How to Ensure College Success? Follow These 5 Tips 

College is challenging, regardless of how smart you are. There’s the faster pace of learning and the deeper dive into complex subjects, of course. There’s also a greater amount of personal freedom, which will demand a high degree of discipline during the academic year. How to prepare yourself for college success? Follow these five proven tips:

Get Ready for College With These 5 Tips

1. Make time management your #1 priority.
Like it or not, no one but you will wake you up for that 8 a.m. (or earlier) class or remind you about that upcoming exam that’s 30% of your semester grade.

The key elements of using your time wisely include:

• Preparing a written schedule and sticking to it. Be ready to make quick adjustments if the one you planned so carefully isn’t delivering results.
• Setting priorities for studying. You’ll be covering more material in college classes and at a faster pace than ever before.
• Follow project and assignment timelines. Your professors want you to succeed, and they will tell you what they expect. That’s your roadmap to college success.
• Establish boundaries, such as placing limits on time spent on social media. Be willing to say, “I can’t this time,” when considering the plentiful “Come on, it’ll be fun!” opportunities that will come your way.

One proven way to stay on track is to work backward from the due date. For example, say you have an exam on Friday, and you calculate you’ll need three hours to be prepared. Plan to block off one hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for study time. Schedule those times in your personal calendar.  

As a rule, expect to devote at least two hours of study time for every hour of class time.

2. Know How You Learn Best.
Although there are four distinct learning styles, most students are rarely one specific type. Make sure you can identify the ones you’ve found to be most effective for you and shape your study habits accordingly.

Which type do you think you are?

• Kinesthetic
  Learners do their best when participating in activities, simulations, applying knowledge, or going through case studies.
• Read/Write
  Learners absorb information by reading and note-taking.  
• Auditory
  Learners prefer listening and talking things through.
• Visual
  Learners visualize ideas and concepts and often use maps, symbols, charts, and diagrams. 

If you’re not sure where you are in the learning styles spectrum, the good news is most colleges employ academic success staff to help you find out. Their knowledge can make learning complex topics easier.

3. Plan to Meet Expectations.
Having success in college requires a plan, and the elements that make that plan effective are well-known:

• Review the class syllabus (outline) in detail.
• Do the daily reading assignments before class. 
• Take extensive in-class notes. You might think typing notes is best because it’s faster than doing them manually. However, one study found that handwritten notes forced students to be more selective, enhancing the processing of vital points.
• After class, spend 15 minutes (or more) going over the notes you took. 
• Attend a study group. Group discussions are an excellent way to fill in the gaps of anything you might have missed. 
• Know when your instructors have “open schedule” time. Be willing to meet with them when something isn’t clear to you.

4. Use Student Services for Peak College Success.

Even if you’ve prepared well for success in college, it’s wise to as many available student services as needed.  

However, in the day-to-day struggle to keep up in class, it’s easy to forget to use them. For instance, InsideHigherEd reports that only 15% of college students engaged in university-offered counseling in 2020, despite many effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on college students.

Here are some of the services and resources that can make college life a lot less stressful:

• Financial aid staff to guide you to opportunities for grants, scholarships, and federal/private loan options. They can also explain how (or if) those funds are to be repaid after graduation. 
• Academic advising help for selecting courses and labs 
• Colleges maintain lists of subject-specific study groups, or they can help you set one up
• Accessing a third-party resource for guidance in life issues. Many universities today provide a centralized free service for guidance in different areas. Such services provide access to experts who can guide you through issues you can’t (or shouldn’t) solve by yourself.
• Taking advantage of free tutoring, practicing test-taking skills, and fine-tuning your learning style 
• Career preparation, including student memberships in professional organizations
• Setting up internships and shadowing opportunities that are aligned with your area of study.

5. Give Your Body What it Needs

Research from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and other studies make it clear that healthier students are better learners. 
 There are many aspects to this, such as

• Averaging at least seven hours of sleep daily
• Eating well-balanced meals (at least most of the time)
• Scheduling set times for whatever regular exercise best fits you
• Minimizing the amount of caffeine and stimulants you consume
• Taking advantage of the on-campus fitness center or student discounts to area facilities
• Staying hydrated throughout the day. If you need variety, remember that many fruits and vegetables have high water content. Examples: watermelon (92%), strawberries (91%), peaches (89%), and plain yogurt (89%).
• Not letting others make health or wellness decisions that cause you to feel uncomfortable.

Want more “be ready for college” tips? Check out this list.

College Fit: Another Important Factor in College Success

As helpful as these five tips are, remember that finding the right college fit also enhances college success.  

College advisors will tell you that college fit is key to how well you do in college. That means your goal is to make enough college visits that your choice is can meet your academic, social, and career goals.

Cleveland University-Kansas City: A Chiropractic and Health Science University

Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a nonprofit, private, chiropractic and health science university in Overland Park, Kansas, the largest suburban city within the Kansas City metro. 

We offer an academic support and services program that addresses several areas, including:

• Study skills
• Time-management skills
• Test-taking skills
• Learning styles assessment
• Student tutoring.

Check out the degree options available through our College of Chiropractic and College of Health Sciences. 

CUKC admissions advisers are ready to answer your college questions and help you to navigate financial aid options. Request more information about CUKC and get our free eBook: Your Guide to Navigating College Financial Aid.