Staying on Campus for the Holidays?

With the holidays coming up, maybe you find yourself staying on campus this year to avoid a long drive home, expensive plane tickets, or a myriad of other reasons, but don’t think that staying on campus will be boring, lonely, or for naught, as there are plenty of things you can do to make this break great!

Get together with others

Many colleges have festivities going on around the holiday season including yummy potlucks with friends you may not have met yet!  Check with your RA or Student Activities office to see what is going on, and if there isn’t one that you know of, start one yourself!  This is a great way to get involved and make campus life your own.

Check out Black Friday

If you’re looking to get ahead on your holiday shopping and want to go on a midnight adventure, Black Friday offers that much and more!  Make it a fun adventure by going with your roommate or other friends who are also around on campus!

Find a cool service project

Thanksgiving is all about being thankful, so it is a perfect opportunity to give back to others! If you are looking for something to do for the holiday break, check out local service opportunities at the soup kitchen to feed those in need, Habitat for Humanity to help build a house for a desrving family, or maybe you can coordinate a clothing drive for those affected by Hurricane Sandy in the North. 

Catch up or wind down

This break is also a great time to both catch up on work and unwind for some much needed rest.  Many students are either in thick of finals, or about to embark on the dreaded finals week.  This makes the week of Thanksgiving a great time to get in a little extra prep, or to savor the days after your huge chemistry final.  Many college deadlines are also quickly approaching, so if you are looking to transfer to another school for next year, this break is an excellent opportunity to crank out those applications and send them off! 

This Thanksgiving, we are thankful for students like you! No matter if you are on campus, with friends, or at home, we hope you have a safe, happy, and healthy holiday this week!

10 Habits of Highly Effective Students

As the school year is getting under way, an important subject to address is that of successful study habits! The following are 10 habits of highly effective students.* With hard work and dedication, any student can be successful!

1. Don't try cram all your studying into one session.

Successful students typically space their work out over shorter periods of time and rarely try to cram all of their studying into just one or two sessions. If you want to become a successful student then you need to learn to be consistent in your studies and to have regular, yet shorter, study periods.

2. Plan when you're going to study.

Successful students schedule specific times throughout the week when they are going to complete their studying -- and then they stick with their schedule. Students who study sporadically and on a whim typically do not perform as well as students who have a set study schedule.

3. Study at the same time.

Not only is it important that you plan when you're going to study, but that you also create a consistent, daily study routine. When you study at the same time each day and each week your studying will become a regular part of your life. You'll be mentally and emotionally more prepared for each study session and each study session will become more productive.

4. Each study time should have a specific goal.

Simply studying without direction is not effective. You need to know exactly what you need to accomplish during each study session. Before you start studying set a study session goal that supports your overall academic goal (i.e. memorize 30 vocabulary words in order to ace the vocabulary section on an upcoming Spanish test.)

5. Never procrastinate your planned study session.

It's very easy, and common, to put off your study session because of lack of interest in the subject because you have other things you need to get done first or because you find the assignment difficult. Successful students do not procrastinate studying. If you procrastinate your study session, your studying will become much less effective and you may not get everything accomplished that you need to. Procrastination also leads to rushing, and rushing may lead to errors.

6. Start with the most difficult subject first.

As your most difficult assignment or subject will require the most effort and mental energy, you should start with it first. Once you've completed the most difficult work it will be much easier to complete the rest of your work. Starting with the most difficult work will greatly improve the effectiveness of your study sessions and your academic performance.

7. Always review your notes before starting an assignment.

Obviously, before you can review your notes you must first have notes! Always make sure to take good, thorough notes in class. Before you start each study session and before you start a particular assignment, review your notes thoroughly to make sure you know how to complete the assignment correctly.

8. Make sure you're not disturbed while studying

When you're disturbed while you're studying you (1) lose your train of thought and (2) you get distracted -- both of which will lead to very ineffective studying. Before you start studying find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed (that means studying on the couch in front of the TV is probably not the best place!)

9. Use study groups effectively

Ever heard the phrase "two heads are better than one"? Well this can be especially true when it comes to studying. Working in groups enables you to (1) get help from other students when you're struggling to understand a concept, (2) complete assignments more quickly, and (3) teach others whereby helping both the other student and yourself to internalize the subject matter. However, study groups can become very ineffective if they're not structured and if groups members come unprepared. Effective students use study groups effectively.

10. Review your notes, schoolwork and other class materials over the weekend.

Successful students review what they've learned during the week over the weekend. This way they're well prepared to continue learning new concepts at the beginning of each week that build upon previous coursework and knowledge acquired the previous week.





*Based on an article from Education Matters.