Hello, I’m a 4-year college grad, also now enrolled in a tech college part-time. I’m 33 years old. I’d like to pass on some advice to younger college students to help them avoid my mistakes.

I got a 4-year liberal arts degree, and so did many of my friends. Degrees like Psychology, Art, Theatre, History, Sociology, English, etc. I’m sorry to say these are NOT good degrees to get you a good-paying job. I sure wish I & my friends had known this at the time, but we didn’t. Colleges love to tell you that a 4-year degree will turn on a $40000/year switch for you, because it keeps you paying your tuition. Don’t buy into this myth as a college student.

The people I know who have good-paying jobs now are the computer science people, the engineers, math people, accountants, or the people who went to one or two years of tech school and learned a USEFUL & IN DEMAND SKILL like welding, engine or diesel repair, nursing, pharmacy tech, xray tech, degrees/jobs that every size city/town will need so that wherever you decide to live, you can find a job. NOBODY I know with a liberal arts major or minor has a good-paying job in that field, especially in this recession where it’s even harder to find a job. I highly advise staying away from liberal arts majors/minors at this time.

Choose a program/degree you KNOW will get you a job, and how much that job will pay, before your get the degree. While I was in 4-year school I didn’t consider the job part much, I just took classes I ‘liked’ & was ‘interested in’. Learn a USEFUL SKILL. I’m currently back in school in a 2-year accounting program, & I believe I’ll end up much better off job-wise when I’m finished. Save yourself the disappointment of attaining a 4-year degree only to end up in retail/customer service/plenty of other shi**y jobs that are out there.

Don’t be a floating undecided student for too long, there are plenty of good choices out there, so do your research and know exactly where you’re going in your career. This will ensure you make the most of your education & also the financial investment of going to college. I try to tell this to the younger people I run into, but they don’t always seem to get it, just like I didn’t get it back then. I hope this helps someone get a good education & a good job, & possibly help the economy too. Thanks for reading.

Author: these tips were sent from an anonymous visitor

Preview the text

The first thing you should do when you open a new book is to preview the text. Look at the contents page and survey the topics covered in the text. Then ask yourself what you already know and what you think you will need to know about the topics that will be covered in the course. This process will give you a “big picture” of the course and will help you to start thinking about how the contents of the course will fit in with your educational goals.

Now draw a map or use Cornell notes to outline the course using information from the contents page and your syllabus. This process will help you to get a perspective on how the instructor’s lesson plans match up with the textbook and to plan how you will schedule your reading.

If the text looks like if might be difficult for you to read, speak with your instructor. He or she may be able to recommend a supplemental text that will help you to understand course concepts at your own level.

If you lack knowledge about a course topic and/or feel that the course will be covering it on a level that is too difficult for you, go to the library and choose a book on that subject. Read up on the topics covered in the chapter to help fill in the gaps of your knowledge.

Check to see if there is a glossary of terms or other study aides in your textbook. Keep a dictionary close by to look up words that are unfamiliar.

Preview each chapter

Before you read the chapter in detail, skim the entire chapter. Read the introduction, then skim each page, spending approximately 5 seconds per page. Notice headings, illustrations, tables, etc. Then read the summary at the end of the chapter. This process will give you an overview of the chapter and help you to plan how you will break it down into “meaningful chunks” for the next steps of detailed reading and study.

Ask questions

Now that you have an overview of the chapter, ask yourself:

What do I already know about the information in this chapter?
What are the main ideas of this chapter?
How can I turn sub-headings into study/test questions to help me focus my reading?
What questions are found in the text that might help me?

Write down your questions.

Read for details

Now read the text, looking for the answers to your questions to help you stay focused. As you read, annotate your text, highlighting important information and writing notes in the margins that will keep you actively involved in your reading and help you to better understand what you read.

As you complete each section, develop Cornell notes with main ideas in the margin and important details (explanations, examples, and applications) on the right side of the margin.

After you finish each section or unit, summarize what you have read in your Cornell notes. Write down the answers to the questions you wrote down previously. Add questions/answers as appropriate.

