Five Secrets of Successful Students

Why do some students always seem to do well even though they aren’t studying more than others or taking easier courses? They may be studying smarter, not harder. Take a few tips from successful students.

1.) Find your sweet spot for studying. Look for a comfortable place free of distractions. Many studies have found that having a regular place to study is a key factor in any student’s success. Use noise-canceling headphones if quiet is hard to come by where you live.

2.) Exercise your body, not just your brain. When you have brain fog from all the material you have to master, go for a brisk 20-minute walk or jog or shoot some hoops. Moderate-to-vigorous exercise speeds up the flow of oxygen to your brain and helps you stay alert. One study found that 30 minutes of exercise a day boosted students’ test scores by 3 percent.

3.) Get clear on your professors’ expectations. Nothing is more frustrating than giving your best on a test or paper, only to discover that you wasted a lot of effort because you misunderstood what a professor wanted. Ask for clarification or further instruction if an assignment seems unclear or if you’re struggling with the material. Ask questions like: “What are the key criteria for a successful project?” and “What resources can you recommend that might help with the project?”

4.) Put aside your laptop from time to time. Recent studies suggest that students learn better when taking notes by hand than when they type on a keyboard. That’s partly because writing by hand engages more regions of the brain than typing does. It also encourages you to slow down and reflect on what you’ve heard, a vital part of retaining new information.

5.) Work backward from your deadlines. Break the habit of jotting down only the due date for papers or other assignments. Set interim deadlines for each part of a project. If you have a big paper due on a certain day, you might set one deadline for completing the research, another for writing a rough draft, and a third for doing the final version. Set alerts on your phone to remind you of these. This will help you avoid pulling all-nighters that leave you too bleary-eyed to spot your mistakes. It will also give you enough time to get help—from a professor, tutor, classmate, or librarian—if you have questions on your project or paper. 

Article provided by My Student Support Program (My SSP). Franklin University offers free 24/7 counseling support through My Support Program (My SSP) to all students as well as their spouses or domestic partners. Please click here to learn more.