8 tips to ace your college classes.

In my first semester in college as a freshman, I absolutely failed most of my classes. Once I found my ground for my second semester I got amazing grades on all my classes. 

Here's how I did it: 

1. Never leave material for the night before. This one was tough to break because when I was in high school I had great grades while doing my homework and assignments the night before it was due. Once I began doing it in college I realized it was taking a huge toll on me. I wouldn't sleep until I had finished, would be tired, and left the other assignments of my other classes till the last minute as well. It was an endless cycle. Once I started doing my assignments once I received them and had the chance to do them I realized I had more free time for myself and was way less stressed. 

2. Make a daily to-do list. Every day I remembered that I had to do work for college but it quickly became overwhelming to see how much it was, which led me to procrastinate and do none at all. What I began to do was make a daily to-do list to study or do an assignment on the order of what was first in my calendar. This gave me a margin of what I could do in one day without feeling overwhelmed. 

I found this link that allows you to save in PDF and print different templates of to-do lists. 

3. Know what time is best for you to study. Some are morning people, others are night owls. I've read studies that say that at 4AM is the best time to study because your brain capacity is at its best at that hour but unless I stay awake all night until 4AM it simply won't work for me. I usually study at night because of my daily life routine, and that's what has worked for me. But I always make sure I study every day at least 30 minutes so I don't stay behind in any class. 

4. Use your professors' office hours to your advantage. Like I said, in the first semester I failed horribly most of my classes. I usually didn't understand what was going on in the classes and let it pile up until I had a mental breakdown at 3AM. You might ask "well, why didn't you go to the professor and ask for help?". That's a great question. I guess I had too much pride to admit to myself that I was failing. I had hope that the next test was gonna save my grade and I wouldn't fail the class. It didn't quite happen like that though. What I learned from that was that I shouldn't be afraid to ask for help if I don't understand something. 

5. Find tutoring services. I know for a fact that if I had started taking tutoring services since the first moment I was completely lost in my college classes in my first semester I would've all passed my classes. It might have to do with the fact that I didn't need tutoring services in high school and I had great grades, but I have to admit that one thing can't be compared to the other. What you learn in high school is only a generalized sense of what you might be studying in college, and as simple as a class may seem, if you don't understand it you shouldn't be afraid to seek help from any resource. 

6. Drink water! I swear this makes a HUGE change. Your brain is about 75% water. When your brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, you will be able to think faster, be more focused, and experience greater clarity and creativity. When I study I always keep close a full gallon of water and in the blink of an eye, it's gone. It helps me stay focused and clear.

7. Choose answers you know first and then move to the ones you don't know. This has been the tip you might use the most. On tests never ever stay on an exercise if you can tell you don't know the answer. Always do the ones you understand and know first, and then take your time on the ones you might not remember the procedure on or might not know. This trip changed my life because once I finished all the ones I knew and read the ones I didn't I realized that one of the ones I had answered was similar and my brain made references and understood the ones I didn't remember how to do. Maybe I'm manipulating my own brain but I don't care, it works. 

8. Use technology to your advantage. Instead of using a planner to stay organized I set google calendars for the dates and times I have to turn in assignments or the dates I have tests because that way I have a clear outlook of how my week is going to look and what I can do before so it's not so stressful. 

In the end, what's most important is that you're studying something you love and enjoy because if not all of these tips might seem like a burden. I began hating what I was studying when I failed some of my classes, but then I remembered what made me choose it and what made me fall in love with it and I figured that the least I could do for myself was keep going and try my absolute hardest to ace my classes.