Recite

Develop flash cards or mnemonic devices for important terms, concepts, and information that you know you will need to memorize. Read over text annotations and the Cornell notes you developed from your reading. Summarize the information by saying it out loud into a tape recorder or by discussing the chapter with a study group. You may also “recite” the information by writing a summary or by using visual organizers to put the information into another cognitive frame.

If you marked any sections of your text for questions to ask your professor, be sure to ask them in class.

Review

Compare your notes from your textbook reading with your class lecture notes. Continue to summarize your learning. You want to keep reducing the size of your study notes, each time you review the material. The object is to be able to “clue” yourself to remember more detailed information with a single word or phrase. This process will help to keep your memory fresh and will help you to solidify or “over-learn” the material so that it becomes part of your permanent “file” of knowledge.

Keep up with reading assignments so that you don’t become overwhelmed or are tempted to cram or skip reading important assignments!

Developed by Meg Keeley
Bucks County Community College

Most students find that their greatest challenge in adjusting to college life and to succeeding in the classroom is in managing their time effectively. This is especially true for students who have to deal with the additional issues of child care, family and home responsibilities.

When evaluating your schedule, or how you spend your time, you also need to consider your goals and priorities. What is most important in your life, right now– your family, friends, school, hobbies, or other activities? As you look at how you spend your time, ask yourself if this matches your priorities.

Even though attending class and completing assignments is a top priority for most students, many find that they are not allowing enough time for their studies. On the average, students should spend about 2 hours of study for each hour of class time. For example, if you are carrying 12 credits in a semester, you should allow 24 hours per week for study (this includes time for reading, writing papers, preparing projects, and for test preparation).

If you are finding it difficult to locate the time you need to study, or that there are conflicts among the various demands on your time, you may need to give greater consideration to your goals. By getting clear on your goals, it will be easier to decide how to spend your time. You’ll find that you can more easily put off other things and set aside the time you need for studies, if you know how it will help you to achieve your educational or career goals. Ask yourself:

• Why are you in college?
• What are your educational goals?
• What are your career goals?

If you aren’t clear on your goals, you may want to visit your college’s Career Center. In the Career Center, you can take various assessment tests that will help you to determine your career aptitudes and interests. You may also make an appointment and meet with the Career Counselor to evaluate your needs and to determine what courses you should take to reach your goals.

Using Time Wisely

You might have all the time in the world, but if you don’t use it wisely, it won’t help you to meet your goals. Procrastination is a problem for many students. The following are tips to help you deal with this issue:

1. Clear your schedule. Don’t overextend yourself. Recognize that your obligations and resulting stress are as important as other people’s needs. Set limits around being interrupted or rescheduling your work time to accommodate others. Omit or reschedule some of your other obligations. You want to give full concentration to your studies without feeling guilty about what you’re NOT doing.
    
2. Get motivated. Create a work area that is free from distractions and commit to staying there for at least one to two hours. If you get side-tracked, remind yourself how this activity will help you to meet your goals.
    
3. Prioritize. What has to be done first? When is it due? What is worth more in terms of your grade? What is worth more in terms of your personal, educational, or career goals?
    
4. Make sure you understand the task. Ask questions. Get help if you need it.
    
5. Break down the task into chunks. Estimate how much time you’ll need to complete the task. Don’t try to do it all at one time. Break it down so that it’s “do-able” and not so overwhelming. Stay up-to-date on assignments to help avoid overload.
    
6. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Some people are so afraid that they won’t perform perfectly, they won’t do anything at all. Make sure you understand the expectations of your instructor. Then evaluate how important the task is and what level of performance is acceptable to you. Then just do it!
    
7. When you really hate it, try to make it as enjoyable as possible. Work on this task first, while you have more energy. Reward yourself when you complete certain aspects of the task. Study with a friend.

Study Environment

Once you have found the time to study, commit to a time and place that meets your needs. In order to do this, ask yourself whether the environment in which you are studying matches your learning style and preferences. Based on your preferences, you should schedule your most challenging classes and intense study sessions in the environments that best match your needs. The following are some aspects of study environment you may need to consider.

