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Lesson 21 Freshman Year
For
the next lessons, we’ll look at some specific things to do each year
(Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior and Graduate School). Some will overlap.
Freshman
Year:
Yay
– you have been accepted to college!!!
You have done the previous lessons, you understand that the competition
is world-wide now; you have set goals including Big Hairy Audacious Goals
(BHAG); worked on your attitude; decided to go for GREAT, not just good; find
ways to be remarkable; know about traps to avoid; worked on your self-talk and
motivation; you are picturing yourself successful and imaging about what your
world will be like in several years; worked on networking and finding a mentor
or mentors.
So, so specific things for
freshman year.
First – learn to say “NO”.
When I went to college, I
was scared I’d flunk out. My first
semester, I spent at least three hours for every hour in class. I read my books, I did my assignments, I did
extra assignments. I “knew” the material
quite well. And … I learned how to say
“NO”. When somebody on my dorm floor
came by to say “Hey, let’s go for pizza”, the answer was NO; when there is a
dance / speaker / program / event at some location, my answer was NO.
I created a calendar (it
was on paper, these days, Excel would work.
I scheduled classes, studying, meals, sleep and not much else.
To be honest, I was
boring. While the adage is “All work and
no play makes Jack a dull boy” maybe be true, in my class, “all work and no
play” helped me to get great grades that first semester. I did learn how to slack off after that
semester, but I was set a high level by getting strong grades that semester.
Second – learn how to
study.
Okay, you have been a
student, from Kindergarten through High School.
You know how to study don’t you?
The reality is probably not. You
‘kind of’ know how to study.
Sure, you go to your room
at (say) 7:00 p.m., turn on the TV or music, check your email, Google some
information, check out the latest YouTube videos or Facebook posts, and read
your textbook. At 11:00, you put down
your books and congratulation yourself on four hours of studying. You maybe did an hour.
The suggestion is to get
rid of distractions. No TV, and it might
be okay for music – like soothing Bach string quartets!! Don’t go on the Internet (unless you
absolutely need to); don’t go to email or Facebook.
There are many great
concepts available for you. I’ve been
looking at: https://howtostudyincollege.com/ and http://www.csc.edu/learningcenter/study/studymethods.csc and many others.
Take time to read and
really understand studying.
Your campus probably has a
Learning Center (or similar). Go there
before classes start and find a class, seminar on “Studying in College”. Even if you have to pay something, it should
be worth it.
Third – Plan / Plan / Plan
your Schedule and your Time.
As mentioned before,
develop a schedule – AND STICK TO IT.
Allow some down time – time
for some exercise, a jog around campus, maybe even a basketball game or
activity. But, the reason you are in
college is to learn and to get a degree.
Playing a pickup basketball game might be fun and a stress reliever, but
does it help your learning and degree goals?
Socializing is good, but
watch your time. There is an old
expression that is probably true (not true for all, of course) that college is
the best four years of your life. After
all, you get to live away from home, away from parental supervision, setting
your own time – and (generally) letting somebody else pay the bills. I remember after my first semester, one of my
best times of the day was after dinner in the cafeteria. A casual group would get a cup of coffee
(which is where I learned to drink coffee – but it could be water or anything)
and just talked.
Saturday? Sunday? Yes – you study on BOTH weekend days. “But there is a big home football game this
Saturday” – okay, then get up at 7:00 and study before the game. “OH – my favorite pro team (in my case, the
Green Bay Packers) are on Sunday night football – I have to watch!!” To be honest you don’t “have to watch”
it. You might enjoy it – and if you
allocate your time, you can take some time to watch the game – but if not, you
can take a break every hour and check the score – and get back to studying.
Fourth – tests
Depending on the class,
tests will probably be the main component of your college work. When the professor announces a test (and it
should also be on the course syllabus), start them preparing for the test. What has the professor emphasized in
class? What important concepts are in
the textbook? Are there study questions
at the end of the textbook chapter? Do
them – all of them. Get another textbook
from the library (and yes, they should have similar texts for all classes) and
go through the study questions and review questions.
I remember being so ready
for my math classes tests. I did all the
assignment in the textbook, including ones the professor didn’t assign. I pictured myself (imaging) knowing all the
questions, I walked into the classroom so prepared that I could almost have
taught the class – AND – created the test.
Again, go to the Learning
Center and get help on test studying.
Essay tests will be different than multiple choice tests.
Assignment:
- Read (and read and read) and take thorough notes on how to study in college.
- Find where the campus learning center is and make an appointment (you can probably make an appointment online even before you get to campus).
- Start reading your books. Write down your notes. The kinesthetic process of reading (eyes) and writing (hands) help the learning become stronger.
- Set up a schedule.
- Start practicing saying “NO”
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