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Tips For Going to College

Whether you are starting fresh or returning to college after a hiatus, it can be a little daunting. Most people think of “college” as a place filled with 18-22 year olds and if you are older, yikes.

While college is still a straight-out-of-high-school endeavor for many people, more and more adults, or “non-traditional students”, are going to college each year and the trend is rising as a college education becomes more necessary for really good jobs.

Whatever your motivation and reasons for going back to school - to start a career, change careers, or just to take some classes in an area that interest you - the following tips can make your experience smoother and the transition back to college easier.

1. Do less than the maximum.
Unless you have to, do not take the maximum load of classes in your first semester. Most students take 15 hours, but even with a student loan, the minimum requirement is usually only 12. Start out a little more slowly to give your self a chance to really get used to school. This may seem like a waste of time, but even if you go a little more slowly, you will find that you are not as stressed and can do better when you don’t overload yourself.

2. Take breaks.
Don’t spend all of your available study time studying! You may really need to study a lot, but chances are that by taking 30 minutes to take a walk or spend time with your kids can really rejuvenate your brain and help you absorb the material you are studying once you go back to it.

3. Be a part of things
Most schools have student associations, maybe even a group for adult students. There are many other clubs and groups as well that you can be part of. You may find your time limited, but take part in as much as you can because you will find that you enjoy your time in college much more if you spend part of it making friends and being involved on campus.

4. Take the classes you dread
In fact, take them first. It’s like the old saying if you have to eat a frog each day it’s better to eat it first thing in the morning. Take the classes you think you will hate and get them out of the way. You may find that they were not as bad as you thought but if they are, at least you have them over and done and you don’t have to worry about them for the rest of your time at school.

5. Enjoy every minute
This is the most important tip anyone can give you. Whether you go to college at 18 or 81, enjoy it! College is not just about learning. That is the main point of course, but it is also a time to enjoy the activities, the people, the community and everything it has to offer. Spend your time in college enjoying college, no matter how old you are.

Congratulations on your decision to return to school. It may be the biggest step you have taken in a while but if you follow these tips, you will do just fine.

Filed Under Help & Tips, Online Schools

College Exam Tips

Learning how to score high on a college exam is an important skill to master for all college students. The common practice for most students is to try to ‘cram’ as much information into their mind as possible the day before the exam itself. This often leads to poor performance on the exam. Yet there are ways to increase your performance on college level tests.

Mastering Multiple Choice Exams

This type of exam is usually given on a weekly basis by the instructor to gauge the retention rate of the course information by students. To score high on these types of exams, a student has to know the right terms or “buzz words,” and important concepts covered in the book along with daily lectures by the instructor. By knowing the highlights of the week’s instruction, a student can more easily eliminate the wrong answers in multiple choice tests and then choose the most relevant answer from the remaining choices.

It is important to attend every class. Instructors require certain books for reading, yet they usually have their tests made up in advance. The tests are based on the concepts covered in the book, but the specific multiple-choice questions are usually taken from the instructor’s lectures. This is something most students don’t pay attention to. They think that if they read the book assigned by the instructor, they can pass the test easily. The truth is that the answers to most test questions are covered in the lectures.

Exams may focus on concepts from the book and lessons by the instructor. Be sure to ask your instructor politely about what material they will expect you to know during the course. Most instructors will be glad to discuss this with you.

Most weekly exams are predictable to a certain degree. Instructors usually give the same type of tests on a weekly basis to save them time. Pay close attention to the instructor’s test format. You will be able to increase your accuracy each week by simply repeating the study habits that produced favorable results for you in the previous weeks.

If a question seems to pose a problem, simply ‘mark’ the question and return to it after you have answered all the other questions. This will give you more time to think about the answer to this question later. Remain calm and collected. Use all the time allotted for the test.

By answering all the questions that you know first, you can go back and complete the other questions with more certainty. Sometimes the answer to one question will lead to an obvious answer to another because they are related.

The best way to approach your success in college is to read all required materials, make certain you attend class every day, and keep copies of your returned tests if possible so you can refer back to your previous mistakes. Sometimes a prior question will show up on a mid-term or final exam. The best review for a final exam often comes from previous multiple-choice exams.

Filed Under Help & Tips

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