• Time of day: Whenever possible, you should schedule your most challenging courses and most intense study sessions during the time of day when you are most alert. Ask yourself if you are more alert/productive during the morning, mid-day, or evening and schedule accordingly.
   
• Grouping: Do you prefer to learn or study alone, in small groups, or in large classes? If your prefer small groups, do not sign up for large classes. Try to get into classes where the instructor uses group activity as a teaching strategy. Form study groups to prepare for tests and exams.
   
• Posture/Mobility: Some people prefer to sit at a table or desk (formal posture) in order to concentrate and study effectively. Others are able to learn more easily while sitting comfortably on a sofa or lying on the floor (informal). Still others need to move about in order to learn, and reading while walking on a treadmill might be appropriate. Further, some people have the ability to sit and study for long periods of time (high persistence), while others need to take frequent breaks (low persistence). Recognizing your posture and mobility needs will help you to plan where and when you should study.
   
• Sound: Contrary to popular belief, not everyone needs to study in a perfectly quiet environment. However, if you do choose to study to music, choose Baroque classical music. The tempo and instrumentation of this music seems to be most compatible with study and learning.
   
• Lighting: Studies have shown that some people become depressed because of light deprivation during the winter months. If you are one of those people, you should try to study and spend as much time as possible in highly lit places. Other studies have shown that reading ability can be affected by the light contrast between print and paper color. There is a high contrast between black letters printed on white paper. Some people find it easier to read black print on blue or gray paper which has less contrast and is easier on their eyes. Being aware that light does make a difference, you should study in the environment that best matches your learning preferences.
   
• Temperature: While you can’t always control the temperature of a room, you should be aware of your preference for either a cool or warm environment. Dress in layers so that you can adjust to differences in classroom temperatures. Choose to study in the environments in which you feel most comfortable.

Developed by Meg Keeley
Bucks County Community College

Lucky mascots can serve a very useful purpose besides sitting on a desk and getting in the way. They can act as memory aids provided that they are used in a sensible way and the method is taken seriously!

Select as many small mascots, charms, souvenirs, etc., as you have subjects. These items might include decorated pens, charms from a bracelet, small toys, wrist bands and so on. Large items are a distraction and will not be allowed in the exam room.

Link each item with a particular subject and always have it nearby, or even in your hand, while you are doing homework, revising, making notes or testing yourself. The pen option is best if you are easily embarrassed by small cuddly toys on your desk!

Your brain will begin to link the learning and memory of each subject with the item chosen. This means that when you are in an exam, touching or handling your chosen “lucky mascot” for that subject will allow the link to “resurface” helping your brain to select the right information held in your memory.

Do Lucky Mascots work?

OK, it does sound strange – but many people who have tried the lucky mascot technique confirm that if you do take it seriously it does work. And what have you got to lose?

If mascots are not to your liking, try rubbing a different scent onto your wrists for each subject, the smell being the trigger for recall. A number of cosmetic shops (for example, The Body Shop) stock a very wide range of different scented oils that could be diluted and used.

CHEWING (of gum, etc.)

WARNING:
Sugary items chewed during revision may achieve the exact opposite of what you might expect.

Eating sugary things causes your blood sugar level to rise suddenly. Your brain associates this with you just having had a large meal. In response your brain makes you feel dull and sleepy. During revision or even during an exam this spells disaster! Avoid eating or chewing confectionery of any kind during an examination. If you must, and if it is allowed, use sugar-free products.

Better still, have a starchy meal (rice, noodles, bread, potato) an hour or so before revising or before your exam. This will stop you feeling hungry and provide a steady supply of blood sugar to the brain. Your brain will respond by working at its best.

NEVER MISS A MEAL BEFORE AN EXAM.

YOU MUST HAVE AN ENERGY SUPPLY.

And Finally…

I hope that this guide is or has been of some help to you.

By Ian Graham, igdirect@yahoo.co.uk

“You cannot teach a man or woman anything; you can only help them to find it within themselves.”
Galileo

“Just as eating against one’s will is injurious to the health, so study without a liking for it spoils the memory, and it retains nothing it takes in.”
Leonardo Da Vinci

The only way to make study work for you is to avoid BOREDOM – the worst enemy of learning.

