Actively Engage with Your Studies

Welcome back. In the last three parts of our 2023 edition of How to Succeed in College, we covered the success mindset, working efficiently, and the role of wellness. Today, we’re talking about something a bit more abstract: How to actively engage with your college studies.

Like it or not, a college degree is not just a thing you get by doing the bare minimum. To truly get value out of college, you need to carve a path of your own. But how?

Learning styles and engagement

One way to actively engage with your studies is to identify your learning style and tailor your study habits to it. Are you a visual learner? Consider using mind maps or diagrams to organize your notes. Some professors will work with you – maybe you can complete an independent visual project, either as an independent study or as a capstone project for a course. The same is true of kinesthetic or auditory learning styles. Actively engage by making artifacts that you can put into a portfolio to show others (like future employers) and yourself what you’ve learned.Professors: Not Your Enemy, Not Your Customer Service Manager, but There for You Nonetheless

A successful college student is one who has positive relationships with their professors. One often-overlooked way to actively engage with your studies is by building relationships with your professors. Don’t be afraid to go to office hours or ask for help when you need it. Professors are a valuable resource and can provide guidance and support as you navigate your academic journey. Many professors can seem intimidating, but many professors also spend their office hours either wishing students would show up or wishing that students would show up to do something besides beg for special treatment.

That doesn’t mean you should go and argue with the professor, or use him or her as a therapist (they do not get paid enough for that), and certainly don’t use office hours as a replacement for attending class regularly. Instead, try to have a conversation about the ideas and content in the class. Ask for suggestions to take your learning further (assuming you’re all caught up, that is), like additional readings, ideas, or concepts. Added bonus: Being actively engaged like this will help you develop positive relationships, which can pay dividends when you need references and recommendations.

Tutoring services: Not just a last resort

Many colleges provide tutoring services. If you are struggling, definitely reach out. Even if you aren’t, it might be worth it to check out the tutoring services. Sometimes, the individual attention can help you maximize your success, improve test taking techniques and study skills, and so on. Some tutoring centers will facilitate or help you form a study group, which can also be valuable. Some tutoring centers also have snacks, and who doesn’t want snacks? In an time crunch emergency, you can always use an essay writing service .

Reflect and consider

Once every week or two take one hour and write down what you’ve been learning. What fun (or not-so-fun) facts, or ideas, or concepts have come up? What questions do you still have? What connections can you make across your classes? What are you curious about? Revisit your ideas of success and how to succeed in college. Have they changed? They should, because otherwise, there’s no real point to college, is there?

We don’t have all the answers, but we know that actively engaging with your studies can help you achieve college success in powerful ways. Thanks for reading. Next time, we’ll talk about a tough topic: How to get the toxic people right out of your life. Believe it or not, this could be the difference in achieving success.

Jenny Roy