how to make it in college - ing i - 2012 - letras 2-0

5/28/2018 How to Make It in College - InG I - 2012 - Letras 2-0

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How to Make It in College, Now That You're Here

Brian O'Keeney

he author of this selection presents a compact guide to being asuccessful student. He will show you how to pass tests, how toavoid becoming a student zombie, how to find time to fit ineverything you want to do, and how to deal with personal problemswhile keeping up with your studies. hese and other helpful tipshave been culled from the author's own experience and his candidinterviews with fellow students.

Today is your first day on campus. You were a high school senior three

months ago. Or maybe you've been at home with your children for the last ten

years. Or maybe you work full time and you're coming to school to start the

process that leads to a better job. Whatever your background is, you're probably

not too concerned today with staying in college. fter all, you just got over the

hurdle !and the paperwork" of applying to this place and organi#ing your life so

that you could attend. nd today, you're confused and tired. $verything is a

hassle, from finding the classrooms to standing in line at the bookstore. %ut read

my advice anyway. nd if you don't read it today, clip and save this article. Youmight want to look at it a little further down the road.

%y the way, if this isn't your very first day, don't skip this article. &aybe

you haven't been doing as well in your studies as you'd hoped. Or perhaps

you've had problems juggling your work schedule, your class schedule, and

your social life. f so, read on. You're about to get the inside story on making it in

college. On the basis of my own e(perience as a final)year student, and after

do#ens of interviews with successful students, 've worked out a no)fail system

for coping with college. These are the inside tips every students needs to do well

in school. 've put myself in your place, and 'm going to answer the *uestions

that will cross !or have already crossed" your mind during your stay here.

What's the Secret of Getting Good Grades?

t all comes down to getting those grades, doesn't it+ fter all, you came

here for some reason, and you're going to need passing grades to get the credits

or degree you want. &any of us never did much studying in high school most of

the learning we did took place in the classroom. -ollege, however, is a lot

different. You're really on your own when it comes to passing courses. n fact,

sometimes you'll feel as if nobody cares if you make it or not. Therefore, you've

got to figure out a study system that gets results. ooner or later, you'll be alone

with those books. fter that, you'll be sitting in a classroom with an e(am sheet

on your desk. Whether you stare at that e(am with a *ueasy stomach or whip


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through it fairly confidently depends on your study techni*ues. &ost of the

successful students talked to agreed that the following eight study tips deliver

solid results.

/. Set Up a Study Place.Those students you see 0studying0 in the cafeteria orgame room aren't learning much. You just can't learn when you're distracted

by people and noise. $ven the library can be a bad place to study if you

constantly find yourself watching the clouds outside or the students walking

through the stacks. t takes guts to sit, alone, in a *uiet place in order to

study. %ut you have to do it. 1ind a room at home or a spot in the library

that's relatively *uiet)and boring. When you sit there, you won't have much to

do e(cept study.

2. Get into a Study Frame of Mind.When you sit down, do it with the attitude

that you're going to get this studying done. You're not going to doodle inyour notebook or make a list for the supermarket. 3ecide that you are going

to study and learn now, so that you can move on to more interesting things

as soon as possible.

4. Give Yourself e!ards.f you sweat out a block of study time, and do a good

job on it, treat yourself. You deserve it. You can 0psych0 yourself up for

studying by promising to reward yourself afterward. present for yourself

can be anything from a favorite T5 show to a rela(ing bath to a dish of double

chocolate ice cream.

6. S"im the #e$t%oo" First. 7ots of students sit down with an assignment

like 08ead chapter five, pages /29)/9:0 and do just that. They turn to page /29

and start to read. fter a while, they find that they have no idea what they just

read. 1or the last ten minutes, they've been thinking about their five)year)old or

what they're going to eat for dinner. $ventually, they plod through all the pages

but don't remember much afterward.

n order to prevent this problem, skim the te(tbook chapter first. This means;

look at the title, the subtitles, the headings, the pictures, the first and last

paragraphs. Try to find out what the person who wrote the book had in mindwhen he or she organi#ed the chapter. What was important enough to set off as a

title or in bold type+ fter skimming, you should be able to e(plain to yourself

what the main points of the chapter are. o back over the material after you've read it, and jot down key words

and phrases in the margins. When you review the chapter for a test, you'll have

handy little things like 0definition of rationali#ation0 or 0e(ample of assimilation0

in the margins. f the material is especially tough, organi#e a separate sheet of


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notes. Write down definitions, e(amples, lists, and main ideas. The idea is to

have a single sheet that boils the entire chapter down to a digestible lump.

