Next time you’re drunkenly stumbling through the Quad and the statue of David R. Francis is wrinkling its nose at what you’ve become, you’ll wish you had studied more. Here’s our guide to making the most of your time in MU’s hallowed halls.
1. Take good notes, and go over them frequently. Woody Allen once said 80 percent of success is showing up. But you are not a 75-year-old Jewish filmmaker. You are a college student, and if you show up for class without taking notes, you won’t have anything like “Annie Hall” to show for it. Outside of class, read over your notes as much as you can. That way you won’t have to cram for the test — you’ll just be reviewing information you already learned. Highlight or underline main points in your notes. Later, when you’re preparing to take a test or write a paper, it will be easy to find the information you need.
2. Do practice tests. Taking tests is one of the most effective ways to retain information you learn, according to a recent study published in the journal “Science.” Not only do practice tests help you recall facts, they lead you to recognize gaps in your knowledge, so you know what you need to study before the real thing. Practice tests also familiarize you with the test format your professor will use, so there are no surprises. If your professor doesn’t post old tests on Blackboard, it doesn’t hurt to ask for one.
3. Prioritize to avoid stress. If you prepare yourself well for the big tests, projects and papers, you won’t have to worry so much about the smaller assignments. Know which assignments are worth most of your grade and devote the most attention to those. Then you’ll have plenty of time to sleep, hit the Rec and enjoy time with your friends, all of which keep your stress levels low and your grades high.
4. Keep track of assignments. There are a lot of silly excuses for getting a zero on a paper. Maybe your friends filled your room with packing peanuts and you couldn’t get to the library, or the bookstore was having one of those “Free Clinique Makeover” days and you didn’t have time to start your research. Among the silliest of these is forgetting to write down due dates. If you’re living in the residence halls, use the planners MU provides, or keep track on your phone or computer. It’s a good idea to transfer all the dates listed in your syllabus to your calendar as soon as you can. Speaking of dates: check the final exam schedule, make a note of when your tests are, and don’t sleep through them! It happens.
5. Study with a group. Or, as cringe-inducing Residential Life posters call it, “SWAG.” Overly eager campaigning aside, studying with other people in your classes can really help. What they remember from class and the reading might be different from what you remember, and discussing the ideas cements them in your mind. Furthermore, group studying can help you think of concepts in new ways, which can make writing a paper much easier.
6. Eliminate distractions when studying. People do their best studying when they’re in “the zone”: no phones, no TV, no Facebook. You know what it is that makes it impossible to concentrate, whether it’s your roommate singing show tunes in the shower or the noise coming from the construction outside your dorm window. Whatever it is for you, try to find an environment clear of those distractions so you can make the most of your study time.
7. Find a place that works for you. Some people work just fine at their desks. Others prefer the dorm common rooms, and many have to get out of the dorms entirely to get anything done. The MU Student Center offers a lot of space for studying, especially if you can only do calculus while snuggling by a fireplace.
8. Then there is, of course, Ellis Library. Here’s our guide to Club Ellis, as it is affectionately called by those who have spent many late nights there.
-Areas where you can talk: A popular place to study is the Information Commons, where there are comfortable chairs, printers and more than 100 computers. If you can’t find an open computer, bring your laptop and use the Wi-Fi the library provides. Then there’s the Bookmark Cafe downstairs, which offers coffee, smoothies, pastries and a great environment for late-night study sessions.
-Areas where it’s quiet: Rooms 201 and 202 and the far end of the Current Periodicals Reading Room are designated quiet areas, according to the MU Libraries website.
-Group study areas: Ellis has 12 study rooms that can be reserved. These rooms are great for working on class projects. -Last but not least: Make use of the library’s vast collection to write research papers. By searching the catalogue online, you can easily find the books, periodicals or other materials you need.
Ellis has a lot of resources, but it can be crowded. If you can’t find room there, you can always stake out a spot in the engineering, geological sciences, health sciences, journalism, mathematical sciences or veterinary medicine libraries. Study rooms are also available in the upper level of the student center.
Happy studying!