The semester is coming to a close and students are preparing for finals and typically, many students wait until the last minute to sit down and go over notes and study. If you are one of these students, here are a few tips and suggestions for effective study methods.
First things first — find a clean and quiet space. Working in a messy environment will make things more difficult. Clear an area and sit down somewhere quiet.
Starbucks, the DMC Library or Coffee Waves are few great places you can go if you don’t like studying at home. Just be sure that you’re free of distractions.
Make the time to study. With a lot of things to do, and not a lot of time to do them, it is easy to become overwhelmed.
To get organized, purchase a daily planner. Some good, affordable brands to choose from are FranklinCovey, At-a-Glance and DayMinder.
Another study tip is making sure you get enough sleep and exercise. Staying up until 3 or 4 a.m. will definitely not be the best idea if you have to wake up at 8 a.m. for a final.
According to the American Sleep Disorders Association, adults require around 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Exercising is also healthy and helps relieve all that pre-finals stress.
With the popularization of many social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, studying can seem nearly impossible.
Students often find themselves wasting a lot of valuable study time on these sites, so to remedy this situation I suggest having a close friend or family member change your password during the week of finals. If you can’t log on, you have all the time in the world to study.
Remember that you have plenty of resources all around you. The DMC Student Success Center (SSC) is the perfect place to head to for extra help.
Staff members can provide assistance in a number of ways, including one-on-one study and tutoring sessions, small group gatherings, or workshops.
The SSC is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information about the SSC, go to www.delmar.edu/ssc, call 698-2265 or go to Room 111 in the St. Clair Building, East Campus.
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