Advice
Mastering Those ‘Freshman Fifteen’
By Marcy Kraus, dean of freshmen and director of the College Center for Academic Support
Many students find themselves working harder when they begin college. But are they working smarter? Successful college students are strategic in approaching their academic lives. And rightly so. The game has changed, and the rules that worked so well in middle school and high school don't apply anymore. Just as experienced baseball players rely on spring training to fine tune their skills for the arduous upcoming season, so must college students (novice and experienced) recognize that ability and talent might not take them as far as they hope to go.
Students who challenge themselves to master the "freshman fifteen" will find that they will go further in college than those who blissfully believe that they'll do fine if they just do what they've always done.
Freshman Fifteen:
- Take responsibility for your learning. It can be tempting to blame your roommate's social life, the TA "who doesn't know anything" and the professor who "doesn't like you" for your academic difficulties. Successful students take responsibility for their performance and actively evaluate what steps they can take to improve upon their previous efforts.
- Engage with your coursework. While not every class will be spectacularly interesting, you will learn more and be more successful by actively—rather than passively—engaging with your readings, lectures, and course materials.
- Go to class prepared to listen, take notes, participate, think about what you are hearing and learning and ask questions.
- Note taking is not just writing down everything the professor says.
- Studying is not just about memorization, although that can be important.
- Most optional course activities are not that optional. Take advantage of the extra readings, recommended assignments, review sessions, recitations and study groups.
- Check in with a study skills counselor or academic adviser every semester.
- Make time for yourself and your outside of class interests
- Remember the first time you used a planner in elementary school? Create a "micro" schedule and a "macro" schedule. Know what's coming tomorrow and also what's coming next month. You never age out of using a planner.
- Treat college (minimally) like a full time job.
- Ask for help at the first sign of course-related problems. Don't wait (and wait and wait) until it's too late to fix the situation. Ask your professors and TAs for advice about how to address your difficulties.
- Use positive self-talk to manage your stress.
- Don't confuse exams with self worth. Exams evaluate your knowledge, not who you are as a person. On the other hand, exams are an important part of college and an important part of life. Learning the art of test taking will prove to be very valuable.
- Utilize a variety of learning and study strategies. Don't assume that studying for a psychology exam is just like studying for an English exam. It's not.
- Set goals and make plans for this semester and for life after college. Revisit your plans periodically to see if they still "fit." Make adjustments as needed.