25 Tips to Survive and Thrive Your Freshman Year
Go to all orientations.
Do you really need to go on yet another campus tour? Yes. The faster you learn your way around campus - and around all the red tape - the more at ease you'll feel and the better prepared you'll be when issues arise.
see full list hereKeep the following 7-day study plan in mind (although some exams will need more than one week of preparation). Study a maximum of 2 hours at a time before takine a break, and attend any review sessions offered during the week.
| Day ONE | Organize all your notes, handouts, and materials you’ll need to cover. Check to see if anything is missing. Prioritize what will be most important to study through what is least important to study. Divide your study materials into at least three sections (sometimes the teacher does this automatically through the course units—you might divide by date, topics, etc.). You can also break this down by “lecture notes” and “book notes.” *Some students re-write or re-type their class notes at this point; others find this strategy unhelpful. |
| DAY TWO | Study/review all the materials for the first section you identified, both in the course book(s) and in your own notes. (If you are breaking things down by lecture/book, study one or the other). |
DAY THREE | Study all the material in the second section. |
| DAY FOUR | Study all the material in the third section (if relevant). |
| DAY FIVE | Meet with a partner or small group to compare notes, formulate possible test questions, and quiz each other. Review ALL material. |
| DAY SIX | Study/review your weakest sections. |
| DAY SEVEN | Study/review ALL material, possibly with a group. |
Tips: Think positively! Get a full night’s sleep the night before an exam. Eat light, and eat healthy (that means no pop-tarts and no Mountain Dew) before the exam to keep the blood circulating to your brain. And, most importantly, spend 5-10 minutes after difficult classes reviewing your notes, and 30 minutes each week reviewing the whole week’s notes. This will make a BIG difference in your ability to ace the material and study effectively.
