Sanjev Rajaram
Bateman
College Comp I
Essay 1
Draft#3
An Okay GPA Plus One Equals Four: How to Study in College
College is the final frontier; it’s going to be an experience unlike any other before. Freshman year is especially exciting with all the new friends to be made and fun to be had. Dr. Zake a coordinator of the Thomas. N Bantivaligo Honors Program at Rowan University states that research has shown the first semester of college has an effect on students that is comparable to culture shock. Indeed many students in their first semester of college get caught up in the partying, freedom and independence that college provides all the while neglecting their academics. It is important to come to terms with what college demands, most students will find themselves studying about forty hours a week which means they spend about three time the amount studying for a course in relation to how many hours that course meets on a day to day basis (for example if my chemistry course was an hour lecture I’d be studying outside of class for about three hours). It’s a fundamental of life that everything must have a strong base in order to stand. Freshman year is the time to develop good study habits. One’s GPA is expected to drop as time goes on due to the rigorous and challenging nature of higher level courses. So it’s best to excel in one’s first year courses to maintain a strong cumulative GPA, a student in the habit of studying will have an easier time with these more difficult courses. In Rowan University there are many resources available to help students create good study skills these include coaching which is available at Robinson Hall, Tutoring available in Savitz Hall, and seeing your professor during their office hours is not a bad idea either.
Balance is the key to success in college. To attain balance one must have good study habits and even better time management skills. According to “Studying 101: Guide to Studying in College” by Education-Portal.com students should plan early by making a study schedule as soon as they get their syllabus from their professors, this study schedule should be realistic and take into account meetings, leisure time and dates when projects or exams are due. Contrary to popular belief cramming or staying up till six in the morning to study does not improve results; as a matter of fact it does the exact opposite. Ever since I was in elementary school my father told me that studying systematically and routinely was the best way to learn because everything builds on one another. This has been proven countless times in my life often through the “hard way”. Research done by UCLA Professor Robert A. Bjork shows that eighty percent of college students never look back on material for a course they have completed. He also states that cramming is useless and the best method is to methodically study each day. From conclusions drawn from his extensive research he explains that the best way to study is by a process he dubs interleaving. Interleaving is the process of studying for a subject then going on to another then coming back to the first subject in order to see what you retained, it stimulates a lot of neurons in your brain meaning your mind won’t just chuck it out as one of the many million thoughts it discards per day.
Distraction is the root of all failure. If you want to retain all the information you are learning and apply it to your academics then you must be fully focused. Needless to say the best place to study is in a quiet well lit environment. In college the best place to do this is in the library. Rowan University’s library has many resources most of which are available online even after the library closes. While maintaining a healthy sleep schedule is crucial to performing well, it may be inevitable that one must stay up late hours to study if that’s the case then there are many lounges on campus and Tech Labs that are available twenty four hours a day. Before you start studying it’s best to make a study plan to minimize distractions and maximize productiveness. Common distractions for college students include parties, friends, cell phones and websites like Facebook or Twitter. You have to realize that it is perfectly okay to have these; they are a heck of a lot more fun than studying. Yet as discussed earlier to come to terms with college you have to realize that you’re here to better yourself, so isn’t it worth it to hold off these pleasures for a couple of hours to improve your future? Breaks in between studying are extremely helping to keep oneself in check. “Breaks that last about fifteen minutes for every hour you study is effective at rekindling your train of thought and refocusing yourself” says Dev Dabbara a sophomore at Drexel University.
To wrap it all up, college is not only about studying harder it’s about studying smarter. To study smarter one must attain the right balance which means a good mixture of studying and doing everything else. It is hard for some students to accept the fact that they are here to work why with all the fun going on who would but it is important to come to terms with what college demands. Only by doing that can you begin to succeed. There needs to be a consistent amount of time and effort put into your college career, at bare minimum at least forty hours a week. Getting into the habit of studying while you’re a freshman truly does serve you in years to come, especially with your GPA. When studying you should fully commit yourself to the task at hand and rid yourself of distractions. There are many creative ways of making the learning process more productive such as reviewing material and quizzing yourself. It is important to know that cramming and staying up late to study is never a good idea, it may be inevitable on the occasion but try and keep it to a minimum. College is the final frontier and your good study habits are what will enable you to trek safely through this mysterious but wonderful place.
References
2. An excerpt from an email response that was sent to me by Dr.Zake one of the honors programs coordinators. “…. the first semester in college is a major transition. In fact, research on this phenomenon described as being similar to culture shock, that is, a complex experience of an intense exposure to an unknown cultural environment….”
3. Education portal, Studying 101: Guide to Studying in college, August 15 2007. February 28 2011.
http://education- portal.com/articles/Studying_101:_Guide_to_Studying_in_College.html,
4. ,UCLA Professor breaks myth about study skills, Haelin Cho, The Paly Voice, February 14 2011. February 28 2011 , http://voice.paly.net/node/26325 .
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