Student Success in College

Many universities want their students to succeed, but few have worked out the details of how they succeed. There are more factors that play into student success than just getting good grades. Although receiving high grades on tests and homework is the final goal, students need to plan their academic life around distractions and other commitments. If a student is successful at this, and they devote themselves to getting good grades, success is inevitable.
Students can easily get distracted from academics with a number of things. They can over-socialize, work long hours, special commitments, and many others issues might interfere. Whichever way, studies suffer by the lack of balance in someone’s life. Something that everyone has equally is the same amount of time. Everyone has 168 hours in a week. It’s how a student spends it that determines their level of success.
Students come from high school, which is a very structured, regimented environment. They get shell shocked when no one is making them go to class, eat, and pretty much scheduling their lives and ensuring they stick to this. Therefore, time management is vital skill to succeed not only in school but life as well. Few, if any, are born with this skill. Rather, it is refined and practiced daily. The best way to acquire it is to plan out your schedule. First, you must know how many hours you need for everything. For example, if you need 10 hours of sleep to feel well rested, plan your schedule around that. Don’t get six hours of sleep and be unable to function at full capacity. Know how long it takes to get ready in the morning, the length of your classes, studying time, and even eating. Also, ASU recommends that students spend two hours per credit hour studying. Every one of these tasks takes up time in a day that could be replaced with another task. Therefore, plan and prioritize. You need to list tasks in order of importance of what needs to be accomplished. If a paper worth 20% of your grade is due in a couple days, you shouldn’t go to the movies with your friends until after the paper is done. Once tasks have been prioritized, an important aid is a calendar or day timer. Put all of the prioritized items in it. This will ensure that it won’t be forgotten.
Once time management skills are applied and a student has an adequate amount of time to study, they must have good study methods. Even before that, students must have the passion and drive to succeed. If the student doesn’t see any reward, other than a diploma, they won’t give it their all, and their grades will show it. They must be given the foresight to see that the work being done in the present will pay them dividends in the future. Then and only then will they be equipped to have efficient studying. Something important is to study in the environment that fits the student. Choose wisely whether it is in a group, alone, in the library, dorm, etc.
College is very different from high school. Professors give students fewer reminders and a lot less individual attention in class. Make sure you pay attention, and if you don’t understand something, voice it in class. In addition, teachers make special time, called “office hours,” to give students time to receive help in the class. Most importantly, take advantage of the resources ASU gives students and be proactive in getting assistance.
Few students grasp what all is involved in collegiate success. There is a lot involved, like time management, avoiding distractions, prioritizing, and good study habits. But in actuality, when all these components are set in place and a student’s life is balanced, college has the potential to make the most memorable times in a person’s life. Years down the line, when a big paycheck comes in the mail, you’ll be thanking yourself for all those hours you put in studying at ASU.