Grove City College—Tips for Academic Success
At Grove City College we want to maximize learning for all our students. Below are the main areas in the order you are likely to encounter them in college, as well as some suggested links that can further aid you in your quest towards academic success at Grove City. Additionally, however, we want to encourage you to seek help early if you find yourself struggling academically. Thus, the bottom of the page provides suggested resources specific to Grove City College. May God bless you as you seek to glorify him in your studies!
TIME MANAGEMENT
Time management is often overlooked by
many students when analyzing their success (or failure) as a student.
However, time management and organizational skills are fundamental and
are often the first indicator of a successful (or unsuccessful) student.
· General Time Management Tips
·
Creating a Successful Schedule
Additional Links:
Time Management
Quiz: This interactive quiz offers
thought provoking questions about how you use your time.
ACTIVE LISTENING AND NOTE-TAKING
Active listening goes beyond simply
hearing a lecture. Instead, it
involves purposeful engagement and processing of the information.
Although it includes more effort up front, active listening and effective
note-taking can save you hours of time studying in the long run.
·
Specific
Method of Taking Notes (The Cornell Method)
Additional Links:
Cornell Method PDF Generator: This program generates personalized Cornell Method note paper.
Additional Note-Taking Methods: Don’t like the Cornell Method? Check out these other methods!
STRATEGIC READING
Whether reading for class or for
pleasure, it is likely that you’ve read something—only to discover twenty pages
(and twenty minutes) later that you have no recollection of what you have just
read. It happens to us all!
Strategic reading requires a greater initial effort, but it will save you
having to re-read 20 pages again!
In addition, it provides a ready-made study guide when it is time to take a
test.
·
Specific Method of
Reading (The SQ3R Method)
Additional Links:
How
to use the SQ3R method and effective reading:
The Academic Skills Center at Dartmouth offers strategies on reading more
efficiently and effectively.
SYSTEMATIC STUDYING
Effective studying begins long before you
sit down to memorize the information just before a test.
It starts with effective time management and proceeds on throughout the
semester with effective listening and reading (see above for specifics on this).
Regardless, there are some general tips that can improve your chances of
success.
·
General Systematic Studying Tips
Additional Links:
Different types of studying:
Learn about three types of studying and a plan to reduce internal distractions.
TEST TAKING STRATEGIES
You’ve now put in the effort, but it is
time for the actual test. The
following links are some tips to implement before, during, and even after (yes,
after!) taking a test:
·
General Tips Before, During, and After the Test
Additional Links:
Strategies for Taking
Tests: See “Strategies for Success”
for test taking tips.
ADDITIONAL LINKS AND RESOURCES
·
Study
Skills Overview: Learn the basics of
succeeding in class from start to finish.
·
Study Guides and Strategies
Website: This website offers a broad
overview of additional study skill tips and techniques (including helpful
information on miscellaneous topics such as influencing teachers, taking
specific types of tests, studying for subjects such as Math, etc.).
·
How
to Study.Org: Trouble concentrating?
Want to improve your memory skills? Need tips for giving a speech?
This website has it all!
·
Virginia Tech’s
Cook Counseling Center Website:
Virginia Tech’s Cook Counseling Center offers a wide range of interactive and
informative topics—including online tutorials and quizzes about time management,
improving test performance, increasing textbook reading comprehension using
SQ3R, and suggestions for improving concentration and memory.
·
“How to Study: A Brief Guide” :
Written by William J. Rapaport from State University of New York at Buffalo,
this website will inform and entertain you with effective study strategies on a
variety of topics.
·
Study Habits:
This website is maintained by college students for other students and offers a
free subscription to their newsletter.
·
Ohio University:
Click on the “Study Tips” icon for numerous study strategies put together
by the University’s Academic Advancement Center.
·
Comprehensive Links to Additional Sites by Category:
Interested in learning more about a
particular aspect of study skills?
This list provides a topical breakdown with multiple links to additional sites.