Guide to Being a Student How to Get the Most Out of the College Experience Developed and Designed by Birma Gainor

Introduction College is friendly. College is also COMPETITIVE. To get the most out of your experience, please read these suggested tips and steps. They will assist you in maximizing your college experience and taking skills from college to the job and other areas of your life.

Advice Overview Student Life Basics Self Discipline Time Management

Student Basics Prioritize your life. Doing well in school should be your top priority. Study: there is no substitute for studying. Not cheat sheets, not hint sheets, not tutoring. Just study. Always attend class. You cannot learn material that you do not see or hear.

Student Basics cont’ Do all of the homework and assigned reading. Practice makes perfect. PRACTICE. Develop self-discipline. No one looks over your shoulder to tell you what to do in college. Police yourself. Manage your time. Only you can decide what gets done and when.

Self Discipline Reason what you need to do. Form habits based on the reasons you need to do things. Your habits and reasoning should match. Self examine your behavior to make sure you are doing the things you have reason to do.

Self Discipline cont’ Mantra: You reason to do something, and thus you do it.

Self Discipline cont’ The more time spent working on self discipline, the less difficult it will become. Practice makes perfect. So practice, practice, practice.

Time Management Good time management involves these steps: Not taking on more than you can handle. Giving yourself enough time to get tasks done. Don’t cheat yourself; plan wisely and pad your time on important projects. Completing work instead of procrastinating.

Time Management Suggestions that may help you achieve time management: Do things in a timely fashion. Putting something off for later, when you have time now, only wastes time now AND later. If you’re not ahead of schedule, you’re behind schedule. If you are just on schedule, and you have an emergency (or mishap, or misjudgment), you will fall behind schedule and your problems will multiply.

Questions? Please talk to one of the staff members if you have more concerns or if you would like assistance. For more information, please see these other workshops: Personal Management Course Management Study Skills – Basic Study Skills, SQ3R, Quick Tips Testing – Test Taking Skills (Regular, Essary, Math), Test Anxiety