How To Be Successful In College?

Question

I am going to be a Freshman at the University of Texas-San Antonio under the CAP Program (It means that if I maintain a 3.2 cumulative GPA or higher and get 30 credits then I can go to UT-Austin).

I want to know what I can do to be successful as a student. I am taking Intro. to Politics, History: Civil War to the Present, Spanish I (Ugh!), College Algebra, and Writing Composition I.

What steps can I take to make the highest grade possible and what study tips can I follow in order to get the most out of my study time?

Thanks!

Answer 1

make sure you read through your syllabi thoroughly.  what i do at the beginning of each semester is go through all my syllabi for all my classes at the same time, and make a giant list, in order, of all the major due dates i have (e.g. big paper for History 9/21, test in Spanish 9/24, test in algebra 9/25) so that i know long in advance when everything is coming, and cross stuff off as i get it done.

it's going to be seriously tempting to procrastinate, but if you have breaks between classes, or you're done at 3 in the afternoon or something, MAKE YOURSELF SIT DOWN AND GET WORK DONE.  you're not going to want to work at 8:30 at night when everyone's messing around and whatever's on tv and so and so is having a party.  sure, it's lame to be doing work right after class, but you'll be glad when you finish it.

just work hard and stay focused.  fun is for after you're down with your work, not before.  you'll be glad in the morning when stuff is due and everyone around you was up all night because they didn't sit down for an hour after class.