Do's and Don'ts for College Classes
By Kate, age 18, New Hampshire
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
DO: take notes!
DON'T: bring your laptop to class to take notes. You'll end up on Facebook, and it's too much of a distraction.
DO: your homework and start your projects the day you are assigned them.
DON'T: procrastinate! It will come back to bite you.
DO: keep organized
DON'T: turn in your rough draft essays as your final draft by accident! (I've done this!)
DO: write down due dates in some sort of planner or date book.
DON'T: write down due dates on scrap pieces of paper. You will most likely lose them.
DO: highlight important things in notes. (If your professor tells you what will be on a test or quiz, make note of this!)
DON'T: take notes on random pieces of paper. Notebooks are good! (I prefer the 5 subject type notebooks so I don't have to keep track of 5 different notebooks.)
DO: get to sleep at a reasonable hour, especially if you have morning classes.
DON'T: be loud if you are up late; some people are trying to sleep or get work done.
DO: figure out what works best, studying wise. What type of environment works best for you?
DON'T: study or do homework with your friends UNLESS you are doing a study group or project. Don't let them become a distraction.
DO: treat yourself when you finish homework, projects, or get a good grade on an exam.
DON'T: stress yourself out! If you've been working on homework for over two hours, take a break. Split things up. Get a breath of fresh air.
DO: ask for help if you need it, whether it's from classmates, professors, or a student help center provided by your school.
DON'T: deny an offer for help, even if you don't think you need it. Get a second opinion; it may help expand your ideas for projects and such.
DO: get your core classes out of the way. When it comes time to choosing classes for the next semester, focus on getting all your required classes out of the way, like your math classes, sciences, etc.
DON'T: choose all your classes for your major right away. After all, you don't want to be a senior stuck taking a 100 level math class, do you? Split up the classes for your major throughout all four years. Pick maybe one class for your major a semester, just to break things up.
DO: participate in class! You never know, it may earn you some extra points ;)
DON'T: sit in the back of the class. Studies actually prove that students sitting near the front do better!
