1. Set Goals

To be successful at college, you need to stay motivated — even if you dislike a class or you’re finding your studies difficult. One of the best ways to stay motivated is to have goals that you’re always working to achieve. It’s important to have a couple long-term goals that relate to what you want to do after you graduate, but you should also have shorter-term goals that you can work toward now. Write down all your goals, along with the steps you need to reach them and how you’ll measure your progress.

2. Create a Study Schedule

There’s a huge risk you’ll fall behind if you lack a study schedule. Since you’re expected to be independent at college, no one will be reminding you to make progress on your projects, hand in your homework on time, or prepare for upcoming tests. Creating a study schedule will ensure you put in enough hours to stay up to date and never rush to complete assignments at the last minute.

3. Active in Extracurriculars

Although you may be concerned that extracurriculars will take time away from studying, they can actually mean you gain better grades — not to mention you’ll be more satisfied with your college experience. There’s sure to be at least one club, sport, or organization that interests you, whether it’s related to an activity you’ve always enjoyed or something new to explore.

4. Take Advantage of Office Hours

Beyond giving lectures and grading papers, your professors are there to help you. Successful students often pay their professors at least a couple visits each semester during office hours. This has a large number of benefits: you’ll develop valuable relationships, receive more detailed feedback on assignments, improve your academic performance, and feel a stronger connection to your school.

5. Utilize Various Resources

Your professors are just one type of resource available to you. Others include the campus library, health and wellness services, and the career centre. Make sure that you’re aware of what your college has to offer and that you use these resources whenever you feel you could benefit from them.

6. Carefully Choose Classes

When choosing classes for the semester, it’s important to think about your course load. Successful students create a schedule with a balance of classes — balanced in terms of the kinds of skills or knowledge they’ll acquire, difficulty, and class sizes. They also only take on as much as they know they can handle and they check requirements to ensure they’ll be able to graduate on time.

7. Contribute in Class

You can often recognize the students who are gaining top grades because they’re the ones who sit at the front of the class and participate often. Emulating this behaviour will enable you to gain more from your classes.

8. Form Study Groups

Successful students also stay engaged outside the classroom by forming study groups with others who they know are highly motivated. They use study groups as a chance to discuss difficult concepts (such as by explaining to each other to ensure they’ve understood) and to prepare for exams together.

9. Sleep Enough

None of the above are possible unless you arrive at your classes well rested and you’re not too tired during the day to focus on your studies. This means getting enough sleep every night.

You’ll certainly be more successful if you’re happy at college. This means having a comfortable place to call home. You can find a room for rent near Niagara College at Regent Student Living. Our apartments are fully furnished, all inclusive, and located downtown. Book a tour to see why you’d love living here.