Ollie N.

My approach to academics has changed drastically since the start of First Year Success Seminar. As a student, I have always had confidence in my learning ability, but there has always been some difficulty keeping my grades strong. In high school my grades fell short due to my lack of planning and procrastination, I would avoid classes that disinterested me. My grades were also affected by the lack of proper note-taking and inability to understand the overarching concepts of the lessons in my harder classes, so I failed to fully comprehend the content, which would later hurt me in the exams.

First Year Success Seminar was extremely useful for teaching me how to tackle my hardest subjects. The most significant improvements that came from the class were note-taking and consistent studying. I used the Cornell Method for the assignment in class and it was extremely useful; I like the format and continued to use it for all of my lecture classes. My study skills have flourished now that I know all the resources at my disposal. I learned the best techniques for studying; I began utilizing practice exams and preparation for lecture classes with pre-class and post-class studying. Another large step in my academic career was utilizing my planner, a crucial tool I knew I needed to use in college, however, I did not know how to use it effectively. First Year Success discussed time managing all aspects of your day to organize exactly when to complete tasks that need to be done, and controlling your week. The planner helped with my new studying approach because I needed to organize my month much better to ensure I would start studying over a larger period of time. First Year Success helped me in everyday life on top of my academic career. I use my phone much less to avoid distraction in anything I am doing.

My challenges so far have come from losing motivation, once I had a firm grasp on classes it was easy to let the grade start to slip away. This semester I have had all very strong grades and it was hard for me to continue to work hard after scoring well, however, at one point I began to plateau and the grades started to fall. I addressed the problem by reminding myself of the importance of good grades, and reminding myself why I was doing this. I isolated myself a little more and removed a lot of the distractions in my life, such as playing video games or TV, and found my motivation again. I believe I will continue to flourish in the upcoming semester and the years to come, with the lessons from First Year Success.