Tips on becoming a successful student

Vol 27, Issue 15, 24 January 2025

Having a strong study record along with an actual knowledge from university is a key to becoming a specialist with an excellent CV and experience. Those who study hard basically get all the benefits and opportunities, as they stand out among the crowd. However, there is a challenge in today’s world. With social media, doom-scrolling, and having all possible distractions, it is quite hard to concentrate and lock in with your studies. Here I would like to share some tips that work for me and might help you as well! 

1. Sit closer to the board and a lecturer.

I know it sounds kind of nerdy, but it actually helps. Firstly, it helps you process information better. Sitting at the back might lead to hearing other noises from your peers and distracting you from concentrating on the lecture, so instead try to sit closer to the source of information and listen up. It also encourages you to answer a lecturer’s questions, as you are basically the first student their eyes fall on.  

2. Be active when it comes to questions.

This is how you show a lecturer that you are paying attention and are engaged in a discussion. Also, it might lead to enhancing relationships with a lecturer, as their opinion of you as a student improves and could help you further with your studies, for example, asking to extend a deadline or just any other favour.

3. First work, then rest.

Has it ever happened to you that in university you are feeling quite energetic, but as soon as you get home, everything you want is just to lay down and scroll through social media, because your brain seems to be too overwhelmed? If the answer is yes, the most useful tip for you is to actually stay on campus and do all tasks and assignments before coming home. This way, you won’t procrastinate and treat yourself to high-quality rest at home. 

4. Setting a work timer

The usual problem for all of us is our phone. There are way too many distractions over there. You might end up getting a task done in 2 hours, instead of the 30 minutes it would originally take, just because along the way you were texting with your friends, checking for their story updates, or scrolling through TikTok. My advice here would be to put your phone in silent mode and set a working timer. The periods are different for everyone, but as for me, I would do a 1-hour study session and a 15-20 minute break. During your study session, you MUST put your phone aside or just out of your reach and concentrate on the task you need to do.  

5. Understand instead of swot up

The key to nailing your exams is not to learn as much as possible information one day before it, but to actually make sure you understand everything. You might use additional and supporting materials a lecturer mentioned, or just google up topics you have difficulties with, or even watch some YouTube videos about it. It depends on what works best for you, but make sure you understand what you are revising, and it will ensure a high score on the test. 

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