Study Prof

School approacheth, and that right soon! Time to get organized and aggressive. Don’t make the mistake sooo many students make and wait until three weeks into the semester to get started. Here are some things every student should do (this means YOU)…

1. Get cracking. Mom ain’t looking over your shoulder (for most of us at least). Take responsibility for your studies. Be proactive. Make a todo list. Get a calendar. GET IT DONE before crunch time.
2. Get organized. Have a file for every class. That file should have space to take notes and pockets for collecting handouts. As soon as you can, get the syllabus (most profs have them online, so there is no need to wait until the first day of class), and add important dates to your semester calendar.
3. Get your textbooks. If you have them now it means less to do when classes start. If you (wisely decide to) order used textbooks online, you’ll have more of a chance of getting a deal, before all the good used copies are snapped up.
4. Get to studying. You read right. Start reading and taking notes NOW. Beat the rush while things are still slowly amping up. A little study each day now saves scads o’ time later. Remember to only put one big idea/main topic on each page of notes and to leave plenty of blank space (even skipping lines) so later in class you can add in lecture notes easily and keep all those big ideas together.
5. Get to class. Get in the habit of going to every single class no matter how stultifying it may be. If the prof reads right out of the textbook, then take your study materials and consider it scheduled study time. Skipping class almost always costs you more time than it saves you.
6. Get a bead on the professor. In the first few classes, decide if this prof is worth sticking with. Are they organized? Is their accent understandable? Are they too hard or too easy? You may be better off dropping the class and picking another this semester. But don’t wait until three weeks into the class. Make the decision ASAP!
7. Get a study hideout. Find a place to study where you won’t be distracted by; food, friends, electronic entertainment, noise, etc. Locate your hideout now and begin using it religiously. It’s one of the best ways there is to make yourself focus and get to work.

BONUS: Get help. School is easy (or at least, easier) if you do it right. There’s no reason for you to continue to waste time taking ineffective notes or to struggle with procrastination and lack of focus. Take time now, BEFORE classes start, to discover the Secrets Smart Students Know.