Making the Grade

You, your parents or some other generous individual paid big bucks for you to be where you are right now. You owe it to them and to your future to make studying a priority. Developing good study habits early on is the key to academic success.

“Get off on the right foot,” advises Sherrie Nist-Olejnik, co-author of College Rules!: How to Study, Survive and Succeed in College and professor emeritus at the University of Georgia. “Go to every class. Stay current with assignments. Figure out you’re your professors expect from you. If you start off right, you’ll finish right. If you start out a slacker, it will be hard to get back on track.”

If might be helpful to rank your courses by difficulty and then allot weekly study time to each accordingly. For example, an “easy” class may require only two to four hours a week, while another might require an hour or more every day, including weekends. Over time, you’ll figure out how many hours of study you need to put into a particular course to get the grade you’re looking for.

Try different study environments to find what works best for you. For example, you may work better at the library than alone in your room. Or you might be able to study certain subjects with music on, while others require complete silence. For especially hard classes, consider joining a study group so you can discuss difficult concepts with others and stay motivated.

Most importantly, surround yourself with like-minded individuals. It’s hard enough sticking to a study plan on your own—you don’t need peer pressure luring you away from your work!