Learning Resources

College Success

Making the commitment to go to college and continue your education is a big decision, and with it takes more preparation both mentally and physically than one think. You are now entering a different stage in your education that you may be unprepared for. This reading will hopefully give you some tips on how to succeed in college.

The Transition to College

For many of you, you are transitioning straight from high school into a college setting. This can be a difficult transition for some students, and it is important to look at the main differences between the two levels of education.

• The academic work in college is more difficult than the work in high school.
• In high school you are required to attend every class time, but this is not the case at the college level.
• You now have to be an independent learner.
• In high school your classes were usually back-to-back during the day, but in college they are spread-out through the day or even throughout the week.
• Testing and graded assignments are often more frequent in high school where-as in college you may only have a few assignments and tests through the course of the class.

Succeeding in College

Establish Goals

• Determine why you are going to college.
  • What are you trying to accomplish in life?
• Establish specific goals that you want to accomplish.
• Understand and plan out what it will take to accomplish these goals.
• Make sure that your goals are realistic and align with your abilities and interests.
• Be flexible with your goals.
  • Understand that as you progress through college your interest and abilities will change, which in-turn will allow your goals to change.

Practice Time Management

Time management is not something that you only do once, or when things start to get hectic for you. You need be constantly managing your time so that you have enough time for studying, work, classes, a healthy lifestyle, and a social life.

3 things that can help you with time management are:

• Time Use Chart and Log
• Ideal Schedule
• Master Calendar

See our Time Management Section and Handouts for more information and time management strategies.

Understand Your Financial Situation

College is expensive, there is no denying that. It is important to understand your financial situation in detail.  Whether you are on a scholarship, taking student loans, paying for school as you go, or going to school another way, understanding your financial situation is crucial to your success in college.

• There are many sources of financial aid that can help you meet the high costs of college.
  • Consider all possible sources of financial aid and meet with the Financial Aid office at CMU.
  • Meet all deadlines for submitting applications and documentation.
  • Respond quickly and completely to any and all requests for additional information.
  • Make sure that you are meeting all requirements to keep your financial aid.
  • Use the money for what it is supposed to be used for, it is not free money to spend on whatever you want. Make sure it goes to your education.
• Apply for Scholarships
  • CMU does a great job of providing a scholarship platform that allows you to create a general scholarship application and then lists the scholarships that you are eligible to apply for.
  • Look outside of CMU for community and National Scholarships.
  • Keep your grades up and apply yourself to the fullest extent so that you can keep your scholarships.
• Get a Job
  • CMU provides an abundance of opportunities to work on campus in various positions.
    • Most of these jobs are flexible with your class schedule
    • Check in with the Career Services Office for more information
  • Have access to a personal bank account so that you can manage your income and what you are spending.
• Manage Your Money
  • Since this may be the first time you are on your own and now financially independent, it is easy to overspend and put yourself into deeper financial debt at the college level.
  • Set a budget and keep to it.
  • Make sure that you have money coming into your accounts.
  • Have access to a personal bank account so that you can manage your income and what you are spending.

Stay Physically and Emotionally Healthy

Being successful in college is more than just succeeding academically. This is the point in your life where you will learn about habits, both healthy and unhealthy, and how they affect your mental and physical well-being.

• Make sure that you are getting enough sleep.
• Develop healthy eating habits.
• Good physical and mental health is important for a successful college experience.
  • CMU’s Student Wellness Center's goal is to provide quality, accessible medical and behavioral services. Medical, mental health, and behavioral services and prevention is provided for all CMU students and their minor dependents.

Work with Your Advisor

As a student, you will be assigned a faculty advisor that will help you with both academic and career issues. Most of the time your advisor will be in the same subject area as your designated major. It is up to you to get the most out of this guidance and faculty-student relationship.

• Know where your advisor is located, their office hours, and contact information.
• Schedule regular appointments with your advisor.
  • Discuss any problems you may be having that are affecting your academic performance.
  • Ask for advice in your classes or goals.
  • Discuss your overall performance and success.
• Consider your advisor’s ideas when selecting your major or considering changing your major and academic goals.
• Have specific questions or topics to discuss in mind when meeting with your advisor.

Use the Library

The library is one of the most important resources for all college students, and should be a place that you visit regularly.

• Get to know the all of the resources that the library has to offer as soon as you get to college. There’re more than just books in there!
• Make good use of the equipment such as copy machines, scanners, printers, computers, etc.
• Check out all of the study areas and sign up for private study rooms.
• Consult with student and faculty researchers.
• Attend workshops on citation management tools (e.g., Mendeley) and topics relevant for students engaged in research.

