Many students feel like their high school study habits aren't very effective in college. This is understandable, as college isn't anything like high school. The professors are less personally involved, classes are bigger, exams are worth more, reading is intense, and classes are way more rigorous. This doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you; it simply means you need to learn some more effective study skills. Fortunately, there are many effective study tricks that are shown to be effective.
Reading is not studying
Just by reading and re-reading notes or texts is not actively engaging in the material. It is simply re-reading your writings. Only doing the readings for class is not at all studying. Re-reading results in forgetting quickly.
Think of reading as an essential part of pre-studying, but learning information demands actively engaging in the material. Active engagement is the process of deriving meaning from text that involves forming connections to lectures, forming examples and managing your own learning.
Organization and planning will assist you to actively study for your courses. When studying for a test, organize your reading materials first and then start your active reviewing by topic.
Spacing out is good
One of the most effective learning strategies is "distributed practice," meaning, spacing out your studying through several short periods of time over several days and weeks. The most impactful practice is to study for a short time in each class every day. The necessary thing is how you use your study time, not how long you study. Long study sessions result in lack of concentration and therefore, a lack of learning and retention.
In addition to learning the material more deeply, spacing out your work helps in getting rid of procrastination. Rather than having to work on the dreaded project for 4 hours on Monday, you can work on the dreaded project for 30 minutes per day. The shorter, more consistent time to work on a dreaded project has high chances to be more acceptable and low chances of being delayed to the last minute.
It's good to be intense
Intensive studying is short and it will allow you to get work done with minimal wasted effort. Shorter, intensive study sessions are more effective than drawn out studying.
Intensive studying can last for 30 or 45 minutes, including active studying strategies. If you plan to quiz yourself on the study material for 45 minutes and then take a break, you are much more likely to focus your attention and memorize the information.
Silence isn't golden
Find out where you study best. The quietness of a library may not be the best place for you. It's essential to consider what noise environment works best for you. You may discover that you concentrate better with some background noise. Some people find listening to classical music while studying convenient, while others may find it highly distracting. Remember that active studying is rarely silent, as it often requires saying the material loudly.
Problems are your friend
Working and re-working problems is necessary for technical courses. You should be able to explain the steps of problems and why they work.
In technical courses, it is necessary to work on problems than reading the text. When preparing for tests, make a large list of problems from the course materials and lectures. Work the problems, explain the steps and why they work.
Use downtime to your advantage
Look out for 'easy' weeks. They are the calm before the storm. Lighter work weeks are a great time to proceed on work or to get started on long projects. Use the extra time to get ahead on assignments or to start big projects and papers. In fact, it is advisable to do some work for each of your classes every day. Spending 30 minutes per class every day will add up to 3 hours per week, but spreading, but spreading this time through 6 days is more effective than cramming it all in one long 3-hour session.
Conclusion
Studying doesn't have to be boring or unnecessarily complicated. You can combine the above strategies with your own tips and tricks to create a schedule that makes the best out of you.
Remember to take frequent breaks and utilize the free time doing things that make you smile and lift your mood. It can be anything from cooking, playing games, finishing an online course, you name it. There are a lot of things you can do, so use them for your development on all levels.
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