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Keys to College Success

by Henry Roberts

(1) At the start of Ericas first semester in college, one of her professors handed out a
test schedule on the first day of class. The schedule showed that a one- hour exam
would be given on October 2the first test in the course. Erica scanned the sheet, stuck it
in one of her textbook, and promptly forgot about it. She assumed that the professor would
give the class several reminders about the test and that he would go over the materials the
students needed to know. As time went by, and nothing was said about the test, she
assumed the professor had changed his mind. On October 2, Erica received a rude
awakening in the form of five closely typed sheets of paper containing fifty tough questions
on the assigned readings and on the lectures the professor had given. Erica was in shock.
How could he give us a test without reminding us? She thought. Its not fair to announce
a test four weeks in advance and expect us to remember the date and study for the test on
our own! Erica was outraged. She didnt do well on the test, to put it kindly.
(2) During that year, Erica learned other shocking things in college, many of them
having to do with taking on responsibility without being prompted or reminded. Ericas
experiences are similar to those of many other college students. Such students never
acquire the necessary keys to college success.
(3) The first key to succeeding in college is taking control of your time. This means
knowing what you have to do and planning ahead for classes, projects, and test. One
important means of time control is using a large monthly calendar to give you an at- a-
glance view of due dates and other special events. Keeping the calendar blocks in a place
where you will see it often can prevent you from losing track of time and being surprised by
the nearness of your term paper due date or biology midterm. Another means of time
control is making up a weekly study schedule. In other words, plan specific blocks of time
during your week when you will study. In making a weekly schedule, first fill in the hours
when you have unbreakable commitments to class time, work time, and so on. Then look
for chunks of free time at least one hour longthat you can use for studying. A study
schedule can help you make efficient use of your time by capturing those free hours that
would otherwise drift away, leaving you wondering why you accomplished so little. A final
method of time control is a to- do list. On a to- do list, you jot down the goals you want
to accomplish during the day, or over the next several days. Such a list might contain
reminders on everything for buying a record album to reading Chapter 3 of your
psychology text. A to- do list brings together all the stray I have to ! ideas that cross
your mind each day. Crossing items of a to- do list can give you a real feeling of
satisfaction. You also have the pleasant sensation that you are controlling your tasks and
responsibilities, not the other way around.


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(4) Making a strong start at the beginning of each new semester is another key to
college success. Wasting time at the start of the term and then trying to play catchup is
a sure route to failure in college. Making a strong start means being disciplined enough to
study, read, and initiate time-control measures even though Its only the first week or I
dont have a test for three weeks. You have to go prepared to those first classes by being
ready to take notes. You should buy your books right away, despite the long line at the
bookstore. In addition, you should find out the names and phone numbers of one or two
people in each class, so you can borrow their notes if you miss class. Another part of
making a strong start is given some though to those end-of-the-semester papers and
projects, even if December or May seems incredibly far away. It takes additional energy to
do some early research in the library, and it takes some initiative to discuss a term paper
idea early on with a professor, but getting off to a quick start has important benefits. You
space out your work, for one thing, so that you dont face a marathon week of putting
together a project or paper, and you relieve this psychological pressure you feel when you
put off tasks until the job seems overwhelming.
(5) A third key to success in college is to brush up on or learn study skills. Study
skills include knowing how to take class notes; how to read texts skillfully by previewing,
marking, and taking notes on them; and how to study for objective or essay exams.
Without these vital skills, the time you spend attending class and studying may be of little
help in earning a good grade. Just as you have to learn new skills on a job, you have to
learn the skills needed to do well in college. Some students know these skills by the time
they arrive on a college campus they may have been taught them in high school or
picked them up on their own. Other students slide by in high school without knowing
these skills and, because they have a high school diploma, feel they are equipped for
college. They arent. College lectures cover more information, and with more
sophistication, than high school lectures. College textbooks are harder to read; they bristle
with dozens of new terms and present difficult theories and concepts. College test are
tougher, and they are graded according to higher standards. Only a firm grasp of study
skills will enable you to survived, and succeed, in this setting. If you feel that your study
skills are weak, get help immediately. Most colleges have study skills, workshops or
courses, so take advantage of them. Campus learning or tutoring centers often have
guides to college study skills free for the asking. And campus bookstores carry many
books that can help you learn and practice essential study and reading skills.
(6) A final key to college success is learning the art of concentration. This ability seems
to get more difficult every year; television rarely challenges its viewers to watch anything
that requires concentration or to give a subject more than ten minutes worth of attention at
a time. And much of the reading we do in daily life requires less concentration than ever:
newspapers specialize in brief stories with limited vocabularies and many color pictures;
books on the best seller list are filled with cartoons, jokes, and diagrams of exercises
techniques. Switching from this kind of mental fluff to the intense concentration needed to
study college material is indeed a challenge.

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(7) You can take several steps to improve your concentration. If your ability to
concentrate is flabby, these moves will get you into shape. First, have a positive attitude
toward studying. No matter how unattractive your task seems, think of it as a means to a
goal that is important to you getting a college degree. Next, keep yourself in good
physical shape. Exhaustion or illness effectively shuts down your ability to concentrate.
Also create a good study environment. Have a place in your dorm room, apartment, or
house where you keep all your class related materials and where you have the basics for a
productive study session: a good light, paper, pens, a typewriter, a calculator, and so on.
You will save yourself time if your setting is well-equipped, and your concentration will not
be interrupted because you have to find a notepad. Before you begin to study, jot down a
brief list of goals for the study session. For example, you might write: (1) Read Chapter 10
in soc., (2) Memorize definitions for chemistry, (3) Rough draft of English essay. Having
specific, doable goals can make the session less intimidating. Finally, keep control of your
ability to concentrate by noticing when your mind wanders and the conscious effort needed
to pull it back. This can be done as simply as making a check mark with a pencil,
whenever you find your mind losing concentration. The deliberate effort to begin
concentrating again should strengthen your ability and make concentration for longer
periods possible.
(8) Knowing how to take control of your time, make a strong start at the beginning of
each semester, practice study skills, and concentrate effectively are the four keys to
success in school. If you make the effort to use these keys, you will open the door to the
kind of life you want.











Reading and Study Improvement, 4/e, Lenier/Maker, 1998.
http://www.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/app/ecentral/1review/1review.htm#