Since you are now enrolled in
college, odds are that you were a pretty good student in
high school. But no matter how successful a student you
were, experience has shown that the learning skills you
employed in high school will likely not be sufficient to
guarantee success in your college courses.
College professors will routinely expect you to exceed
the accomplishments of your high school coursework, and
that means you must adjust your study habits
appropriately to meet this challenge. A good way to begin
this adjustment process is to consider the ways in which
college coursework differs from high school.
Common differences between college and high school
courses are that in college
- Material is
presented more rapidly and in larger quantities.
- Fewer exams are
given and each exam covers more material.
- All assignments
typically count toward the final grade.
- Keeping up with
previous material is essential to understand new
topics.
- Considerable
out-of-class time investments are required to
effectively learn course material.
- Critical thinking
is more important than rote memorization.
- Students are
expected not only to understand the specific
examples given in class, but also to apply their
knowledge broadly.
- Neither professors
nor parents are “looking over your
shoulder” to ensure that necessary
coursework gets done on time.
- Help is available,
but you must take the initiative to seek it out.
Now let’s consider some
general keys to academic success.
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