Freshman Pitfall #6 - Distractions at Home

When you are at college life does not stop around you.  I often have students who are distracted by problems at home – some unfortunately very serious.  I had one very promising student who had to withdraw because her family could not survive without her.  Some problems my students have encountered, and some coping strategies, are:

• Breaking up with boyfriends or girlfriends at home or at another institution (or even one at your own school) - This is quite traumatic at the time.  It does not help to say that you will survive and be happy again, and in fact that the break up could be a good thing.  Take some time to review your own personal goals and why you are in college.  Maybe talk to someone at your school’s counseling services or a good friend.  Don’t do anything stupid like recklessly going out and partying!   Take it easy for a few days and let your emotions cool down.
• Financial concerns – this is always a concern for students, and rightly so.  College is very expensive and paying for it now and later is an ongoing factor.  Consider a part-time job (one on campus is your best option if you are find one) or at least a job at home during breaks.  And keep track of your spending!  The cost of fruit smoothies and fancy coffees adds up.  Limit yourself to one a week as a reward for studying and/or attending all classes!
• Family illness, surgeries or a death in the family – It is a good idea to discuss this with your family before you start college.  What are their expectations and what are yours?  If you are the first in your family to attend college they may not understand the pressure you are under to stay on top of your work.  Again, if there is a problem at home consider talking to a professional at your institution.  In some cases there are grief support groups you can attend.  Unlike an illness, grief does not quickly lift and you may have difficulty getting back on track.

On a side note, if there is a death and you talk to your professor about missing class to go home, do not be insulted if they ask to see an obituary.  Unfortunately, some students seem to have multiple elderly grandparents and take advantage of the professor’s sympathy.

In all these situations it is important to always be on top of your studies so that you are best prepared to deal with any eventuality and to keep your professors informed.

Next blog we will switch to the positive things you can do to be successful!  Until then, keep studying!

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and  Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.   Click on the upper right link.

Freshman Pitfall #5 – Getting Sick

Getting sick in the middle of the semester is not the end of your academic career, but it can make things very difficult and sometimes be the difference between a higher and lower grade.  The semester is so short and goes by so quickly that there is not time to take a week off to get better.  Some things you can do are:

• Stay healthy.  Don’t let yourself get run down.    Eat healthy food.  Get adequate rest.  Exercise. Wash your hands!  Once something starts to go through the dorms it travels quickly. 
• If you do get sick, try to catch it early and head off the worst part.  Missing one class early in an illness is better than missing an entire week of classes.
• The classes I teach are smaller (20 – 25 students) and I take attendance every day, so I notice if someone is missing   I prefer to know why a student is not there.  Just a quick email or a message passed on with a friend is sufficient.  You will have to read your professor to know if you should notify them, especially in a large lecture class, but I would err on the side of contacting the professor.
• Do NOT ask, “Did I miss anything?”   Of course you did!!!  It is insulting to ask because it implies that sometimes there was nothing important going on in class.   If you have to ask, be specific, such as, “Did you announce the next test date?”
• Early on in the semester make friends with a few people in the class (preferably those you think will earn an ‘A’) so that you can get missing notes or assignments from someone.
• While you are recovering do your best to keep up with assignments, reading and studying.

There is always the question about if you should push yourself and attend class.  If you are contagious I would prefer not so see you (and not to get sick myself!).  If it is manageable and you are not disrupting the rest of the class I say you should go!

Again – consciously work to stay healthy!

Next blog will discuss a more difficult subject – what to do when a family member at home gets sick and options to handle this.  Until then, go wash your hands!

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

Freshman Pitfall #4 - One Difficult Class

In my spring Learning Strategies classes there are always students who are on academic probation because of failing just one class, otherwise their grades were all passing.  There are multiple reasons for this:

• Not enough background  knowledge about the subject
• A professor with an accent that is hard-to-understand
• 8:00 AM class that the student has trouble getting up to attend
• Lack of interest in the subject

Here are some suggestions to cope with each of these:

• For lack of background knowledge, you can go on the internet and get the basic information (for starters look at Wikipedia), get a lower-level book from the Library, go to tutoring, or go and talk with the professor.
• For a professor with a hard-to-understand accent I usually suggest going to see them during office hours with some random question and get a chance to talk with them one-on-one.   Often it is just a matter of getting used to how they talk.  You can also raise your hand in class and ask them to repeat what they said – if you do not understand there are other students who do not understand either.  Also, read your textbook before class so you anticipate what words they will be using and go to tutoring!
• I have limited sympathy for a student who complains they cannot get up for their 8:00 AM classes!  You could go to bed earlier, set multiple alarms, or have someone come to the room and get you.
• Regarding lack of interest, one off-the-wall idea is to act as if you are interested.  What would you do if this was your favorite class?  How much would you study, pay attention, etc.?

In all cases, a major motivation to just buckle down and get the work done is that if you fail the class one semester you are going to have to take it again – and pay for it again!!!

Not every class will be your favorite but, especially in the liberal studies courses, you are building a wide range of general knowledge that you will draw on throughout your life.  And you never know when you might learn something that will turn out to be vitally important or interesting as you progress in your career.

