HELLO EVERYONE, IT IS AUGUST!! Do you girls (and guys!) know what that means?? COLLEGE IS HERE! For most college students, except a few start on September, August means college is starting. This month will be full of good byes to your friends, family, and probably to healthy home-cooked meals. But do not be sad because you will say hello so homework, lectures, and countless hours of studying! (am I the only one that looks forward to these parts of college??) Here are some more college tips coming your way because I can never get enough of these!
Tip # 1 Get organized
People organize in different ways, one way that does not work is stuffing everything in one notebook and losing all your notes and assignments. Set up an organizational system and if it works that’s great, if it does not set up a different system.
What works well for me is one multi pocket folder (mine has 8 pockets) and an expandable notebook (mix between notebook and binder). I’ve had the multi pocket folder since high school (staples $7.99) and each class has its own pocket, some important classes, or those requiring a lot of effort have two. Secondly my expandable notebook (target $14.95) was a little pricey but you don’t have to buy notebooks ever again, just more paper, mine is a year old and still looks great! I have dividers and tabs to keep my classes separated. I love this because I always have my notes from every class with me!
Tip # 2 Read the syllabus
That grumpy and mean professor most likely gave you a paper the first day of class that you have thrown out or is somewhere in the back of your notebook. Dig it up and read it! Not only does it let you know how the professor runs his/her class it often tells you about about all the assignments, quizzes, and test. Put these in your agenda and you will not be the “there is a test today!?!?” kid. Also half the students (and the professor) will hate you for asking questions that are answered on the syllabus.
If you want to take the extra step, highlight the important parts of the syllabus (such as grading system) and keep it with your notes.
Tip # 3 Get an agenda
Agendas are great. You can use them to write down homework, quizzes, tests, work schedule, and your boy/girlfriend's birthday (but mostly the school stuff). If you know you won’t use an agenda, use an app on your phone, or paper that you know you won’t lose. I always forget to use my agenda so the first page in my expandable notebook is dedicated to all assignments and when they are due, color coded by class.
Tip # 4 Take notes
Seriously what is the point of going to class and just sit there? Get yourself some paper and colored pens and start writing stuff down! Even if you printed out the professor’s power point (which I highly recommend). Make it fun and colorful because it will make it less hellish to sit through a long lecture and they won’t be awful to review later.
Tip # 5 Set limits
You’re in college and all of a sudden you find yourself with many freedoms that you did not have before. You can eat all you want, sleep as much as you want, spend your money without your mother’s nagging, you can skip class, not do homework, and even not take tests. Everyone one has a weak point and everyone needs to set limits for themselves. If you hate going to class my advice is not “go to class” because you probably wont, my advice is set a limit. For example you can skip 3 classes a month. Other limits could be I only go out to eat twice a month or spend only $25 a month an alcohol (you know, if you’re 21 or older). Whatever your weakness is set a realistic limit and then make sure to not exceed that. But if you set a limit such as do not skip more than 25 classes a month it won’t help you much.
To help yourself keep these limits, write them down. Show them to your boy/girlfriend or friends and tell them to remind you to stay within the limits.
Tip # 6 Buy highlighters, pens, pencils…
Please, please, please listen to me! Buy a pencil case, just a cheap one (most stores you can get a cute one for a dollar) fill it up with highlighters (4 or 5 different colors), a pack of colored pens, some markers and colored pencils. Color coding is helpful in many ways.
When reading a text, short or long, it is super helpful if you highlight anything that seem important or that you want to remember. Then take out a cute colored pen and make a note in the margin of why you highlighted it. Do not make the mistake of just highlighting because later you will not remember what all the highlighting means. Also only highlight the most important stuff, I know I often make the mistake of over highlighting to the point where it does not even stand out anymore. If you are reading from a (text)book and you do not want to write in it use sticky note to indicate important words, phrases, or thoughts and write on the note why they were important.
For you notes you can use all the colors to keep things a little interesting. You can color code your notes in many different ways. You can use one color for the heading, one color for main ideas, one color for definitions, one color for examples, and so on. Or you can change each color as each topic changes. The possibilities are endless!
Lastly the markers and color pencils. These are the two that are a little less important than the pens and highlighters, but I still use them occasionally (especially science classes). Any diagram found in the textbook, notes, or powerpoints that are worth looking at I draw out on a piece of blank paper and I use the pencils and markers to color code the different parts. Then if any writing is required I do it in the same colors. This makes studying a lot easier.