Don’t be Afraid to Get Help!

No matter how good of a student you may think you are, you will struggle at some point in your college experience. This is completely normal, and it is often a valuable experience for people to experience failure at some level in this setting. The main difference between success and complete failure in college is being able to ask for and seek help from outside sources. You need to be willing to realize that you need help and that you need to do something about it before the problem gets worse.

• Try to identify areas that you are struggling in early on and seek help.
• Use the Tutorial Learning Center in Houston Hall as a resource and tool.
  • There are a ton of peer tutors that are here to help you with your specific classes and any problems you may have.
• Reach out to your professors.
  • Email them and follow up with any questions or problems that you have.
  • Go to office hours!
    • Professors appreciate you coming in and talking to them and seeking help.t shows that you care about your grades and your education.

Study Skills

Study Spaces

• It is free from interruptions and distractions.
  • You need to be in an environment that is suitable for learning and is a place where you feel comfortable and productive.
• It is available when you need it.
  • You have backup options if the need arises.
• It has a large enough workspace and furniture.
  • Being able to spread your materials out in an organized manner is important to the success of your studying habits.
• It contains all the supplies that you need to study including the proper technology and printer.
  • A study space is not productive if it does not include all of the materials you need to study or work.
  • A backup computer and a printer in your study location are crucial for research and study success.
• It has a comfortable chair or furniture.
  • You need to be able to be able to relax and be comfortable for long periods of time if necessary. If you are not comfortable when you first sit down to study, then you will more than like be uncomfortable hours into your study session.
• There is correct lighting for your needs and preferences.
  • Some students may need brighter/more lights in order to focus, while some students prefer less or alternative lighting in order to be comfortable while studying. In either situation, make sure that you are able to choose a lighting type that will prevent headaches and cause less strain on your eyes.

Motivating Yourself to Study

• Reward yourself for studying.
  • Take breaks once you have completed varied tasks or studied specific topics
  • When you get done with your study session, and you felt that you were productive, reward yourself with one of your favorite treats or pastimes.
• Study with friends, in a group, or with a partner.
  • It can be much easier to study with other people that can help solidify ideas that you may have, bounce ideas off of, or help you solve difficult problems.
• Develop interests in the topics that you are studying or learning about in your classes.
  • This can be difficult to do, but it makes studying and working in a class much easier to do.
  • Open your mind to learning new things and growing as a student.
• Find a comfortable and productive study space.
  • You will be more likely to study if you have a comfortable and productive space that is designated just for studying and working.
• Remind yourself of your long-term goals and how studying will help you accomplish those goals.
  • Reflect upon what you are trying to accomplish in college and in your life.
  • Studying and passing your classes are a key to accomplishing your goals.
• Just do it!
  • Don’t make excuses, don’t put it off until later, just get it done.
  • The faster you get to work, the more productive you will be, and the more success and free time you will find.

Improving Your Concentration and Focus

• Remove yourself from any interruptions or distractions.
  • It is hard enough to focus and concentrate on your own, the last thing you need is something else that will take your attention away from your work or study session.
• Choose a time to study that works best for you and your schedule.
  • Study when you feel most productive.
  • Some people study better at night or in the morning. Choosing a correct time is not just choosing a time that fits your schedule, it means finding a time that you feel the most productive during the day.
• Give yourself enough time.
  • Studying when you are in a rush or cramped on time is not a productive way to study.
  • Make sure that you have enough time to go through all of your material in detail.
• Make sure you are not tired or hungry when you are trying to study.
  • These will only lead you to become distracted.
• Take breaks.
  • Get up, walk around, use the restroom, grab a snack, do whatever you need to do to clear your mind and take a break before your continue working and studying.
• Clear your mind.
  • Monitor your thoughts and prevent yourself from following any that can distract you, especially ones that may cause you to daydream
• • It is hard to concentrate and focus when you are not relaxed or you are tense. This is why having a comfortable study space is so important.
• Do not try to multitask on important tasks.
  • If your concentration is divided between more than one task, you can never fully focus on one thing at a time. You will constantly be thinking about the other tasks you are trying to complete at the same time.
  • This can lead to errors, skipping steps or key points, and not fully understanding something you are trying to study or work on.