From a very early age, we vary what we do to stop ourselves getting bored. We look for new tasks and seek new ways to do things. Sometimes even this fails and we fall into the boredom-trap. We cannot be bothered to find ways to cure our boredom because we are too bored.

Over time we develop a concentration-span – the time between starting a task to the time we find our minds wandering. This is because your brain deals with information in a very special way.

The brain receives information from our senses. This is then passed on to our short-term memory where it is stored for a short time. From then on the information in short-term memory must be passed on to long-term memory or we end up “forgetting” the information. Your brain’s ability to do this depends on how you feel.

If you are bored, short term memory is lost very quickly and so can never be passed on. You may be surprised to learn that it is not lost forever – it is stored away often never to be remembered again.

The best way to learn is to limit study periods to the length of our concentration-span. This gives the brain the best chance to store what we are studying in long-term memory.

DETERMINING YOUR CONCENTRATION-SPAN

• Go to your study area and get settled.
• Read a large section of the text book belonging to your least favorite subject, preferably from part of the book which has not been covered before. Note the time you start.
• Make an effort to LEARN and RECALL the information you read.
• Note the time at which you find your mind beginning to wander, no matter how little. This will be your minimum concentration-span.
• Repeat the task with your favorite subject. This will be your maximum concentration-span.

You will probably find that your concentration-span varies between ten and twenty minutes depending on the subject, how you feel, the amount of rest you have taken, and your eating habits.
Now that you know what your own brain can cope with you can sort out your reading and revision to suit.

NEVER study beyond your concentration-span. You may still be reading but your brain will be losing most of the information it takes in. This makes it pointless to go on. You may satisfy your need to feel as if you are working hard, but the amount you actually remember will get less and less.

MAXIMIZING RECALL

After studying for the time you found was best, you must then take a rest for about five minutes. Do something else not connected with your work. Listen to music, have a snack, refresh yourself – but don’t stop thinking about what you were reading.

This may be an unusual thing to do in the middle of a study session, but your brain needs that time to sort out the information in your short-term memory. At the end of the rest period, the information you were reading will be much clearer than it was to begin with.

Short-term memory lasts between 12 to 48 hours. If you stopped at this point you would be able to recall only about 10-20% of the information you read.

To get the information into long-term memory you must REVIEW.

REVIEWING YOUR CHOSEN STUDY TOPIC

After your five-minute rest, read the same information again. Concentrate only on those points that are most important.

Then take another five-minute break and re-read once more, fitting all the bits of information together.

Both of these reviews would be made even better by note-taking in whatever way you find easy and helpful. Make sure that the notes you make are well organised!

ONE WEEK and TWO WEEKS later review the topic again using your notes. By now you should have found that there has been a huge improvement in your ability to remember, understand and use that information.

Finally, you must REVISE. This is simply a way of drawing loose ends together with the same study method but this time using your notes only.

If you use the above methods while you are still following a course of study, your final revision will be made much easier. Some students who have used these methods early find that very little final revision is necessary. They became so good at remembering the work during the course of the year that they didn’t need to do any more!

The Read / Review / Review Graph

IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY

Study is like building a jigsaw :

Lay out the pieces

Sort out the edges

Build inwards towards the most difficult parts

Put in the final pieces

Stand back and appreciate!

In learning, the pieces of knowledge you have can be swapped between several jigsaws in your mind – but there is no pattern which you can follow.

By making patterns yourself all the pieces fall into place. Soon, that wonderful feeling of excitement hits you when you look down and see how the jigsaw fits together.

If you make patterns within your work then several pieces can be missing from the middle, but by looking at their neighbors a guess can be made as to what the missing pieces should be. In other words – you do not have to know everything!

By improving your reading and note-taking skills you can speed up the building of the jigsaw and increase your ability to remember the pattern.

BETTER READING (THE “Q-S-R” TECHNIQUE)

Q: QUICKLY read the page or chapter you wish to study.

S: SCAN each page at a time noting key words or sections as you read through fairly quickly.

R: READ the page or chapter carefully and thoughtfully, making more notes as you go if you like. Concentrate on the key words or sections you highlighted, using them as trigger points for recall.

