Tips #24

James Carville, Bill Clinton's chief campaign strategist, had a sign hanging over his desk during Clinton's first election run that said, "It's the Economy, Stupid!" Out of the thousands of things that Clinton could have talked about during his presidential campaign, the economy was the one issue that the Democrats needed to focus on in order to win the election. It was an obvious issue--people often votes with their wallets--but it was one that Carville needed to remind himself and others about every day.

We often overlook the obvious, and we often have a difficult time staying focused on what we need to do in order to succeed. There are several obvious things that many of us need to focus on in order to be successful in college. I'll mention eight basic things that many of the people that I've worked with over the past fifteen years needed to be reminded about.

1. Set your bedtime early enough so that you get enough sleep and go to bed at a regular time each night. If you are up until 2 am or 3 am, you'll be likely to miss an early morning class or you'll be tired during the day, get lousy notes or do poorly on tests. The cycle is reinforced if you go back to your room after the morning class to take a nap (you're not tired when you should be going to bed). Your performance will suffer if you do not get enough sleep and your stress levels will be high. When I tell students this, they make all kinds of excuses. They tell me that they are "night people." They tell me that they love talking with their friends during the early hours of the morning. Some tell me that they study best at 2 am. You and I know they are kidding themselves and that their grades will suffer, but it is hard for them to give up a certain kind of lifestyle. It is not cool, they tell me, to go to bed at 10 pm. (Of course, I say, it is not cool to have to drop out of college either.)

2. Find a quiet place to study and study there on a regular basis. Studying in the dorms does not work. People knock on your door, the phone rings, the television is nearby, and the bed looks inviting. Too many distractions. Instead, go to the library or find a place at the MLK Student Union. Study for an hour or two at a time between classes. If you do this regularly, you will get a lot done and you'll be able to free up many of your evenings.

3. Read your textbooks. From what I can tell, it seems that most newly arriving students did not make a regular habit of reading their textbooks in high school. Because most professors do not ask students to bring out their textbooks to class or do not read from them, students assume that textbooks are not necessary. They believe that they will learn what they need to know during class time. Wrong. Most of the time, the professor expects students to have read the textbook. Lectures are better understood when students relate them to their reading, and test questions are often drawn from the textbook. Textbooks are a tremendous resource. You can read them at your own pace and the information is presented in a highly organized fashion. Textbooks often provide summaries, practice test questions, and definitions of key terms. If you are not understanding the lectures or if you do not understand the test questions, then you probably have not been reading the book.

4. Think rather than memorize. The most common way that people tell me that they study for their tests is to read their class notes over and over again. This is basically an attempt to memorize the information. Most of your professors will ask you to do more than just identify basic facts. So, the memorization approach does not work very well. Instead, think about what you are reading and studying. Try putting key concepts into your own words. Come up with your own examples. Compare and contrast different theories. Summarize what you have studied. Do something with the information you are learning and test yourself to see if you really get it.

5. Turn in all of your assignments and take all of the tests. Be sure that you have completed all of the requirements of the course. Read and reread the syllabus. Keep a record of when things are due. Remember, if you miss an assignment, that assignment may be scored as a zero. The average of one assignment that's a zero and a second one that's a hundred, is a fifty, which is an 'F. Those zeros are killers.

6. Attend every class. You are only required to be in a classroom about 15-18 hours a week. What possible excuse could you have for not being there at every class meeting? It never seems to fail that when you miss a class, it will have been the most important class of the semester. An assignment will have been given, extra credit will have been offered, a test date will have been changed, material will have been introduced that will be discussed for the rest of the semester, a review sheet will have been distributed, or past work will have been returned. If you are sick, be sure to let your professor know ahead of time, and get the notes from a friend.

7. Maintain a positive attitude. You are in control of how you feel about things. If you decide that the class sucks, the professor is boring, the workload is too great, the assignment is stupid, or you are lousy at a particular subject, then you will have a much more difficult time doing the work. Have confidence in your abilities, think positively about your classes, and enjoy the learning process. Take pride in your accomplishments. Avoid hanging out with negative people. Compliment and reward yourself for doing tasks well.

8. Seek help right away when you are having trouble. In many classes, you need to understand what is discussed early in the semester to learn the new material that comes later in the semester. When you get behind, you may fall into a slow downward slide. Professors do not offer many tests, so if you mess one up, your final grade will really suffer. Fix your problems right away before they get to be big problems. Talk to your professor during office hours, visit a tutor, ask a friend in class to help, seek out neighbors who have already taken the class, or get help from the reading, writing, counseling, or learning assistance centers.

Being in college is a privilege. Only a small percentage of the people in the world have the opportunity to go to college. In America, we often college for granted. Do not blow your chance. Having a degree will make a big difference in your life. You are not stupid; you are smart. But you may need to remind yourself over and over again about the main reason why you are here, i.e., to earn a degree. And you may need to make some changes in your lifestyle or how you approach your school work in order to be successful. Stay focused.