How to Succeed in First

Year at University
ELEONORA PAOLETTI
How are you going to achieve your
goal?

 You must :

1. have a Purpose
2. find “Your” Motivation
3. stay Organized
4. Be able to Balance out your Life
5. not be afraid to seek Help
1. Have a Purpose

 A purpose is a set goal that one feels  Purpose:

he/she needs to achieve.
• What is your reason for being here?
 If you have a purpose, you know
• Why are you in University?
exactly where you want to be.
• Why are you taking this course?
 Your goal is to have a quality pass in
first year at university. That’s your • What do you aspire to be?
purpose, now work for it.
2. Find Your Motivation

 Your motivation whether you believe it

or not, is a strong determinant of
 Your motivation should be:
whether or not you will succeed in life.
• What inspires you.
 You might have a purpose but without
motivation, what is there to push you • What makes you want to wake up in
to give it your all? the morning.
 Motivation is the driving force. • What keeps you going.
 It is what makes you get out of bed in
the morning.
 It’s that powerful.
3. Stay Organized
 By being organized, you
allow yourself time to
produce quality work.
 Everyone is different and
learns differently, thus do
what works for you.
 Thus you should:
• Create a calendar with upcoming due dates,
weekly timetables and daily planners
• Allow time for you to rest then back to work
• Attend every single class
• Learn to prioritize and put what matters first
• Keep yourself on track. If you know you’re
behind then watch lecture videos and ask
questions.
4. Be able to Balance out your life

 The previous slide talked about being
organized yet some people forget
that the body needs time to rest and
relax.
 Learn to balance out your life and
allow time for your mind and body to
recover.
 You can do this by:
• Giving yourself a day a week where
you can relax and do things such as
spending time with family, go to the
gym, play sports, go to church etc.
• Give yourself a few breaks a day
• Keep yourself hydrated and well
nourished
5. Do not be afraid to seek Help.
 There is help for a reason.
 It is there for students to take full
advantage of it.
 We encourage you to use the services
provided whenever you feel the need.
 Please Don’t be shy, we are here to
support you in your journey.
 An example of support provided by
the University of Auckland is MAPAS:
• MAPAS provides financial, pastoral
and academic support for Māori and
Pasifika students who are in the field of
medicine and health sciences.
What must you avoid in order to
succeed?

 You must avoid:

1. Distractions
2. Negative thoughts
3. Reliance
4. Procrastination
5. Methods that don’t work for you
1. Avoid Distractions
 Distractions are at their highest when
one is feeling unmotivated or lazy.
 However, it is not healthy for a student
to study study study, it also increases
the chances of being distracted.
 Therefore, by studying and giving
yourself consistent breaks, it will
minimize distractions and allow your
mind to focus on a task at a time.
 Ways to minimize distractions:
• Turning off electronic devices or
putting them on silent
• Give yourself 10-15 minutes break
• Work at the library
• Walk around the room every hour
• If you’re working in groups avoid
people that tend to constantly distract
themselves.
2. Avoid Negative thoughts
 Students that receive their first bad
 Something that students don’t
necessarily notice is that by having a
mindset that discourages them is
usually the first step to their downfall.
 Staying positive is key to succeeding
especially in first year.
grade and have that negative
mindset of failing will find it harder to
achieve their goal. Whereas students
who see the bad grade and think
“okay I failed, what should I change or
what can I do to make sure this
doesn’t happen again?” are students
who remain positive and are problem
solvers. These students are most likely
to succeed.
3. Do Not Rely too much on others

 University life is very independent as

you will come to realize in your first
 We prefer that students learn to be
year.
independent by starting
 Reaching out for help when you need assignments/studying early on and by
it is normal and highly encouraged by ask questions about the
the University, however, developing a lecture/reading/assignment.
habit of constantly relying on others for
 This way students are learning in a
help has shown to be non beneficial.
more proactive and effective manner.
 By relying on others, students lose the
ability to prioritize and self control.
4. Do Not Procrastinate

 Procrastination is a common habit

amongst students that can usually be
 This means that students can do parts
difficult to avoid.
of an assignment at a time rather than
 Despite this students can avoid cramming a 20% essay the day before
procrastinating by starting an it’s due.
assignment early.
 Remember that quality work comes
 Now this does not mean that you must from having time review your work
finish the whole assignment weeks in and avoiding procrastination.
advance but instead, it allows time to
do the assignment piece by piece.
5. Avoid methods that don’t work for
you.
 As mentioned before, every student is
different and like to study differently.
 This is absolutely normal however, one
must find a method that truly works for
him/her. Even if it’s the least popular
method of studying.
 At the end of the day, lecturers may
encourage a method of studying but if
you cannot learn that way, it will only
affect you alone.
 Here are various study methods that
may assist you:
• Group study
• Private study
• Library study
• Taking notes (physically or electronically)
• Write summaries after each lecture
• Quiz yourself after each lecture
• Go over lecture videos etc.
“ You can’t give another human
the responsibility of your
happiness. That one is on you!
- TARAJI P. HENSON
”
Conclusion
Success is a mindset, so to succeed in first year, it is all up to you!