Study Tips for College Students

These are practical tips to help you study more efficiently and improve your grade. Sadly, there are no free rides in college and you will have to earn that degree. However, most classes are not as tough as people would have them out to be and can be mastered if the material is studied correctly.

1. Avoid Burning Out

Ah, the bane of every college student: end-of-the-semester burnout. Common symptoms include apathy toward grades, missed assignments, skipped classes, and a complete and utter lack of motivation. Burnout is something that happens to even the best of students, and can be avoided.

Hit the ground running, yes, but not sprinting. Study for every class, but don’t try to read the entire textbook in a week. If outlining a chapter helps you study, then by all means, outline, but don’t also highlight important passages and work every single practice problem and research relevant topics. This all may sound like a fantastic way to work, and you may have A’s around the board, but come mid-semester, your eyes will begin to glass over when you see lecture notes, and your grades will suffer.

2. Stop Procrastinating

It’s been said before: it’s much easier to study for a test over several weeks than cram the night before. It’s almost cliché these days, but for a reason.

Cramming is no fun. You will arrive in class smelling of Cheetos and coffee with dark circles under your eyes for – listen closely – nothing. Studies have shown that even going without studying, or studying inadequate notes, is better than attempting an all-nighter the night before.

3. Know Your Professor

Two words: office hours. They are the best-kept secrets in college (even though professors have been known to jump up and down announcing them) and always work out in your best benefit. Think about it: a professor has set aside hours in which they promise to be sitting in their office waiting for you to swing by. It’s a fabulous concept, really; what a pity that students rarely utilize them.