The college experience is often remembered by a lack of sleep and countless hours of studying.
Students spend a lot of time stressing over making the most of their time and still getting good grades. No matter how long anyone has been in college, it is never too late to learn better study habits.
On Feb. 22, the UVU Mentor program held a one hour workshop called “College Survival 101” where students were taught simple techniques to help them get more out of their study time. The mentors offered tips on things such as taking notes and retaining the information that has been studied.
Most everyone has used some form of flash cards to help them remember information for a test. The mentors suggested an alternative to the word/definition version of these cards.
They recommended that students pose both the term and the definition in the form of a question, such as “What is the area of a rectangle?” and “What is width times height?” By doing this, either side of the card can be looked at without giving away the answer. These cards are easy to carry around, which allows one to study periodically throughout the day.
Another point that the mentors mentioned is to try to avoid overexerting the brain during study sessions. After about 20 minutes of study time, the brain begins to be less productive. Many have probably experience this when trying to read a textbook and realized halfway through a chapter that the words have stopped making sense.
To help avoid this, it is recommended to take a short five minute break every 20 minutes to relax, whether this be playing a song on the guitar, fixing a quick snack or going on a short walk. Although taking these breaks might feel like a waste of time, they will prove to help make study time more efficient.
Despite all of this advice, the mentors press that the most important thing that one can do is to study over a longer span of time. The further ahead one plans and spreads the information apart, the less cramming and stress one will face when the time for an exam draws near.
The UVU Mentor program wants students to succeed. They offer several semester-long courses, as well as occasional workshops to try to help. For any information on these events, visit the mentors in LC 407.