?. evie! fter You've ead and #a"en &otes. ome people swear that

talking to yourself works. Tell yourself about the most important points in the

chapter. Once you've said them out loud, they seem to stick better in your mind.

f you can't talk to yourself about the material after reading it, that's a sure signyou don't really know it.

@. Give Up.This may sound contradictory, but give up when you've had

enough. You should try to make it through at least an hour, though. Ten minutes

here and there are useless. When your head starts to pound and your eyes

develop spidery red lines, *uit. You won't do much learning when you're

e(hausted.

A. #a"e a (ollege S"ills (ourse )f You &eed )t. 3on't hesitate or feel

embarrassed about enrolling in a study skills course. &any students say theywouldn't have made it without one

*o! (an ) +eep Up !ith ll My esponsi%ilities Without

Going (ra,y?

You've got a class schedule. You're supposed to study. You've got a family.

You've got a husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, child. You've got a job. Bow are

you possibly going to cover all the bases in your life and maintain your sanity+

This is one of the toughest problems students face. $ven if they start the

semester with the best of intentions, they eventually find themselves tearingtheir hair out trying to do everything they're supposed to do. %elieve it or not,

though, it is possible to meet all your responsibilities. nd you don't have to turn

into a hermit or give up your loved ones to do it.

The secret here is to organi#e your time. %ut don't just sit around half the

semester planning to get everything together soon. %efore you know it, you'll be

confronted with midterms, papers, family, and work all at once. 3on't let yourself

reach that breaking point. nstead, try these three tactics.

/. Monthly (alendar.>et one of those calendars with big blocks around the

dates. >ive yourself an overview of the whole term by marking down the

due dates for papers and projects. -ircle test and e(am days. This way

those days don't sneak up on you une(pectedly.

2. Study Schedule.it down during the first few days of this semester and

/? make up a sheet listing the days and hours of the week. 1ill in your

work and class hours first. Then try to block out some study hours. t's

better to study a little every day than to create a huge once)or)twice)a)

week marathon session. chedule study hours for your hardest classes

for the times when you feel most energetic. 1or e(ample, battled my ta(

law te(tbook in the mornings when looked at it after @;:: p.m., might

as well have been reading -hinese. The usual proportion, by the way, is

one hour of study time for every class hour. n case you're one of those


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people who get carried away, remember to leave /@ blocks of free time,

too. You won't be any good to yourself or anyone else if you don't rela(

and pack in the studying once in a while.

4. #o -o ist.This is the secret that, more than any other, got me through

college. Once a week !or every day if you want to", write a list of what you

have to do. Write down everything from 0write $nglish paper0 to 0buy cold

cuts for lunch.0 The best thing about a 0to do0 list is that it seems to tame

all those stray 0 have to0 thoughts that nag at your mind. Cust making the

list seems to make the tasks 0doable.0 fter you finish something on the

list, cross it off. 3on't be compulsive about finishing everything you're

not uperman or Wonder Woman. >et the important things done first. The

secondary things you don't finish can simply be moved to your ne(t 0to

do0 list.

What (an ) -o )f Personal Pro%lems Get in the Way of My Studies?

