STUDY SKILLS
Study skills are like athletic skills – the more you practice, the better you get!
- Review study skills and “tweak” exam strategies here: https://www.lynchburg.
edu/academics/tutoring- academic-support/top-10-study- skills/ - Read about the “Curve of Forgetting” to learn why daily review is so important: https://uwaterloo.
ca/campus-wellness/curve- forgetting - Learn about and use FREE campus resources!: http://ensp.umd.
edu/current-students/study- skills-tutoring
MENTAL HEALTH
Maintaining good mental health, like maintaining physical health, takes time and effort. To learn about mental health topics, generally, go here: https://www.k-state.
If it’s person-to-person assistance you want, FREE and CONFIDENTIAL services are available on campus!
- UM Counseling Center, Shoemaker Hall: https://www.counseling.
umd.edu/ - The University Health Center (located across from the Stamp Student Union): https://health.umd.
edu/ - The HELP Center: https://
helpcenterumd.org/
PHYSICAL HEALTH
You are not just a brain; you are a body! Maintaining good physical health is as important as developing learning skills and mental health. Check out these on-campus resources and ACTIVATE yourself!
- Campus Recreation Services: https://recwell.umd.edu/
CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES
Developing a diverse circle of friends and activities is not only fun – it’s good for you!
- All campus clubs and activities: http://thestamp.umd.edu/
- Environment-related clubs and activities: http://ensp.umd.
edu/current-students/clubs- activities
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Every year, somebody discovers the hard way that they don’t know everything they need to know about academic integrity – why it’s important, how to protect it, and how to avoid commonly-made mistakes that can land you in front of Honor Council. My favorite resource on this topic is one I found on the Web. I like it because it explains in student-friendly language why trust is so important, why original research is so hard, and why citations do so much more for you than “just” protect you from charges of plagiarism. It also addresses such confusing questions as: When is collaboration okay and when is it cheating? Have I cited something thoroughly if I’ve listed it in my references? Although it’s from Princeton University, everything but the details of the disciplinary process apply to you, too: http://www.princeton.edu/pr/
To learn about FREE writing and reference tools, go here and scroll down:
For details on Maryland’s Honor Code: https://tltc.umd.edu/
STAY ALIVE AT 55!
You are smart enough to have gotten in here; you are smart enough to be successful here -- but it won't be easy. If your first round of exams did not go as well as you’d hope, remember: Just as high school "star athletes" have to adjust to being surrounded by "stars" on the college team, so are you now surrounded by "academic stars!" Aim to: "STAY ALIVE AT 55!"
Start by asking yourself: How many hours are you studying?
Start by asking yourself: How many hours are you studying?
- How many hours each day?
- How many days each week: Every day? Five days?
Students need to plan for about 2 hours of preparation for every credit hour carried; and “preparation” includes: reading and highlighting texts, re-writing notes, solving (and re-solving) homework problems, making sample quizzes, researching and writing research papers, working with a tutor, making flashcards, etc. Our hypothetical student, for example, should be studying 28 hours per week… or 4 hours a day, 7 days a week!
- Further, when a student adds class time + preparation time + part-time job, the total should be 55 hours or fewer.
But 14 class hours + 28 prep hours + 20 hours at a part-time job = 62 hours… and unrealistic expectations.
- The average CEO, for example, only works 55 hours a week! Most students want to do well, so they go to class; and they need the money, so they go to work. Where they fall short is in the preparation time.
Insufficient preparation leads to a bad exam score and the beginning of a downhill spiral.
“STAY ALIVE AT 55!” gives you a concrete equation that helps you find an appropriate balance between class, study, and job-time – while making sure you still “have a life.” To plan YOUR schedule, use the worksheet and resources here: http://ensp.umd.edu/current-
...AND REMEMBER:
If you find yourself struggling, REACH OUT. Your classmates, advisors, professors, TAs, RAs and other campus staff members are all here to help you succeed!