Whether you aced your first quarter at UCI or you were like me and almost failed your STEM classes, every freshman goes through their own adjustment period as they transition from high school to college. Here are some of my tips that have helped me get back on track.
1. If there is a LARC tutorial available for your class, enroll in it.
I made the mistake last quarter of enrolling in only one LARC tutorial instead of two because the classes were full at the time, and I learned about the CBCRR sponsorship a little too late, during my Thrive@UCI class. LARC tutorials are small, sixteen-student discussions held twice a week, on the third floor of the Anteater Learning Pavillion. Although each session costs $110 each, there are staff members and organizations who are willing to cover the costs of your sessions.
From my experience, LARC sessions are very helpful and even engaging! The purpose of LARC is to engage in group discussions about the course material, but aside from filling out worksheets and talking about the work, we also play games and make little fold-ables to help us study for the course material. This especially helps people like me who like to learn by talking about the course material and working with others to understand the material because the traditional “sit in a lecture for fifty minutes to almost two hours and take notes off of a PowerPoint” really bothers me and causes me to quickly lose interest in a class. I have even heard many positive experiences from other students talking about how they loved their LARC tutors and that they’re glad that they enrolled because the tutors did such a great job with breaking down complex topics into simpler terms.
2. Find out what study method works for you.
This is a topic that we have been talking about in University Studies 1, which is a class for Undeclared first-year students here at UCI. Learning how to study effectively helps a lot when it comes to succeeding in your classes. Here are some of my study tips:
- Watching Khan Academy/Crash Course/other informative videos
- Attending LARC sessions (see #1)
- Printing out lecture slides and annotating them during lectures
- Studying in groups or with friends (for social learners like me)
- Using focus apps such as Forest/Flora, or Focus Mode for newer Android devices (such as the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 Series)
- Printing and completing department peer tutor worksheets
- Putting your phone on silent while you study, as even the vibration can distract not only you, but those around you as well.
3. Your phone is your friend– and sometimes your enemy– when it comes to productivity.
When it comes to productivity, your phone can be either an aid or a distraction based on your discipline and how you use it.
For starters, try to put your phone on “moon mode” (for iPhone users), Focus Mode (for phones running Android 9 or newer), or Do Not Disturb (for older Android versions). The vibrations and notifications going off can not only disturb you, but those around you as well.
Focus Mode is a setting that is similar to an app called Forest, and it’s available on Android devices running Android 9 and newer, as a part of Google’s Digital Wellbeing campaign. On my Galaxy S10e, it has helped me to avoid distractions and stay engaged by limiting my app selections to mostly stock, educational, and maybe one or two messaging apps. If you have either an iPhone or an Android running Android 8 or below, you can download the apps Forest and Flora in the App and Play Stores, or you can simply set your phone to Do Not Disturb mode.
If you are an Android user, you can also take advantage of home screen widgets. The Canvas student app has a widget that you can place on your home screen so that you can view your upcoming assignments that are due. I also recommend using your calendar widget (Google Calendar is your best friend!), your reminders widget, and maybe your notes widget, if necessary. Take advantage of your phone’s customization options, and use them to further enhance your productivity! (iPhones have widgets too, but they are compressed into one long list if you swipe to the left of your home screen; coming from iOS, I didn’t really tend to check them that often).
4. Find the right spot to study.
Studying in your dorm is not advised unless it is really late and you do not plan on going back to campus. Even then, unless you have the discipline to do your homework in your room or on your bed, you are better off using your hall or apartment’s designated study spaces. Here in Arroyo Vista, each hall has its own study room, but residence halls and ACC apartment complexes should have their own as well.
Dorm rooms are full of distractions. The walls are super thin, so thin that you can hear people’s conversations in your hall, and you can literally hear doors slam and the floor thump whenever someone jumps in the house. Some of the desk chairs are extremely uncomfortable to sit in and are terrible for your back, and the chairs are lower than the desks themselves, forcing me to rest my arms in this uncomfortable position whenever I try to type onto my laptop. On the other hand, studying on the bed is super comfortable, but the temptation to plop back into the softness and comfort of your pillows and blankets and just drift off to sleep is so great! Personally, I only do homework on the bed when it is late at night, or it’s the weekend, but I plan on changing it up to only on Sundays and late nights since Saturdays can be used for going to the library to study.
With that being said, try to study either at the Langson and Science libraries or at the designated study centers on campus such as Gateway and Courtyard. I find it that I study better when I am in a study environment that is nice and quiet, as opposed to in my dorm room. However, do be sure to take breaks, because after sitting in the same position for a while, your body starts to become strained. I know from personal experience that my back starts to hurt after leaning forward in concentration over an extended period of time!
5. Ask other people for help, but be smart about it.
Ask your classmates, club members, professors, R.A.s, T.A.s, L.A.s, peer tutors, LARC tutorial leaders, mentors, just ask for help when you need it!
What I did for my Chem101 homework when I got stuck on about ten of the problems was that I utilized the message boards feature that was built into our Canvas course space. Utilize the Canvas message boards, and read the posts, because not only may people be asking the same questions that you have, but the boards may also have some very useful study questions for you to take note of. My classmates were nice enough to offer me solutions to most of the homework problems, and as a result, I managed to complete 47 out of 48 questions (I gave up on one of them, sadly).
Important tip: DO NOT wait until the last minute to go to office hours. By last minute, I mean before the exam. I did this one time and I was stuck in the professor’s office with over thirty other students. The room was packed with students waiting to ask questions about the lecture right before the midterm. When you visit office hours, come with your questions ready, and be as precise and detailed as possible. Explain what you did and be straight to the point with what you are confused about so that you don’t waste the professor or TA’s time.
6. Take care of yourself!
Staying up all night doing homework is not an excuse to not shower, not eat, or not get enough sleep. No matter how hard the major is, don’t forget to take care of yourself as well. I never pull all-nighters because I love getting my sleep. I find out that if I don’t get enough sleep for a night, I end up feeling terrible in the morning. The same goes for when I don’t eat a proper breakfast (dining hall breakfasts are the best, although I hate when Brandywine runs out of ketchup!).
When you feel like you are tired, take a break. If you feel as if you have studied the material for too long, take a break. Self-care is just as important as academic success, and it’s important to never neglect your personal health.
Some of these tips may not work for everyone. Many of you have probably heard these tips before from numerous sources, but I personally find them to be helpful. Nonetheless, good luck with your studies, my fellow readers!
Zot zot zot!