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B.  Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and  barnesanddnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

Freshman Pitfall #3 – Time Management in General

Besides surviving the first week of classes, how you manage your time is important throughout the semester.  Once the semester gets rolling things get very busy.  One skill that many people do not have is the ability to juggle multiple assignments and to look forward to see what is the best plan to get everything done.   This is a constant challenge which explains why organized students and people in general are always looking at their calendars and planners.   Some tools and strategies are:

Monthly calendar – At the beginning of every semester, go through all of your syllabi and write down major exams, projects, presentations, etc.   Also note any special event such as a trip or visit home.  I write these on a master monthly calendar as well as in my planner.

Weekly planner – In addition to the above information, use this to record any small assignment given in class, speakers or concerts, meetings, etc.   You will see the successful students pull out their planner (if they are not already out) as soon as the professor announces something. 

Daily to-do list – Either last thing at night or first thing in the morning look to see what is due and what is happening and then make a list of what you would like to accomplish that day.   It is very motivating to cross off what you have done.   If something does not get done, put it on tomorrow’s list.

What about keeping all of this information in your cell phone?   Many students prefer this method.  They set timers to go off to remind them that they need to do something.  Admittedly I am a “paper and pen” person so I do not like this method, but it seems to me that with all of the due dates your phone would constantly be reminding you of something.  Two other problems I would have is that it is hard to keep your phone open in front of you for an extended period of time and it is hard to see the overall picture of several weeks or the semester.

Being a good time manager takes time and patience but a major benefit is that you are not stressed about what you need to do or, even worse, stressed because you forgot something!

Next week one more entry dealing with time – staying on top of your assignments, grades and conflicting schedules.

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.   Click on the upper right  link.

Freshman Pitfall #2 - Time Management the First Week

Semesters are very short – 14 to 15 weeks on average, but during the first week it seems like you have all the time in the world.  Some professors don’t do too much during the first class except go over the syllabus.  (Some schools have an “Add/Drop” week where you can easily change your schedule, so some professors don’t like to get too deep into their subject until the class roster is finalized.)  Keep in mind, though, that some will start lecturing the very first class and expect the students to be prepared to take notes and to study the syllabus on their own!

Even though it might seem that you don’t have a lot to do, it is important to get into good study habits right from the start. Look at your new schedule and decide when and where you will study.  It doesn’t have to be at the Library, but be sure it is a productive location.   Also, be willing to make changes if what you are doing is not working.

Some things you can do the first week:

·       Read all your syllabi.

·       Record all major exams, papers and projects on a monthly calendar.

·       Preview your textbooks.

·       Read the preface and Note to Students.  (I know this sounds unusual, but often authors give your information about how the book is organized or why they organized the book the way they did.

·       Start to read chapter one!

Keep in mind that it is easier to start your new study schedule from day one as opposed to making changes once a nonproductive schedule has become habit.

Next week we will continue on with more time management problems and solutions.

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

Freshman Pitfalls #1 - Incidental Expenses

After some time off from posting, I am starting a summer series about pitfalls first-time freshmen need to prepare for and to avoid.    These have been gathered from my experiences with the students on academic probation who were in my Learning Strategies classes in the spring.

The first one is running out of money before the end of the semester.  This can cause several problems:

• There are still professors (like me!) who prefer papers be submitted on actual paper as opposed to being submitted electronically.  Many students run out of money and cannot pay for printing through the school or cannot afford to buy more ink for their own printer.
• Many professors use power point slides that they make available to students.  It is much efficient to print out the slides and take class notes directly on them if they are available before class or print them out after class and transfer class notes onto the slides as a study strategy.  In many classes, these slides are quite numerous and, again, we are back to the cost of printing.   It is much more difficult to learn from the slides when looking at them on the computer.
• Not being able to pay small fines for an overdue book or other bills which puts a hold on the student’s account and they cannot register for classes the next semester.

Some solutions can include:

• Limit the number of expensive drinks from the snack and coffee bars.  (You would be amazed at the number of students bringing large, expensive coffees and smoothies to class.)
• Budget your money.  Put some away for use at the end of the semester.
• Get a part time job, on campus if possible.  Having a job will actually make you use your time better and you will have more expendable income.

The next post (and a few others) will deal with time management – perhaps the number one adjustment a freshman has to make!

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.   Click on the upper right link.

Studying "Harder"

In my Learning Strategies classes we talk a lot about setting goals.   I tell students an effective goal needs three characteristics:

·         It has to have a time limit – When do you plan to accomplish the goal?

·         It needs to be measurable – How will you know you did it?

·         It needs to be something you can accomplish – Meeting your goal helps build motivation for the next challenge.  (Some people suggest setting your goal extremely high, and then even if you don’t meet it you still have accomplished a lot.  You need to know yourself and think about which will motivate you more.)

When the sections of Learning Strategies ended this spring I have every student set a goal for the remainder of the semester, write it on an index card and then tape it to their bathroom mirror so that they read it each morning.  One student stated the following goal:

When things get hard, I will work harder.

While this does not meet any of the above characteristics, I love this statement!  It works great as a daily motto.  Imagine if you told yourself this every morning and then followed that thought throughout the day.  Nothing could hold you back!

Whatever your motivation, think about it every day and use that as your guiding principle.  Your potential is boundless!   Enjoy!

PS – Of course it is important to know exactly what you will do when you “work harder.”   The previous blogs (all 254 of them) give you this information.

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.