Tips for Remembering

• First try to comprehend and understand the information you need to remember.
  • Understanding the information, you are trying to remember helps you to make connections between what you are working on and what you already know.
• Form associations between what you need to know and what you already know.
• If you are needing to remember a large body of information, break up the information into more manageable sizes.
  • After the information is broken up into small pieces, work on each one separately and then piece all of the information together.
• Use note cards to create flash cards to help you study and remember specific topics or terminology.
  • Doing this creates an easy way to quiz yourself as well as create a portable study tool.
• Create graphic organizers for the important information that you are wanting to remember.
  • A graphic organizer makes it easier to remember information that is organized rather than information that is all over the place.
• Create mental images for the information you are trying to remember.
  • If you can picture it in your head, it is much easier to remember
• Quiz or test yourself on the information.
• Create an activity that you, a partner, or a study group can use to engage in the information you are wanting to remember.

Lecture Skills

LEARNING STYLES

Learning style has to do with how people bring new information into their knowledge base.
Knowing your learning style enables you to use your strengths as you study for courses. One of many
instruments for determining learning style is the VARK questionnaire, developed by Neil Fleming.
The VARK system categorizes learners into four styles: Visual, Aural, Reading/Writing, and
Kinesthetic. Many learners show strength in more than one learning style.

VARK Questionnaire

Visual learners learn best from visual images that do not include writing. Graphs and diagrams are
easy for them to understand. They remember faces and places and tend to recall information by
picturing it in their minds. If you want to invite a visual learner to come to your house, draw a
map. In college, a visual learner is going to find it relatively easy to “read” a pie chart in a
business class or perceive differences between artists’ painting styles.

Aural or auditory learners do well with hearing information. They remember words to songs and can
recall conversations in detail by hearing them in their minds. If you want an aural learner to come
to your house, just tell him or her how to get there. In college, an aural learner will remember
lecture material in a variety of classes and may be skilled at memorizing things like music or
lines for a theatrical production.

Reading/Writing learners are at home with written material. They comprehend and remember what they read, and they often enjoy writing. If you want a reading/writing learner to come to your house,
provide written directions. College classes have traditionally been geared to the reading/writing
learning style; these learners can take notes in most classes and will benefit from reading them as
a method for study.

Kinesthetic learners learn by doing. Hands-on activities and real-life experiences help them
remember. If you want a kinesthetic learner to come to your house, the simplest way is to take him
or her there yourself or get someone else to do so. Another way to give directions to a kinesthetic
learner would be to provide details about what to look for on the way there, making your directions
as experiential as possible. College classes like science labs, acting, or sports teach to the
strengths of kinesthetic learners.

Learning Styles Tips and Strategies

•  Doodle diagrams of your written information in the margins
•  Create a flowchart for the progression of your notes and ideas
•  Make flashcards that include pictures or diagrams as visual clues
•  Highlight key information in your texts or notes
•  Create a chart or a series of boxes to remind you how to complete math equations
•  Use a computer to convert data and notes into charts, tables, graphics, pictures, etc.
•  Vocabulary mnemonics
•  Hangman games

•  Use a computer to record your notes read aloud. Convert this information to download for iPod using iTunes
•  Read your notes aloud when studying (mind your surroundings!)
•  Work with a regular study partner to review out loud
•  Work in a group where you can discuss the information
•  Tape lectures. If available, set the counter to zero when it begins and note the number at difficult times during lecture. Review these recorded times later for extra review.
•  When learning new material, especially equations, talk your way through the material.
•  Singing/ creating a song
•  Use of metaphors/similes to compare and remember (as long as they are voiced)
•  Use Internet resources like YouTube.com
•  Invent acronyms
•  Mnemonic devices

•  Re-write your notes after class.
•  Use colored pens and highlighters to focus in on key ideas
•  Write notes to yourself in the margins
•  Write out key concepts and ideas
•  Compose short explanations for diagrams, charts, graphs
•  Write out instructions for each step of a procedure or math problem
•  Print out your notes for later review
•  Post note cards/post-its in visible places (when doing dishes, on the bottom of the remote, etc.)
•  Vocab mnemonics
•  Organize your notes/key concepts into a PowerPoint slideshow
•  Compare your notes with someone else’s
•  Repetitive writing
•  Hangman game

•  Type your notes after class -Create a YouTube video as a group to study later individually
•  Write your notes onto flashcards - Scrabble -Make posters
•  Review flashcards while walking, at gym, etc.
•  Dog-ear pages in the reading where you can find critical information
•  Sit near the front of the room
•  Walk back and forth, move in some way, when studying notes
•  Read your notes out loud
•  As much as possible, create models for the information at hand
•  Use the internet to research your subject material
•  When possible, visit locations for your material (library, museum, historical sites, etc.)
•  To learn a sequence or equation, use one note card for each step.
•  Highlight material when reviewing/studying
•  Use a dry-erase or chalk board to study or review
•  Taboo-type game/ charades
•  Correlate physical movements with ideas/terms

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