SEVEN Study Habits to Survive College

Entering college in the Philippines deems a lot of adaptation to the environment and a lot of avoiding distractions. The environment in college is quite different. There are more distractions compared to high school. The greatest challenge for a college student is how he builds his study habits to be able to fight against the flow of what we call "students who gave bad influences" or be able to go with their flow without compromising your academic life.

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Based on the diagram, a student's average retention rate is at its lowest during lecture and is at its highest when the student tries to teach it to others. The more the student engages himself about the topic, the greater the retention would be. Engaging the student about the topic means that he is able to apply what he has learned by discussing it to others and by practicing it daily.

Given this theory, I will give you Seven Study Habits that could help you survive college.

 photo courtesy of successstudyskills.com

1. ALWAYS HAVE A LIST OF WHAT TO DO. In order for you to have a list, you should always have a small notebook. Write your schedules about your assignments, examinations, and other school-related stuffs. You don't have the best memory in class to remember your to-do's. 

2. PLAN TO STUDY AT THE SAME TIMES EACH DAY. Studying at the same times each day allows you to establish a routine. This also helps you in being mentally prepared when studying. Also, keep in mind that we have that "preferred time" when to study.

3. DO NOT DO TOO MUCH STUDYING. The bad thing about studying too much in one day is information overload and you are wasting a lot of your time. Our brains cannot absorb as much information we want. One disadvantage would be less retention.

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4. ALWAYS HAVE A BREAK WHEN STUDYING FOR LONG HOURS.  Breaks are important for long hours of study to be able to aid you in retention. This type of break should be productive in the sense that you, at all cost, should not spend it facebooking or accessing any form of social media non-sense when studying. Going to the comfort room, preparing food and rejuvenating your eye sight would be the kind of activities you should be doing during this break. In fact, you can also call your classmate/s for lessons you need assistance with.

5. DO DIFFICULT TOPICS OR ASSIGNMENTS FIRST. The idea of doing the difficult tasks first is to maximize your time for studying. It consumes a lot of time in executing or in studying. Easy tasks are meant last because they can be done even during free time between classes.

6. REVIEW YOUR NOTES BEFORE DWELLING INTO YOUR ASSIGNMENTS. Reviewing your notes can help you hasten the process of doing your assignment. Some people immediately answer their assignments without reviewing their notes. The notes help complete the assignments being given by the teacher.

7. ALWAYS ASK YOUR CLASSMATE WHEN DIFFICULTY ARISES. No one has the monopoly of understanding. Your classmate/s may have understood the topic far better than you do so don't ever hesitate to ask for their help when you're having a difficult time with the lessons. In worst cases, consult the library. :)

So there you have it! Seven study habits you could bank on to help you increase your survival rates in college.