One student, 8oger, told me this story;

$verything was going OD for me until the middle of the spring semester.

went through a terrible time when broke up with my girlfriend and started

seeing her best friend. was trying to deal with my e()girlfriend's hurt andanger, my new girlfriend's guilt, and my own worries and an(ieties at the

same time. n addition to this, my mother was sick and on a medication

that made her really irritable. hated to go home because the atmosphere

was so uncomfortable. oon, started missing classes because couldn't

deal with the academic pressures as well as my own personal problems. t

seemed easier to hang around my girlfriend's apartment than to face all

my problems at home and at school.

nother student, &arian, told me;

'd been married for eight years and the relationship wasn't going too well.

saw the handwriting on the wall, and decided to prepare for the future.

enrolled in college, because knew 'd need a decent job to support

myself. Well, my husband had a fit because was going to school. We

were arguing a lot anyway, and he made it almost impossible for me to

study at home. think he was angry and almost jealous because was

drawing away from him. t got so bad that thought about *uitting college

for a while. wasn't getting any support at home, and it was just too hard

to go on.

Eersonal troubles like these are overwhelming when you're going through them.

chool seems like the least important thing in your life. The two students above


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are perfect e(amples of this. %ut if you think about it, *uitting or failing school

would be the worst thing for these two students. 8oger's problems, at least with

his girlfriends, would simmer down eventually, and then he'd regret having left

school. &arian had to finish college if she wanted to be able to live

independently. ometimes, you've just got to hang tough.

%ut what do you do while you're trying to live through a lousy time+ 1irst of all,do something difficult. sk yourself, honestly, if you're e(aggerating small

problems as an e(cuse to avoid classes and studying. t takes strength to admit

this, but there's no sense in kidding yourself. f your problems are serious, and

real, try to make some human contacts at school. 7ots of students hide inside a

miserable shell made of their own troubles and feel isolated and lonely. %elieve

me, there are plenty of students with problems. Fot everyone is getting 's and

having a fabulous social and home life at the same time. s you go through the

term, you'll pick up some vibrations about the students in your classes. Eerhaps

someone strikes you as a compatible person. Why not speak to that person after

class+ hare a cup of coffee in the cafeteria or walk to the parking lot together.You're not looking for a best friend or the love of your life. You just want to build

a little network of support for yourself. haring your difficulties, *uestions, and

complaints with a friendly person on campus can make a world of difference in

how you feel.

!G"

Why -o Some People Ma"e )t and Some -rop /ut?

nyone who spends at least one semester in college notices that some

students give up on their classes. The person who sits behind you inaccounting, for e(ample, begins to miss a lot of class meetings and eventually

vanishes. Or another student comes to class without the assignment, doodles

in a notebook during the lecture, and leaves during the break. What's the

difference between students like this and the ones who succeed in school+ &y

survey may be nonscientific, but everyone asked said the same thing;

attitude. positive attitude is the key to everything else ) good study habits,

smart time scheduling, and coping with personal difficulties.

What does 0a positive attitude0 mean+ Well, for one thing, it means avoiding

the #ombie syndrome. t means not only showing up for your classes, but also

doing something while you're there. 8eally listen. Take notes. sk a *uestion if

you want to. 3on't just walk into a class, put your mind in neutral, and drift away

to never)never land.

Baving a positive attitude goes deeper than this, though. t means being

mature about college as an institution. Too many students approach college

classes like si()year)olds who e(pect first grade to be as much fun as esame

treet. 1irst grade, as we all know, isn't as much fun as esame treet. nd

college classes can sometimes be downright dull if you let a boring class

discourage you so much that you want to leave school, you'll lose in the long

run. 7ook at your priorities. You want a degree, or a certificate, or a career. f you

have to, you can make it through a less)than)interesting class in order to achieve

what you want. >et whatever you can out of every class. %ut if you simply can't


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stand a certain class, be determined to fulfill its re*uirements and be done with it

once and for all

fter the initial high of starting school, you have to settle in for the long haul.

f you follow the advice here, you'll be prepared to face the academic crunch.

You'll also live through the semester without giving up your family, your job, or

&onday Fight 1ootball. 1inally, going to college can be an e(citing time. You dolearn. nd when you learn things, the world becomes a more interesting place.

Reference:Langan, John. College Writing Skills with Readings, c!raw"#ill, $%%&

how to make it in college - ing i - 2012 - letras 2-0

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