I Thought I Knew How to Study
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The most significant difference between life at college and high school is that you are now totally responsible for managing all 24 hours of your day, seven days a week, every week of the academic year. Managing your time will be one of your most important activities.
Time Management and Studying
UCSB is on the quarter system; this means that you have only 10 weeks in which to complete a course as opposed to the 16 to 18 weeks you had each semester in high school. In college most of your academic work is done outside the classroom. You will need to put in two or three hours of study for every hour spent in class. Some classes may require even more study time. You can estimate about 40 hours a week spent reviewing class notes, reading assignments, writing papers and studying for quizzes and exams. Of course you must also schedule time for exercise, eating, sleeping, washing clothes and social activities because all of these are important for a balanced college life. If you have a job, you must also account for those hours.
You will have to take responsibility for determining the optimal times and conditions for studying. Rather than reserving a few hours between dinner and prime-time TV for studying, you will have to make use of the daytime hours between classes if you want to keep up with your work.
At the beginning of the quarter most professors will hand out a typewritten page or two that is referred to as a syllabus or course outline. It contains information such as the required reading materials for the course, topics to be covered in each lecture, the dates that papers or projects are due, and the dates for exams. Generally speaking, once this syllabus is handed out there will be no further mention of these items. It is up to you to develop a schedule that will enable you to (1) keep up with your reading; (2) finish and turn in your assignments on time; and (3) prepare for exams.
Take Notes
In high school most of your class lectures were explanations of and elaborations on your textbook, so the need for extensive notes did not exist. In college, however, the material presented in most lectures is supplemental to your text materials. Therefore, it is crucial that you capture the instructor's ideas on paper.
It is possible to purchase notes for select courses from the A.S. Notetaking Service, but be aware that these are not a substitute for attending class or taking your own notes. First of all, your interaction with the material is limited if you depend on someone else to record the material for you. Second, since notes are not available for all classes, you will eventually have to take notes for yourself.
Efficient notetaking strategies can be learned. There are a variety of formats for recording notes and methods for reviewing notes available. Make it a point to refine your notetaking skills early in your college career.
Textbooks
Learn how to make your textbook work for you. Because the text is generally not explained in lecture, you are on your own; you are expected to read, understand, and interpret the material. You must develop strategies for interacting with the author. Opening a book and reading from the beginning of a chapter to the end is not enough. You must know how to formulate questions from titles and subtitles in order to guide your reading.
Underlining is a selective process that should not be done while reading. Underlining pertinent information keeps you physically and mentally active as you weigh and evaluate what you are reading. Take time to master this skill.
Exams
Exam preparation begins the first day of class and continues with weekly reviews of notes and reading. Learn what you can from the instructor and/or TA about the kinds of questions that will be on the test; make your own predictions as well. The majority of questions will require you to interpret the relationships among facts, apply facts to new situations, and/or analyze data.
Exam-taking at the university level requires special skills. You must be familiar with effective strategies for answering both essay and objective questions. You will need to know how to budget your time efficiently so you can complete your exams within the allotted time periods.
Learn to Study Smarter
Campus Learning Assistance Services (CLAS) is the place where you can get free help with developing and refining your study skills. We offer workshops throughout the year on Note-taking, Time Management, Reading, Exam Prep, Memory and Concentration, and other study skills. CLAS offers tutorial groups in math, science and economics. You can also receive one-to-one writing assistance with any writing assignment or project. The CLAS drop-in labs for math and science, composition, social sciences, foreign language, and English-as-a-Second-Language are open daily with many of the services extending into the evening hours. Sign up for CLAS services at the SRB (beginning October 2006) or call 893-3269 or 893-4248 for more information. We also have a website at: www.clas.ucsb.edu.
--Staff of Campus Learning Assistance Services (CLAS)
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