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From Freshman to Feared: A Guide to College Success

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MUJ chapter.

The start of a new university lifestyle can seem intimidating, but improvising your habits can help improve your credence and increase your chances of success with a honed skill set.

“One thing we know from decades of cognitive science research is that learners are often bad judges of their own learning.”

Be mIndful OF your phone


It’s no secret that our smartphones can be hugely distracting. Turning off your

notifications, keeping your phone out of sight in your bag, or giving it to a friend to hold can help you stay focused. You can also try ‘Pro-Focus’ apps like

Forest to prevent time-wasting distractions.

Never leave it until the final week!


It might feel tempting to leave all your studying until the last minute, but it is generally understood that this approach will not help you achieve high

grades.

Students may perform well on a test for which they’ve crammed, but that doesn’t mean they’ve truly learned the material. Instead of cramming, it’s generally advised that studying with the goal of long-term retention is best for overall learning, which is usually achieved by understanding the text well.

develop a roadmap

Create a plan of action with set goals that can motivate you to work hard in small steps and keep you well-prepared for the path you need to take.

request assistance

It’s not necessary to struggle through complicated material on your own. Be

proactive about identifying areas where you need help; the longer you wait, the

bigger the leap you’ll have to make to catch up with your peers.

Importance of a Study-Focused Friend Group

The peers around you are likely facing the same obstacles that you are.

Reaching out to them and forming a study group to go over material together,

brainstorm, and to support each other through various challenges.

Having other people to study with means you can explain the material to one

another, quiz each other, and build a set of contacts you can rely on

throughout the rest of the class—and beyond in your future endeavours.

taking care of your health


Wellness may not seem as important in the first look but is essentially vital for your

academic journey. Sleep deprivation can lead to low cognitive function and

lower productivity while bad mental health makes you an ideal target for stress

and pressure.

Exercising and eating well can have a profound impact on our learning capacity.

The mind can only retain so much information at a time, and taking breaks can

enhance the rate at which you process knowledge. Wakeful rest plays an

important role in practising a new skill. Rest allows our brains to compress and consolidate the memories of what we just practised.

Make sure you allow enough time for relaxation and sleep between study sessions

so your brain is refreshed and ready to accept new information.

setting a good study environment


Where you study can be just as important as how you study. Find a distraction-free

space where you have all the supplies you need on hand. Prepare by fueling

yourself with simple foods while avoiding heavy meals, as they may make you

sleepy.

treat yourself

Sitting down to study continuously can be emotionally exhausting, and keeping

your stamina up can be challenging. Small rewards throughout the process can

help maintain your morale, rather than saving it all until the end. Next time

you finish a particularly challenging study session, treat yourself to some ice

cream or an episode of your favourite show.

hard work is hard

There is no shortcut to learning a skill. For most of the past century, we’ve

been trying to find methods that can expedite the learning process, whether

It’s through video lectures or concise texts, but all of it has been in vain. A

person can only learn by going through the discomfort of the process, which

plays a significant role in why they become capable of performing complicated

tasks that they previously couldn’t.

estimating progress

Tests and practice tests have been long seen as useful tools to help students learn and retain information. Besides revealing gaps in knowledge and reducing exam anxiety, being tested makes us retrieve information from memory—a powerful, study-backed way of holding onto information we’ve learned while also having an accountability mechanism.


Consistency is always more important than occasional outbursts of energy. Similar evaluation can be applied on this list as well, wherein it becomes more important to follow as much as you can, than to have an all or none approach. One final point to keep in mind is that, Success  is not about high grades but the strong values that we can build over time!

Varun Sivanesan is the part of the junior working team at her campus at Manipal University Jaipur chapter. While there is no constraint on what kind of articles he writes, there is a large emphasis on pieces against various forms of human rights violations and systemic oppressions and in favour of improving the social security safety nets of oppressed classes. He has an open mind to new ideas and has a keen interest in world history and its geopolitics, sports, movies, maps and other vast diverse forms of entertainment