HATE TO STUDY? YOU CAN STILL GET A LOT OUT OF COLLEGE

For Bippy

Many college students hate to study, I believe, because they don’t feel like they are in control. The teachers and the school seem to dominate their lives. If you are a student, these five rules are designed to give you a sense of control:

1. BE EARLY. Go to bed early. Get plenty of sleep. Go to class early. Sit in the front row. Take an interest in the subject, the material, and the assignments. When you get an assignment on Monday and it is due Wednesday, do it Monday afternoon. If it is due in three weeks, start on it today. Do it early. Hand it in early. This will give you a sense of control. You decide when to do it and when to hand it in. You can relax. The deadlines won’t stress you out if you are early. You will be on top of your studies instead of them being on top of you.
2. BE PRO-ACTIVE. Skim your textbooks and other material early in the process, whether it’s one assignment or the whole semester. Get an overview. Use the SQ3R method: Survey, Question, Read, Write, Review. Be an active learner. Survey the chapter headings in your textbook. Read the first sentence of each paragraph. Figure out what is important to your instructor and focus on that.
3. BE SELFISH. It’s your grade and your education and your future. Get what you want out of it. Establish your goals and your methods. Nobody else is going to do it for you. Nobody else is always going to be there for you. The only person who is always going to be there for you is you.
4. BE ORGANIZED. Do first things first. Set your priorities. Read “How To Get Control Of Your Time And Your Life” by Alan Lakein. Do your A-1 first.
5. BE GOAL-ORIENTED. Success in anything is like a sport. Go for the basket, the touchdown, the goal. Don’t stop until you get there. Start with your end-game. Think of the goal first. Never give up.

Nothing worthwhile comes easy. Success is going to be hard. If it was easy, everybody would do it. (Notice that they don't. They are too lazy, or too self-absorbed, or they don't care, or they are not academically adept.) Good luck. You will need it.  

-- Roger

Copyright © 2012, Roger R. Angle