Study Strategies for Undergraduates

Schedule Your Study Time
Once you have finalized your class schedule and know which extracurricular activities you're doing, make a schedule for yourself. Your schedule should show the days of week as long columns. Along the left side of these columns, write time slots in one hour increments, e.g., 9:00-10:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., etc. Block out those time slots that classes and activities occupy. The unaccounted-for spaces in your schedule are the times you can study. Though you don't have to use all of them for studying, if you pick a few two to three hour blocks that you will devote to studying, you will thank yourself later, especially at test and exam time...and when those grades get sent home to Mom and Dad.

Leave The Dorm
I hope that your dorm is a hotbed of fun and excitement. The dorm is a place where lucky students make some of their best memories of college. However, if you are one of these lucky students, you should take your studying on the road so that the fun and excitement does not interfere with your absorption of course information.

When it's time for you to keep your appointed study date with yourself, pack a bag and head to the library, the cafeteria during off-hours, or whatever place that works for you. Even though Starbucks shops can be noisy, usually there are a lot of people already there working and setting a good example. Besides, if the noise doesn't pertain specifically to gossip in your dorm, you will find it less distracting.

You might not like this idea at first, but it really is a good one. Having a specific place to study in addition to the specific times you've dedicated to study will help you take your course work more seriously. Also, when you're done, you get to go back to the dorm and have fun. Too often trying to study in the dorm leads to talking to friends with a book in your lap and wondering why you don't get anything done.

But How Do I Do The Actual Studying?
Making studying a regular part of your routine is really the most important challenge you face as an undergrad. But once you're unpacking at Starbucks, you might wonder what's next. Because it's something that they have to do, and because the stakes are so high, some students feel like there must be some secret to studying at the college level that they're not in on.

Studying the most effective way to study begins before your appointed study times you've set aside. To be the best and most efficient student you can be, make sure you attend every class. Once there, take notes. Your professors will not tell you "write down everything that I say," but generally, they assume you are intently listening and that you know you are responsible for what goes on in class. Take notes on what happens in each class, and review these each time you study. If you have questions about your notes, write them down and be sure to ask your professor about them during the next class, or in office hours. Most students don't realize this, but if you go to class and pay attention, that goes a long way towards preparing you for your exams and coursework. Which brings me to the last point: use your designated study time to stay on top of your class assignments. Take notes on the reading, highlight it, and write down the questions it raises for you. You will be a star at the next class meeting.