Achieving academic excellence is more of an art than a science. But with that mile-high stack of books on your desk and hundreds of pages of writing assignments due in a semester, it sure doesn't feel like art! With a little patience and fine tuning of some skills you already possess, excelling in your academic life will be easier than you thought.
The Art of Planning
Every successful college student's best friend is her pocket planner. You will want to carry one of these with you everywhere you go and make sure to get one that has a lot of room to write for each day. Use your planner to block every hour of your day.
Obviously, you don't have to write your classes down, but if you have an hour of time between a couple of classes, don't let that hour go to waste. Schedule that hour to study for a quiz or to catch up on some reading. Or even schedule a much-needed nap! Don't think a plan will form itself. If you just wait to see what will happen, you won't be very productive. Be diligent, but be flexible as well. You don't have to get bent out of shape if your schedule doesn't always go as planned.
The point is to be as productive as possible, and the best way to do that is with a planner. Keeping a planner also alleviates a lot of unnecessary stress, as you don't have to try to remember every little thing to do. You just have to glance at your trusty planner and it's all right there.
The Art of Taking Notes
Every successful college student will tell you that good note-taking skills are key to academic excellence. Odds are, your high school education did little to no good teaching you how to take notes. But have no fear, if you apply yourself, you will acquire this skill in no time. You will need to keep a separate notebook for each class, or have one big notebook divided into subjects. Separate notebooks are better, because they're less weight to carry around, and they help you stay more organized. Why carry around one giant notebook that contains material from several classes that you don't even have today?
Professors lecture from an outline, so all you have to do is write down that outline as it is given. Don't fret about writing down every single word that the professor says, just write down the main points or ideas. If there is a word that is constantly repeated, like chemical or economics, use abbreviations like Ch. or Ec. Get creative! You don't have to take a shorthand class. Just create your own shorthand. If you fear forgetting what abbreviations mean, come up with your own legend and write it at the top of the paper.
If your professor goes off on a tangent, telling some story from his personal life, use that time to polish your previous notes, or simply to take a breather. Before you know it, you will be a note taking pro, and all your friends will be asking to borrow or copy your notes.
The Art of Test Taking
Here is a subject that will get many students' palms sweating. Learning how to be a good test taker takes some self confidence. Relax. The worst that can happen is that you may not get the grade you wanted. The more you freak out, the more difficult the test will seem.
Your professors are humans (or so you think), so there is nothing that they can possibly put in a test that will literally kill you. If you feel an anxiety attack coming on, stop and take some deep breaths. Buck up and just go for it. Your anxiety can prevent you from successful studying if you allow it, but only you can take charge of your emotions and overcome them.
The best way to prepare for a test, if it is the first test you have had in a particular class, is to talk to other students who have had that class. Ask other students which materials were the most crucial and which topics were important in the essay questions. Some students even include these types of things in their notes, and you might try borrowing notes and comparing them to yours.
Some tests are open note, but beware, these tests are usually harder than tests without open notes. If the test is open note and the professor requires you to finish within the class period, you might want to compile a few different sets of notes. Don't get overconfident and think that an open note test means you don't have to study.
It's still a good idea to go over your notes and know where to find things. The first test of any class can be rough, as you don't fully know what to expect. But once that first one is behind you, you are better prepared to tackle the future tests.
The Art of Having Fun
If you make your college life all about books and homework, you will hit burnout fast. You need to allow yourself to have a moderate amount of fun. If you stick to your planner and make the most of all your free time, you will find that you have plenty of time to hang out with your friends. Go see a movie or head to the lake. Go for a weekend road trip or go back home to see family. It is crucial to give your mind a break every so often.
College can be extremely challenging. But it is also the experience of a lifetime. Once you've mastered the art of planning, note and test taking, and a healthy social life, you will be well on your way to academic excellence.