NOTE TAKING

The purpose of notes is not to copy out great chunks of information from books. They should only act as a trigger to help you remember what you have read. Key words are more easily remembered than long sentences!

Notes should be short, to the point, well-organized and easily read. The exact style is up to you and you only. Some tried and tested methods are given in the next section.

SUGGESTED METHODS OF NOTE TAKING

SERIAL NOTES

This is a simple note-making style and is best for making notes during lessons. Don’t write everything you hear or read but select out the most important points. Concentrate only on those pointers that will help you recall the lesson content. Improve upon them later when time allows.

Use lots of headings, sub-headings, numbered points, “bullets”, etc.

For example:

Heading
        Sub-Heading 1
                Note 1.1
                Note 1.2
                        Sub-note 1
                        Sub-note 2
        Sub-Heading 2
                Note 2.1
                Note 2.2

Or:

and so on…

MIND-MAPS® (based on the work of Tony Buzan)

Useful for making short notes for revision. Stretch points outwards from a main point or key word. These are best drawn from notes made during lessons which have then been added to with further information from text books.

KEY-WORD INDEXING

This requires the use of index cards which can be purchased at any stationers. As you revise notes write down key-words in two categories: HEADERS and LINKED WORDS.

Use the HEADERS as titles for the index cards, and beneath this write a list of the LINKED WORDS. When revising a topic have the index cards in front of you. With practice, just the thought of a HEADER word will trigger recall of most, if not all, of the rest.

BRAINSTORMING

Brainstorming is best used when revising in groups (but can be used by someone working alone) and combines all of the above techniques.

This is especially good for working out what to put in an essay or extended assignment. Think of everything you can to do with a topic, no matter how odd or unusual. Note down the words and/or ideas, discuss how important they are. From that discussion develop a pattern that makes sense of the things mentioned by getting rid of those that stray from the point.

Setting up a study area will help you get into the “study habit”.

If you always work in this one place your brain will begin to switch into “study mode” as soon as you sit down. In other words, you “activate” your ability to concentrate.

In an ideal world the study area would be:

QUIET

FREE OF DISTRACTIONS

COMFORTABLE

WELL LIT AND VENTILATED

In the real world the first two are difficult to achieve! There is no ideal place to study, only one in which you are able to study. This is a very individual place.

Firstly, decide what your study needs are.

Do you need silence or some background noise?
Do you study best when sitting or lying down?
Do you prefer the room light or direct light from a table-lamp?

The choices are entirely up to you.

Secondly, once you have decided upon your needs, claim your territory!

When setting up your workplace you will need to organise your materials so that they are ALWAYS at hand. There is nothing worse than interrupting study to find something that should have been there already. You will definitely need a bookshelf for books and notes and a container or drawer for things such as stationery.

IF YOU MIGHT NEED IT, IT SHOULD BE THERE!!

It is also helpful to have a large noticeboard in front of your study area to pin timetables, short notes, “find-outs” and “must-do’s”. It will also be an ideal place to put memory aids so that they are always in sight.

Finally, keep it tidy and organised! If you always have to search for materials you will waste valuable time and your concentration will fade.

In fact, make it very clear to everyone who may use that room that your study area is sacred – if something then goes missing or runs out then you only have yourself to blame.

KEEP IT EQUIPPED – KEEP IT TIDY – KEEP USING IT!

A few words about music…

It is perfectly OK to listen to music while you are studying. But choose carefully!

Educational psychologists have discovered that music with a rhythm of 60 beats per minute actually helps you learn!!

However, most contemporary music has a rhythm of 100 – 140 beats per minute which lowers your brain’s ability to retain information.

Don’t believe it? Try it…

For your information Classical Baroque music has the correct rhythm of 60 beats per minute or so.

If you follow this guide carefully, the things you might see as difficulties now become enjoyable challenges. Seven steps to dealing with problems:

1. WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROBLEM?
   Make sure you know what it is!
    
2. WHAT END RESULT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?
   Decide on what “success” means to you.
    
3. COLLECT INFORMATION
   What are the facts? Who / What can help? (Teachers, books, time, etc.)
   What are your priorities?
    
