50 How to be a successful student

Emily Hott and McKenzie Paulsen – textbook authors, former mentors, and A students have a message for you:

Do you want to be a successful student in this course? I hope so… here are a few tips:

1. Plan your week. College is hard work and if you want a good grade, you might not want to wait until the last minute to do the work. Getting a calendar and writing out your to-do list for the week can be one way to manage the work.

2. Do your homework. Sounds simple but students who watch the lectures, attend discussion sections, and do the readings are more likely to get an A.

3. It is not as hard as it looks. Homework can be daunting. Trust me, this week I had three papers due, a midterm, and a quiz on top of my normal lectures and reading, but I survived and it wasn’t that bad.

4. Structured studying techniques could be helpful. In particular, the pomodoro method has been helpful for me. Studying with other students also provides more structure for me.