That is all I have for today, but do not be alarmed I am sure I’ll be back with more!
Have fun in college everyone!
XOXO A
Tip # 1 Get organized
People organize in different ways, one way that does not work is stuffing everything in one notebook and losing all your notes and assignments. Set up an organizational system and if it works that’s great, if it does not set up a different system.
What works well for me is one multi pocket folder (mine has 8 pockets) and an expandable notebook (mix between notebook and binder). I’ve had the multi pocket folder since high school (staples $7.99) and each class has its own pocket, some important classes, or those requiring a lot of effort have two. Secondly my expandable notebook (target $14.95) was a little pricey but you don’t have to buy notebooks ever again, just more paper, mine is a year old and still looks great! I have dividers and tabs to keep my classes separated. I love this because I always have my notes from every class with me!
Tip # 2 Read the syllabus
That grumpy and mean professor most likely gave you a paper the first day of class that you have thrown out or is somewhere in the back of your notebook. Dig it up and read it! Not only does it let you know how the professor runs his/her class it often tells you about about all the assignments, quizzes, and test. Put these in your agenda and you will not be the “there is a test today!?!?” kid. Also half the students (and the professor) will hate you for asking questions that are answered on the syllabus.
If you want to take the extra step, highlight the important parts of the syllabus (such as grading system) and keep it with your notes.
Tip # 3 Get an agenda
Agendas are great. You can use them to write down homework, quizzes, tests, work schedule, and your boy/girlfriend's birthday (but mostly the school stuff). If you know you won’t use an agenda, use an app on your phone, or paper that you know you won’t lose. I always forget to use my agenda so the first page in my expandable notebook is dedicated to all assignments and when they are due, color coded by class.
Tip # 4 Take notes
Seriously what is the point of going to class and just sit there? Get yourself some paper and colored pens and start writing stuff down! Even if you printed out the professor’s power point (which I highly recommend). Make it fun and colorful because it will make it less hellish to sit through a long lecture and they won’t be awful to review later.
Tip # 5 Set limits
You’re in college and all of a sudden you find yourself with many freedoms that you did not have before. You can eat all you want, sleep as much as you want, spend your money without your mother’s nagging, you can skip class, not do homework, and even not take tests. Everyone one has a weak point and everyone needs to set limits for themselves. If you hate going to class my advice is not “go to class” because you probably wont, my advice is set a limit. For example you can skip 3 classes a month. Other limits could be I only go out to eat twice a month or spend only $25 a month an alcohol (you know, if you’re 21 or older). Whatever your weakness is set a realistic limit and then make sure to not exceed that. But if you set a limit such as do not skip more than 25 classes a month it won’t help you much.
To help yourself keep these limits, write them down. Show them to your boy/girlfriend or friends and tell them to remind you to stay within the limits.
Tip # 6 Buy highlighters, pens, pencils…
Please, please, please listen to me! Buy a pencil case, just a cheap one (most stores you can get a cute one for a dollar) fill it up with highlighters (4 or 5 different colors), a pack of colored pens, some markers and colored pencils. Color coding is helpful in many ways.
When reading a text, short or long, it is super helpful if you highlight anything that seem important or that you want to remember. Then take out a cute colored pen and make a note in the margin of why you highlighted it. Do not make the mistake of just highlighting because later you will not remember what all the highlighting means. Also only highlight the most important stuff, I know I often make the mistake of over highlighting to the point where it does not even stand out anymore. If you are reading from a (text)book and you do not want to write in it use sticky note to indicate important words, phrases, or thoughts and write on the note why they were important.
For you notes you can use all the colors to keep things a little interesting. You can color code your notes in many different ways. You can use one color for the heading, one color for main ideas, one color for definitions, one color for examples, and so on. Or you can change each color as each topic changes. The possibilities are endless!
Lastly the markers and color pencils. These are the two that are a little less important than the pens and highlighters, but I still use them occasionally (especially science classes). Any diagram found in the textbook, notes, or powerpoints that are worth looking at I draw out on a piece of blank paper and I use the pencils and markers to color code the different parts. Then if any writing is required I do it in the same colors. This makes studying a lot easier.
That is all I have for today, but do not be alarmed I am sure I’ll be back with more!
Have fun in college everyone!
XOXO A