How to be Successful in the University - Literature review Example

How to be Successful in the Introduction have been posting poor grades mainly because of the overwhelming freedom that they get while at campus. Balancing between their books and other obligations becomes tough and they end up not having enough time to study and master the content that they have to cover. On top of that applying the correct learning strategies is important as one cannot make it without employing the right strategies to cover the content that has been taught. Psychologists have also noted that the age in which students are in the university is when they are in an active age of their life where they have discovered and are discovering themselves. They therefore tend to be more explorative as well as wild. This can take most of their time leaving them with limited time to cover what they are supposed to go through. Peer pleasure has also been noted as one of the factors that lead to poor performance between peers in the university. Peers can introduce one to many activities that can take their time and concentration and leave them with little time to read and understand the content they have. It is in the university that students engage in actions such as drug abuse as well as peers relationships which ruin their performance. This project will therefore look at the ways to ensure one succeeds in the university by looking at a number of articles addressing the same. The articles discussed include ‘How to develop good study habits’ by Jill Elaine Hughes, ‘10 secrets to university success’ by Jacob Serebrin, ‘What is the secret behind successful students?’ by Goodin Alma Dzib and ‘Secrets of the most successful college students by Annie murphy Paul. Preparation According to Goodin Alma, an academic director, one of the secrets behind good performance in the university is preparation. Being prepared means that one has accessed the dates and schedules for the activities that will take part during the session in school. Having a prior notice means that one will be aware of what is required and hence an effective preparation will be done. Knowing examination dates means that one will revise abundantly and cover the content required without having to struggle in the last minute. Revising for the examination does not start when the timetable is released. It is a long process which begins with getting the course outline in time, getting the required books or resources to help you in the studies and to do an early analysis of the course. This puts one in a better position compared to the person who does not bother getting the required outline or knowing what the course will entail. Going to class is very important. Most professors do not bother taking the students’ attendance so one won’t be worried that he shall be noted for missing the class. However, it is important to attend to grasp part of the content that may not be delivered in the handouts or the lecture notes that may be delivered later in the course. Students who attend classes regularly are in a better position of understanding the course content though a few may not. Making the Right Choices One of the greatest mistakes students do while getting admission to the university is making the wrong majors. Down the line one realizes that he is not contented with what is being taught and therefore loses the motivation to study hard. Some of the students are pushed by their guardians to study courses that they do not like. They therefore end up posting poor performances despite having the potential to deliver much better. It is advisable to make the right choices and make correct analysis of the course to know whether you will be able to handle it. Going for the so called ‘big courses’ such as medicine calls for dedication and more years in school so one ought to be prepared for it. Interviewing or enquiring from people already in it is the best way to understand what it entails and therefore make the best and informed choices. As Annie Murphy, (2013), put it, always go for your passion not the A’s that you may get. While pursuing ones passion, the performance may go up unlike when one is forced to do a different course. Setting goals and working to achieve them Murphy emphasizes on the need to set goals and working to achieve them. Every student must set some goals that are supposed to be achieved maybe at the end of the semester or at the end of the course. Achieving those goals is good but if one does not achieve them, it is good to embrace failure and work to deliver better results in the coming courses. Getting over failure is hard for some students. As they lament for the failed courses they fail to prepare adequately for the courses that they are yet to cover and they end up failing even more. One should therefore work harder after registering poor grades so as to improve their performance. However, this does not mean that one should get comfortable with failing. It means that having failed should never be the reason why one stops studying hard. At times some units may be frustrating but working hard will be good to help one recover. Making good use of time The four articles emphasize on the need to manage time well if one is ambitious on recording a good performance. Since one has so much to cover in a short time, it would not hurt generating a timetable to help one balance between the social life and education. At times, students engage so much in education that they become deficient in their social life. It is therefore advisable to make good use of the time and work hard to interact positively with people both at school and out of school. Interacting with people makes one to welcome new ideas and know new things. On the other hand, one should not overemphasize on the social life till he ends up neglecting the books (The University of Adelaide). Sparing a few hours per day to go through the content that the professors have taught helps one to have a better grasp of the content and to be prepared during the next lecture. Studying Smart There is a great difference between studying hard and studying smarter with many students engaging in the former. What students do not understand is that it not so important to cover the whole lecture book if one will end up remembering 10% of the content. At such a point it is better to use better learning techniques where one can use the course outline to grasp the required content in that given class. Later when one has the time, he can revisit the notes and address the sections that were not well understood. Conclusion From these articles one gets the secrets behind success in the university. Some of the ways that one can maintain a good performance include managing time well. The time at the university is enough for everything that should be done there. One should therefore preplan so that the correct allocation is done for every task (Goodin, 2012). Studying smart is important to cover the content as per the course outline and avoid book warming which is a major cause in performance decline. One should not be comfortable with failure but he should not lament for so long and end up failing even more. References Goodin, D. A. (2012). What is the secret behind successful student? Illuminating the Lifelong Learning Movement. Available at. Goodin, D. A. (2012). Knowing the Tasks. Available at. Hughes, J. E. (2014). How to develop good study habits. Phoenix Forward magazine. Available at. Murphy, A. P. (2013). Secrets of the most successful college students. The Science of Smart. Available at. Serebrin, J. (2011). 10 secrets to university success: Advice from an Upper-year student. Available at. The University of Adelaide. Managing Stress and being a successful student. Counselling Service. Available at. http://www.adelaide.edu.au/counselling_centre/resources/brochures/lifestyle.html Read More