4. DECIDE WHAT HAS TO BE DONE
   How will you achieve your aim?
    
5. PLAN AHEAD
   When? How? Why?
    
6. ACT
   Carry out your plan.
    
7. REVIEW
   Have you achieved what you set out to do? (Yes or No)
   Were you unsuccessful? (Go back to Number 1…)
   Did you fall short in any way? (Go back to Number 2…)
   Have you learned anything? (If not, why not…?) 

   What should you do next…?

Keeping an eye on your own progress can tell you much more than any report made by a teacher. This will help you see where you are having difficulty so that you can deal with it before it gets worse!

Try grading yourself (A, B, C, or whatever) on one or more of the following:

• The grade or marks I obtained
• My level of effort
• The growth of my knowledge
• My level of understanding

Keep a record of your own grading. It will help you plan your progress and allow you to set targets.

Where do you succeed?
Where do you fail?
What are you going to do about it?

You could also plot your marks on a graph with marks on the vertical axis and school week (1 to 40 or so) on the horizontal axis. You will then see immediately if you are heading up, down or staying the same.

NEVER REGARD “FAILURE” AS FINAL

Turn it into a challenge and use every opportunity to put it right! Only small changes in effort or attitude are required to move between grades – preferably upward!!

Priorities can be divided up into:

URGENT – must be done now.

IMPORTANT – must be done soon.

UNIMPORTANT – must be done eventually.

There is, of course, a lot of overlap so you might also list the things you have to do only in order of importance – the top one or two becoming urgent.

Keep a diary and a pencil handy to record things as they crop up.

You could also use a card index, or even a computerised database, whatever you feel you can work with.

If you find that more than two items are urgent, then you are the victim of bad planning – do it better next time!!

MOST OF ALL

BE FLEXIBLE – LEARN TO FIT THINGS IN

and

BE EQUIPPED – DIARY, TIMETABLES,
CARD INDEX, ETC.

Another way of setting priorities is to use the 4D system:

DUMP anything that does not need to be done at all…

DELAY what you can’t dump…

DESIGNATE a time for what you can’t delay…

and then…..

DO IT!

“Long-term planning” could mean what you intend to do in a week’s time to what you intend to do with the rest of your life!

Many people fail tests or exams because they start their revision too late rather than because they lack ability. The reason for this seems to arise from the many other pressures put upon you. Lessons, practical work, coursework, homework, friends, family, other responsibilities, etc., etc., all eat away at valuable time.

No wonder revision gets put off to just before a test or exam!

Strange as it may seem, careful planning of what you do and when you do it often uncovers huge amounts of free time you never knew you had! The most important phrase to remember is:

ORGANISE EARLY – REVISE REGULARLY

CONSTRUCTING YOUR TIMETABLE

There are 35 – 40 working weeks in a typical school year. Use this as a guide for your rough timetable.

Fill in tasks as they are given.

For example:

You might include the week a test takes place, the deadline for a project, when vacations are scheduled – it is entirely up to you!

Advantages

• At-a-glance timing for every activity.
• Busy periods show up clearly.
• Lead-in time to deadlines can be shown by a long arrow.
• Time limits for tasks can be set and adhered to.

This timetable should then be backed-up with a detailed daily plan which states what you need to do day by day.

DO NOT rely on memory for this!

There will always be something you have forgotten
to take you by surprise at the worst possible time.

…Be Prepared…

DAILY TIMETABLING

Plan your activities for each day. Don’t forget to include breaks, meals and leisure activities. Be as accurate about time needed as you can.

For the evening, make up a timetable from the time you get home. Divide your time in slots of 15 minutes or so.

For example :

And so on….

Don’t forget the weekend! Most of this will be taken up with other things but do try spare some time preparing for the week ahead and/or revision for tests and exams.

Everyone is different.

The timetable must suit YOU and YOUR needs,
NOT what someone else says you must do.

GET SETTLED – LOOK AT THE TASK – DIVIDE YOUR TIME

FIX TARGETS – SET DEADLINES

REWARD YOURSELF!!

and finally

NEVER FORGET WHAT YOUR TIMETABLE IS FOR!