We all know that it can be difficult to study in college.  There are simply so many distractions.  There are club meetings to attend, parties to plan, lunches to enjoy.  For some, there are outside commitments to work and family.  And for everyone, there is already the over-committed schedule of attending classes and making sure that the daily assignments are met.  It can be harrowing to try and balance it all.  But if you learn early on how to study in college, you can make the most of your college career with little stress and lots of great experiences.

Make studying a daily habit 

Yes, there is a lot going on, but you have more daily time than you think that you do.  If you can maximize this time to get studying in on a regular, daily basis, then you won’t be overwhelmed when big exams and papers are coming up on you.  You’ll already be prepared so the big push won’t seem so big at all.  So how do you fit studying in every day?

• Attend class.  It isn’t always fun, it isn’t always exciting, and it doesn’t always feel like you can make it there one time.  But if you do, you learn what the professor wants you to learn without adding any new study time to your day.  Pay attention while you’re there, take notes, ask questions and make sure that you understand the material the first time that it’s presented.  That way, you don’t have to re-learn what you have already been taught.

• Plan actual study time in to your week.  Consider it a job.  From 2-3 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you are committed to being at your desk, reading your books.  Don’t let anything interfere with the time you set.  That way, when you leave the desk, you feel like you’ve accomplished something and can better enjoy the fun times.

• Incorporate discussions about class material into your conversations with classmates.  This reinforces your learning and makes you remember the material without seeming like work at all.
  

Learn to be organized 

One of the main reasons that many students feel like it’s hard to find time to do all of the studying necessary to do well in college is that they are disorganized.  The time it takes to find your notes, figure out what your assignments are and re-read material you’ve already read contributes to the difficult of studying in college.  By being organized, you save yourself a lot of time, energy and stress.

• Use a calendar.  Spend time at the beginning of each semester going through your syllabus, identifying what needs to be done for each class when and writing it on to a calendar.  Now, get a new calendar, re-write all of those deadlines so that they are due several days before they actually are which helps account for unexpected delays caused by your real life.  Hang the calendar up, look at it daily and commit to meeting your commitments.

• Keep notes.  Class notes, book notes and research notes for each class should be kept in a single place.  A computer file for each class, a file folder for each subject … whatever it takes so that you know exactly where your class materials are when you need to use them to study.
  

Make use of all resources 

To study well in college, you should take advantage of the different resources available to you for studying.  Realize that you can study alone, in small groups, with your class as a whole and one-to-one with the professor during office hours.  Incorporate all of these methods of study into your daily life and you will soon find that you are studying for college without actually feeling like you are studying at all.  The studying will just be a part of what you do and will begin to feel natural.  This is where studying becomes learning and is really what college life is all about!

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