1. Do NOT procrastinate

I know that this sounds obvious, but do your homework as soon as you can. It is such a relief to have assignments done as soon as possible. The workload in college is a lot more dense than it is in high school and a lot of stress can be avoided by finishing your assignments in a timely manner. 

2. Time Management

Going along with not procrastinating, learn how to plan your time. Good time management skills are not only helpful in college, but also for your professional life. My best tip for time management is to get a planner and plan out your week. I like to block out chunks of time in my days to do my homework. I find that when I have it written down in a planner, I’m more likely to stick to that schedule.

3. Take good notes in class

The better notes you take in lecture, the less time you’re going to have to spend outside of class relearning that information. Taking detailed notes during lecture helps me figure out which concepts I understand and which ones I have to spend more time studying. Also, handwritten notes are ALWAYS better for retaining information. Trust me, your professors will love to remind you of this fact.

4. Do ALL extra credit opportunities

If a professor offers you extra credit, always do it. It’s a good idea to have all your bases covered, that way if you have a bad day later in the quarter, you know you’ve done all you can to do well in the class.

5. Ask for help

It took me way too long to learn how to ask for help. Your professors only want to see you succeed. Go to office hours, ask them questions, be proactive. I promise you that it’s not as scary as it sounds. The more you interact with your professors, the more your relationship grows. It’s a good skill to have.

6. Know your resources

At DePaul, we have a lot of free resources for students that don’t get used often enough. One of my favorites is the Writing Center. You can schedule an appointment online and bring in a paper at any stage and they’ll help you with it. They’ve been my second pair of eyes for all of my final papers and I can’t recommend them enough.

7. Know what kind of learner you are

There are a lot of quizzes online that can help you figure out how you retain information the best. The most common types of learners are visual, audio, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Once you know which type you are, you can use it to your advantage and create study sessions around it.

8. Study with friends

It’s nice to take a break from studying by yourself and have friends around. Also, when it comes to math and science classes it can help to have people to quiz you on terms or compare answers to. 

9. Be kind to your mind!

This might be the most important tip of all. Without a healthy mind, academic success is hard to achieve. Make sure that you take breaks and spend time doing something that makes you happy, whether that be going for a walk, watching a show or hanging out with friends. Good mental health is just as important as your physical health. 

10. Try your best

At the end of the day, this is all that anyone can ask of you. As long as you put in as much effort as you think is possible, the results will follow.

 – Haedy Gorostieta