<p>I wanted to give a letter to my daughter about what to expect in college, and what is necessary in order for her to succeed. The following is the advice to my daughter.</p>
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<p>Dear Allie, I wanted to share with you some insights as to what you need to do in order to become successful in college. I do know that you are probably thinking, “Here is my meddlesome, opinionated dad giving me information that I probably know.” Yes, I am a bit opinionated and maybe meddlesome too.However, I have been very successful in college and may be able to give you some insights that most kids won’t get. Please simply read over what I have to say once and evaluate my suggestions for yourself.</p>
<li><p>Use weekends to prepare for midterms and finals: In high school, you were given a week to study for finals. This is not true in college. Roughly every 7 weeks, for colleges on a semester system, you get a major test, either a mid-term or a final. With colleges that operate on a quarterly basis, these big exams occur every 5 weeks. You might have a weekend to study for these tests, if that. You, therefore, need to start studying each week; weekends are the best time to start this process. If you have a day or a weekend without a lot of homework, this is an ideal time to start preparing for midterms and finals. Preparation can involves preparing outlines, condensing outlines, and studying for midterms and finals. I can’t emphasize this enough. </p></li>
<li><p>Outline your textbooks and not just underline important information: This is what separates the top students from the mediocre ones. The top students, for the most part, outline the chapters as they read it for homework. Having an outline really prepares you for the major tests. If the book has graphs or charts that you need to know, xerox these graphs and charts into your outline. The weekends should be used to condense and refine your outlines. </p></li>
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<p>I can promise you that studying for finals and midterms using outlines will dramatically increase your knowledge level and, at the same time, reduce your study time. It is a real secret among the top students and should be instituted by you.</p>
<p>I should note that I do understand that you feel that " outlining is not your way of studying." However, I have found that it really is much more effective than highlighting important information in the book. As a trick ,when I made outlines, I used varous colors of pens to illustrate different parts of the outline. For example, examples would be in one color. Section headings would be in another color. It was more fun to do using this method, and made important information stand out.</p>
<li><p>Find a way to overcome stress: You get very stressed at your major exams. You need to find a way, without use of drugs, to overcome this. Frankly, if you did your best in studying that is all that can be expected. Don’t worry about the grades or test. Just do your best and I promise that the rest will follow. </p></li>
<li><p>Eat well: You are now associating with a lot of kids who will be at close proximity to you, which means it will be easier to get someone cold or flu. In addition, college is innately stressful. Many kids get mono and are forced to drop out of school for a semester. Thus, you really need to eat a well-balanced meal. This means having orange juice or grapefruit juice for breakfast, eating lots of vegetables, and staying away as much as possible from the junk foods. Taking your vitamins daily is a must, even though I know that you think it is a pain. Yes, it may be a pain, but it could prevent you from getting very ill too! Also, don’t forget to exercise. Most colleges have great exercise facilites. Lots of people go there, and is a good social place to meet people too. Remember the Greeks felt that having a strong body is just as important as having a strong mind.</p></li>
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<p>In addition, avoid the “peer pressure” of taking drugs under any circumstances. I know that you probably won’t do this,but it really is important to say. IN addition, many kids seem to want to drink liquor since this is their first time away from home. If you want to drink, do it once. Get really sick, and you won’ t ever do it again. Liquor and studying don’t go hand in hand. </p>
<li>Limit your distraction to a minimum and use good time management: I have been asked what is the toughest part of college. Is it the work? Is it the sophistication of the classes? Is it the fact that there is less spoon feeding in courses? Frankly, all of this has some truth to it. However, in my opinion, the main thing that differentiates the top students from the chaff is how they deal with the new distractions that college offers. Think about it: you will now be living with lots of kids who want to have fun, socialize and party.</li>
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<p>Let me be clear about this: I certainly feel that you should also have a life in college too. This means attending social events, college events, making friends etc., However, time management becomes crucial. Thus, if you are going to spend most of Saturday having fun, you need to work on Sunday. Keeping a schedule of when you will be working and when you can have some social time is a good idea. One thing ,which is your strength ,is doing exactly this and planning for your work. Don’t let the social scene overly distract you.This is a very important point that has to be kept in mind all the time.</p>
<li>Never fall behind: College goes quickly. Don’t fall behind. I can’t emphasize this enough. Keep up with your work. In fact, even better, stay ahead. This is why it is important to prepare for midterms and finals each week.</li>
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<p>7.If you have trouble in an area, get help: This is very crucial. Don’t be too proud in asking for help. Professors are usually very willing to help kids out. In addition, there is always that smart person who really knows the work cold. Making friends and getting help from classmates can make a huge difference. Your brother does this extremely well, and thus, may graduate with honors.</p>
<li><p>For tough courses, consider setting up study groups. This is a law school trick that I learned, and it worked very well. Join two or three kids to go over the work each week and to help study for exams. Note: this is NOT in lieu of reading the material and studying for the tests yourself. This is in addition.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t overly rely on Spark notes and other crutches: Too many kids avoid reading assignments and use Spark notes and other crutches. Frankly, this shortchanges themselves and their education. As importantly, all professors who teach courses are aware of what is in the review books and Spark notes and usually gear the information in exams to what is NOT in the notes. It may be a dirty trick,but it works. Don’t take the short cut. If you want to read and outline the material and then use review book in addition, this might be the ideal way to study for tests.</p></li>
<li><p>"Get the study guide for the course: Whenever possible, get the study guide that accompanies the course: Most texts, especially intro courses, have a study guide. Sometimes the school sells these guides and sometimes you need to go to the publisher’s web site and buy it from there. Always get the study guide. I have had tests taken from these, plus it’s an excellent way to review for the course and help with your outlines. Again, don’t just rely on study guides! Also, if no guide exists, sometimes the book’s author post example questions and/or chapter outlines that are very useful in preparing for the course. You have seen this in your AP courses. Some lazy professors even take their tests from these on line examples. It certainly won’t hurt to check out any web site information on your textbook.</p></li>
<li><p>Write or call home each week: If you don’t call us, we will call you! Thus, to avoid being hassled at the wrong, least opportune time, which we are experts at, please call home once a week. Sunday is a great day for this. We are nosy. We want to know how college is going. We are parents; it comes with the territory.</p></li>
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<p>Anyway, I hope this helps you.</p>
<p>Love, Dad</p>