First and foremost, the number one way to succeed in college is to go to class! I understand that this may seem obvious, however there are plenty of students that don’t go to class and wonder why they aren’t doing well. Just making an appearance every day will give the professor the impression that you want to do well. If he/she sees you regularly, they will recognize you, and more likely give you slack if you aren’t doing well. To enforce this further, sit at the front of the class! How will the professor know who you are if you sit in the back of a lecture hall that seats 300 people? Moreover, sitting in the front will cause you to stay off your phone and take notes. What is the point in going to class if you don’t take notes? There is a chance that the professor may post their notes online, however going to class will always offer more knowledge than blindly copying notes in your dorm room. Furthermore, teachers often take attendance, which may have a significant impact on your grade! There are certainly exceptions to going to class such as personal issues or being sick, but whenever you can go to class, you should. 

How you take notes during lectures can be just as crucial as going to class. The key is to get enough information down so that you will be set on the homework and exams. There are several note taking strategies that you can use to your advantage. One that is widely used is the Cornell Method. For this, keep track of keywords on the left side of your paper, and specific notes about them to the right. Then at the end of class, write a quick summary of everything on the bottom. Strategies such as using color coded pens and markers may be well organized, but can often take too long resulting in missed information! How you take notes also depends on the class; sometimes teachers use the whiteboard and sometimes they have Powerpoints. Whatever way the notes are presented, you will always be well-off if you keep track of the key bullet points, bolded words, and definitions.

For college classes, your professor is your best friend. After all, they will be the ones determining what grade you get in the class! This is why you should go to your teachers office hours whenever you get the opportunity to. Even if you think you are doing fine in the class, it’s always good to talk to your teachers about the class. Tell them you really want to do well and ask what advice they have on how to do that. This may seem awkward, and it might be! But I promise that it’s worth it. College classes also typically have teaching assistants that are there to help. They are there because they are knowledgeable about the course, so use them as resources! Having been a teaching assistant myself, I can say that students don’t use them nearly enough. Nonetheless, making friends with your teacher and going to their office hours will undeniably result in a better grade.