life-as-a-lumberjack:

In the four years of college I’ve survived (three years for a bachelor + one for a master), I’ve learned it’s mostly of a waste of time and money not to give a shit about academics. Of course you need to take care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically, but it’s greatly advised you don’t go to a university just to escape the burnouts you went to high school with.

Dude, if you want to move away – just go for it. You don’t need to pay NAU (or really any university or academic institution) $10,000 in tuition just to get a change of scenery. Hell, it’s cheaper if you move somewhere new and just get a job to pay the rent. 

However, if you’re really invested in the whole of what college is (and yes, of course, that includes a social life if you want it to), then here are a few tips on how to survive the academic component of college life. 

☮ Give a shit right now. A lot of freshman rationalize that they have four years to earn a decent GPA. Don’t. 

☮ College is a leg-up academically. It is not insurmountable and when you do well, it’s a great esteem booster. 

☮ Do not settle for less than you can accomplish. Going into freshman year, I told my mom I would be happy with Cs. She was appalled. Looking back, I am a little, too. I let fear control my expectations of myself and that’s unhealthy. 

☮ As obvious as this may seem, connect every goal or action with a motivation.

In criminal justice, there is a term ‘stake in conformity.’ Basically, it’s been found that people with more to lose (a job, family, reputation) are less likely to commit a crime (well, probably less likely to do something to get themselves caught). The same should apply to your academic habits. Try to remember what you have to lose or gain by maintaining or expanding your academic habits. 

Helpful hint: Intrinsic motivation is a lot more powerful. 

☮ Disability Resources can provide some great accommodations to students who qualify. In the same token, institutions need to provide reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, so if some need isn’t being reasonably met, be vocal. 

☮ Find a way to make the material memorable. This can include mnemonic devices – coded abbreviations, doodles, outlines. I particularly like doodles (visuals) because I get bored staring at a black block of text.

☮ Break down your study sessions into small sub-categories and work on that sub-category until you master it. Trying to understand too many things at once will only overwhelm you. 

☮ Typically, waiting until the last minute is not a particularly good life choice. This will happen eventually and can be unavoidable, but keeping yourself in check is a lot less weight to carry. 

☮ Instrumentals/non-lyrical music helps me concentrate and doesn’t provide the same distraction that regular music does.

Helpful hint: Don’t laugh, but this ‘In the End’ Linkin Park instrumental has been one of my go-tos for years. You can find great instrumental playlists on Spotify, including Vitamin String Quartet.  

☮ Studying in your room is guaranteed to enable whatever distracts you most.

Helpful hint: The library didn’t work for me, but I enjoyed the Hot Spot, the South Learning Center, and residence hall computer labs. 

☮ Planning your time goes a long way. You’ll never follow your schedule/calendar 100%, but having an idea of what you plan to do that day definitely helps time management. 

☮ Whether or not study groups work depends on how much actual studying is done. When I would study in groups, it was always more socializing than it was studying. Studying in pairs helped me a lot more.

☮ If your class has a TA, utilize them as a resource. Some will hold study groups, provide advice, etc. 

☮ Office hours can be a god-send. They may give you anxiety – I cried the two times I used them – but outcomes can be good. I once got an extension on a political science paper I was having difficulty writing because I didn’t understand the actual politics. 

Helpful hint: Don’t take Political Science 370 if the only other political science class you’ve taken is 120. Basically, don’t take a class you might not be qualified for. 

☮ Free tutors are available on campus for a variety of classes.

☮ The writing lab allows graduate TAs or upperclassmen to review your essays for grammar, flow, and structure. 

☮ Quizlet or StudyBlue may have flashcards for your class already online. If so, you can use them to play games to quiz yourself. 

☮  All-nighters are generally bad news bears. I don’t care if you think you study better under pressure – lack of sleep is just not a good element to gamble when it comes to academics.

☮ Keep your notes and handouts in one place. Like I’ve said numerous times, I’m old-fashioned, so a binder with notebooks for each class in a block set was all I needed.

Helpful hint: If you’re more technologically-apt, I might suggest Google Drive. You can create folders on Google Drive and organize all your notes for various classes into various folders. Best of all, it’s accessible from any computer or mobile device and can be helpful for studying on the go. 

☮ Once you begin classes, you’ll get a sense of whether required readings are all that required. If they are, don’t be 19-year-old me who had to read 150 pages on the history of Pakistan and India in a single morning to write her midterm paper. 

☮ For the zillionth time I will recommend StayFocusd (Chrome) and LeechBlock (Firefox) to lock yourself out of distracting websites.

☮ I’m constantly telling my residents at work not to burn the candle at both ends. Christ, make sure to give yourself a break between all your work. Eventually, you’re going to need to sleep or eat or whatever it may be. 

☮ Just because you’ve read something doesn’t mean you understand it. Until you do, don’t move forward. 

Helpful hint: Don’t get stuck on something that doesn’t make sense. This will become a time-waster. Send an email to the professor or ask a classmate/groupmate/etc.  

If you don’t know anyone, chances are there is a group for the major on Facebook. You could post a message on the Criminal Justice group (for example) to solicit other sessions of the same class. 

☮ Caffeine should be a last resort. I know, I know. For some, it’s a crutch. For me, though, because I don’t drink caffeine regularly, the times I did (including to finish my 38-page term paper on the history of social welfare) it was much more potent. 

☮ This is a little unorthodox, but to really show I understood concepts, I would write short stories about those concepts and integrate them into the plot. This worked for me because I used to write for fun. 

☮ Writing a paper when you’re drunk is not advised. You know, if you’re going for coherency (this is more of a grad school story, because I didn’t turn 21 until after undergrad). 

☮ Do all of your assignments. Even the easy ones. A few points missing at the end of a semester can separate a letter grade. 

☮ It doesn’t hurt to ask if there will be extra credit opportunities. 

☮ When reasonably possible, don’t take classes you know you’re going to dislike/blow off. You realize by this point that you (or your parents or your grants or your scholarships) are paying roughly $1000 a class? Make the most of that money. 

☮ Create your own study guides by taking previous notes and converting them into a typed guide of essential only information. By having to type/retype content, you’ll be forced to mentally go over the material once again. This should only be for essential information. Do not retype ALL your notes. You should be making information more concise.

☮ Morning classes are not recommended for late-sleepers. If you know this about yourself, please do yourself a solid and just don’t. 

☮ Hilighting is only meaningful if you have a rhyme and reason to what you highlight. 

☮ With BBLearn Quizzes, some professors will let you see what you got wrong after you complete the whole quiz. Print this out or save it somewhere important for review for finals.