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College Study Tips
Study Tips -
Every student must learn how to effectively study if they want to be successful in college. What students don't always realize is that different people learn in different ways. It is beneficial if you understand how you interpret data.
We recommend that you take a few minutes to complete the Myers Briggs test http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp.
This is also a helpful website that will allow you to study based upon your results - http://www2.gsu.edu/~dschjb/wwwmbti.html.
After you have taken the Myers Briggs you can also incorporate these helpful tips into your study routine.
The most important factor to consider is to come up with a schedule to follow. If you have a schedule in place you are less likely to stress out if you follow it. Most college students stress out because they are juggling work, class, family commitment and study time. When schedules are followed, students are less likely to run out of time or stress and study at the last minute for exams.
Schedules allow you to save time in the long run. Schedules should include class time, labs, work, social time, sleep time, and personal time. It would be wise to invest in a PDA that allows you to schedule all 24 hours of your day with alarms that go off so that you do not forget important events. Most cell phones now have this capability and can easily entered.
Another important consideration when scheduling study time is to figure out when you are the most alert. Some student are night owls while others are morning people. Once you figure out when you are the most rested and alert try to schedule your classes and work around that.
Most students make the mistake of studying when they are tired or not rested which is wasteful because your body can not absorb all of the information.
Also, make an environment that is conducive to productivity and not distractions. If you study in bed you will more than likely fall asleep! Take all of these environmental factors into consideration.
Make sure you eat, or have a snack, or drink close by. Take breaks and surround yourself with anything that you need so that you do not become negative and irritable because studying is bad enough!
How to study -
Ok, so now that you have study times scheduled and have a good study environment established, its time to get to work! Study strategies are based on repetition.
You should be familiar with all of your class material by reading it, asking questions after you have read it, and taking notes on what it is you just read. Then when you go to class it should be re-enforced again. So by the time you get to studying it should all be a review!
It is ideal to follow this method but we all know how easily it is to not read ahead and fall behind. That is why you if you stick to a schedule you will really be saving yourself time in the long run and breaking up your study sessions. If you study too much at once it will be harder to comprehend and absorb but if you break it down you will be able to think about it more and ask questions.
When it comes time to memorize material for a test it is best to review your notes and recite the information. The best way to remember it is to connect the information with familiar things that you already know.
Once you have taken the time to review and recite then it is time to tests yourself to see how many things you have stored in your brain. Highlight the areas you had trouble with so you know which areas to go back and concentrate on.
Once, you develop a strategy that works for you then you can get an effective study routine down. Before you know it you will study more efficiently and faster as your classes get more challenging.
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