alarms. Bottom line – find one you like because if you don’t like it, you won’t use it and you MUST use it.

7.      STUDY - Plan on spending an hour (at least) studying for every hour you spend in the classroom. If you are in class three hours a week for econ 110, then you should spend at least 3 hours studying. 

a.      But what do I do when there is nothing to study?  It’s early in the semester and I don’t have a lot to do. My mid-term is weeks away and my big project is not due until week 12. What am I supposed to study?

                                                    i.     Recopy your notes. In long hand.

                                                   ii.     Read ahead in the book.

                                                  iii.     Prepare for what’s coming by looking ahead on the syllabus.

b.      Find a PLACE to study

c.      READ the book.

8.      Figure out how long projects, papers and assignments will take you to complete. Over-estimate rather than under-estimate. (This one is from my son who just completed his freshman year).

9.      USE the calendar you select. Time management is THE key to success. It is possible that you will have a different schedule every single day. Look at your weekly schedule and block out your study time in advance.

a.      If attending a weekly social event is important, then get your work done before.

b.      Be realistic about social events. Do not plan on getting up Saturday or Sunday morning to study. It might happen, but it probably won’t.

c.      Treat your study time as critical and as important as class.

10.   EXPLORE this list of FREE helpful websites (and others) I almost didn’t include this list, because it changes so quickly and there are so many really good sites out there. But I gave it a start anyway.

a.      Bibliography sites- there are a number of these including http://www.bibme.org/ and http://www.easybib.com. Find one you like, create an account and learn how to use it.

b.      Cheatography – (http://cheatography.com) this site is a library of cheat sheets for a wide variety of subjects. The cheat sheets can be a great starting point for developing a study guide or review sheet.

c.      Flashcard sites make memorization fun. Or at least tolerable. Quizlit.com

d.      Coggle.it - a web-based mind-mapping tool.

e.      CLOUD storage – pick one and use. Save EVERYTHING you do to cloud storage. There is nothing worse than a hard drive crash 24 hours before your big project is due. Dropbox.com, icloud.com, or onedrive.com

f.       Habitica.com – I’m not a gamer, but my sons are. Habitica may be just what you need. It "gamifies" your life by turning all your tasks (habits, dailies, and to-dos) into little monsters you have to conquer.

g.      Wolframalpha - http://www.wolframalpha.com  This one is not completely free (sorry!) but is only about $5/month for PRO access and could be a game changer. It provides step-by-step directions for solving all kinds of equations.

h.      Get familiar with some tutorial/learning support sites such as lynda.com, learningdashboard.com, and khanacademy.com. Also, check out coursera.com for another option.