This post is for all the candidates that just wrote their JAMB and are looking forward to entering into the university in order to study the course of their choice .
Going through secondary school and university are two different things, however you sugarcoat it, life at the university is always going to be challenging but fun, and there is no harm in enjoying yourself as a student but we have prepared a list of study tips and hacks to endure while you’re enjoying yourself, you also get the serious ones done.
Tips to Prepare For University
- Learning to Manage Your Time
What is time management ?
This is the skill or process of organizing, planning and controlling time to achieve your goals and task effectively and efficiently. It also involves allocating specific time slots to activities according to their importance and urgency.
Time management has posed to be the biggest challenge of student as they are not used to been in control of their own time. Especially if you are in a university accommodation where you have no one to get you out of bed when you have a morning lecture or remind you to read for a test. Below you will find tips that will assist you in managing your time efficiently .
Also See: How to Check 2023 JAMB Results Online or Via SMS
- Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
Preparation is the bed rock of success for everyone, just like the popular saying ” He who fails to plan, plans to fail “. As students it is very important to plan the week ahead, not getting lost or turning up late to lectures.
Spending ten minutes every evening preparing your notes, arranging your work, or reading up on the topic (s) on the next lecture is a visually painless way of ensuring that you are never the students that gets caught by a professor suddenly deciding to encourage class participation. Do you have your notebook and a pen that works ? Will you need a calculator and other equipment ? Sticking to preparing the night will prevent the last minute rush the next morning, and will leave you with far less stress, which in turn will improve your concentration.
- Keep Track of your dead-lines
Although it might seem simple, having multiple different modules and courses will leave with a variety of deadlines to consider. Make sure that you write new deadlines down in your planner, and keep these in mind when planning your week.
- Be early
We know the second word here sends shivers down your spine. We don’t necessarily mean waking up before 7am to work (although studies have shown that getting up early leads to increase productivity) . But if you can get started with an assignment as soon as receive it, you will save yourself a lot of suffering further down the line.
- Use Lecture time to your Advantage
Make sure that you take notes, and that these are informative enough for you to look back on and understand at a later date. If the lecturer refers to any specific books, make note of them as they are might be hinting at a potential exam question, or the topic of your next assignment and will always be worth a quick read.
- Set yourself realistic targets
Keeping track of what you have achieved and what you need to achieve is a simpler way of measuring your efficiency, and you will actually feel as though you have accomplished something at the end of your allotted time.
- Don’t waste time trying to figure something out on your own when you can just ask
It might be that you are completely ‘bamboozled’ by the essay question. Or that there is a certain area of a topic that you just cannot get your head around. Rather than spending hours staring at the paper, simply send an email to your lecturer/supervisor. It might be that they are able to answer you in an email reply, or instead they might be able to offer you a meeting with them to explain the parts of the topic that you are struggling with. This is worth its weight in gold, and you should make sure to take these opportunities for 1-1 tuition if/when they are offered!
- Minimize distractions when setting aside time to study
There really is no point trying to revise or write an essay whilst simultaneously holding a conversation, listening to the radio, and watching TV. There are very few people that can work effectively in these conditions! Chances are that you will not absorb any information from the pages that you are reading, or that you will not remember what you have already written about, and this will undermine your efforts. The more you focus when you are studying, the less time it will take to learn.
- Take advantage of every opportunity to learn
Every university provides extra sessions in the form of study groups, extra classes, revision sessions, or study skills seminars. Whilst these are optional, they can be really useful – especially in the run-up to exams! These are an excellent chance to ask any questions that you might have, or to get further clarification on a tricky topic. You’d be surprised how many different forms of extra help are available to you!
- Broaden your knowledge with group seminars
There are often a number of seminars for each module over the course of the year, and these are intended to give you the opportunity to discuss with your peers some of the main concepts touched upon in your lectures. Sometimes they will be led by a professor, or other member of teaching staff, in which case they are the perfect way to gain a little more insight into the upcoming topics for the semester, or to ask about anything you are unsure of. Make sure that you go and that you actively participate – it will allow you to better engage with the subject.
- Perhaps an obvious one – attend lectures
Nobody can take responsibility for your learning. You will need to motivate yourself to attend each lecture, and to make sure that you are ready to listen, and to learn, when you arrive. Missing one or two lectures might go undetected by professors, but you run the risk of missing out on the topics raised altogether. If you absolutely must miss a lecture, send an email to your professor beforehand, outlining (briefly) your reasons for non-attendance and ask for any lecture ‘slides’ or notes to be forwarded to you. Or alternatively, ask a friend from your course to photocopy their notes.
- Take notes in a style that suits you
There are many ways to write down and record lecture notes. Good note-taking is a skill that can take years to master. Think about what type of person you are. Do you write quickly? Or can you type faster? If taking your laptop with you would make it easier for you to make comprehensive notes then do not be afraid to do so. If you struggle to keep up, write down some key words, phrases, or readings that your lecturer refers to, and ask at the end of the lecture if you need to fill in any blanks. Try to write legibly, and space out your writing, otherwise it will look overly daunting when you come to revision and are faced with page after page of badly-written, cramped-together notes.
- Write up your notes after each lecture
Writing up your notes is a good idea for two reasons. Firstly, when going over everything that you have written again, you will automatically start to recognize concepts that you remember from the lecture. Reading and writing this information again will improve the chances of the information being retained in your long-term memory. Secondly, if your notes are nicely written and presented, they will be more attractive to revise!
- Swap lecture notes with a friend
Your friend may have picked up on some information that you might have missed, and this way you can both ensure that you have a ‘full’ set of notes to revise from. It is also possible that someone else may have interpreted something in a different way, or looked at something from a different angle, and this differing perspective can be useful in writing a critical essay. This is a good way of making sure that you actually write usable notes – someone is relying on you!
