Chapter Eight Academic Survival Skills

Study Skills  For most students time is the greatest issue.  The first rule to follow is to allow two or three hours outside of class for every hour you spend in class.  Laboratory hours are an exception.  Mathematics is the language for electrical and computer engineering.

Study Skills  For a full time student registered for 17 credit hours that include 1 lab credit, the lower limit for outside work is 32 hours and the upper limit is 48 hours for each week, adding the actual class time the limits are 51 and 67 hours.  For a working student this load has to be reconsidered.  A typical example of a student time table is given in table 8.2

Study Skills  The time available each day was arbitrary selected as 8:00 A.M. until 10:00 P.M. a 14-hr day (could be shifted upward or down word depending on whether you are “ early ” person or a “ late ” person.  To fill the holes in the schedule, find a quiet place where you can study (library)

Study Skills  Make up a schedule that shows you studying the same course at the same time each week. Doing the same thing on a regular schedule will program your mind to be ready to work on that subject.  Filling the holes in this way you will end up with 50 hours assuming you need a total of one and a half hours for lunch and dinner each day you end up with 43 hours out of the 48hours limit you need.  Most of the work will be done on week days leaving the weekends free.

Study Skills  Most of your courses will require weekly homework, reports or reading assignments. It is best to start on them on the first available study period. This will help you solve the problems you encounter early.  Visit the professors during their office hours if you have extended questions about their class.

Study Skills  Be sure that you know the deadline for dropping courses, it is better to drop one or two classes that are requiring too much time to be able to focus on the classes you are doing well in.  If you think that full load is too much for you, cut back on your hours each semester, and use the summer semester to maintain the required pace.

Study Skills  When taking an exam your objective is simply to make as many points as possible to improve your grade.  In technical courses the following strategy is helpful 1.Determine whether all problems have to be solved or whether you have a choice of the problems to be solved. 2.Determine whether the exam is open book or closed book to help you prepare well.

Study Skills  Open book exams are not necessarily easier, you cannot waste exam time looking up the information you need.  To get as many points as possible start by reading the whole test, and begin solving the easiest problems first, leaving the hardest ones for last.  Divide the exam time by the number of points do not give a problem more than its budget, so that you do not lose yourself in a problem and fail to attempt others.  Use the extra time to check your answers.

Study Skills  For problems having numerous parts, solve the parts in the given order since the answer from one part may be needed in the following parts.  If the exam is multiple-choice solve the problem and decide on the answer before looking at the available choices, if you do not find your answer move to the next question. At the end go back to the questions you left. Pay attention that you may be penalized for wrong answers.  Before choosing “ all of the above ” or “ non of the above ”, make sure it fits all the answers.

Study Skills  During classes learn how to outline the material presented, this will make you an active participant in the lecture, your notes will be more valuable for studying later, this will also give you skills for note making during meetings in your future career.  Read all textbook problems not just those assigned for homework, you will uncover information that will help you better understand the text material.

Group Work  Find friends with whom you can work homework problems and ask each other questions. This can be done online.  Most of the engineering work is done in groups, so it is important to learn to work with a group.  In Group projects, each team member is expected to handle a reasonable proportionate amount of total work.

Group Work  Group projects often fail because one or more members fail to take their responsibility seriously.  In college this will get you low grades or even failing grades, but in the real world it may cost you your job and your professional reputation.  Your college GPA will get you your first job, after that your job performance will be the criterion by which you will be judged for future jobs.

Writing and Presentations  Look for opportunities to practice your presentation skills.  Join the IEEE chapter.  Some major companies consider communications skills to be more important than technical skills.  Give special attention to your classes and to the communication skills class.

Networking  Networking is the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions.  s allow you to share information and ideas with friends who live anywhere in the world.

Accessing Information  To encounter a new problem, the wisest way is to make a literature search to find out if someone has previously worked on the same problem.  All technical literature is available in your local library if you know how to find it.  The reference librarian will be of great help to you.  Much of the recent technical literature is available on-line. One excellent source is Engineering Index.