These study guides have covered a lot of ground, and we hope that they have helped you feel more prepared for a successful academic year. If you want additional resources for specific topics or academic subjects, here are our picks for the best resources for all your college questions.
Further Study Tips
- AcademicTips.org – This site is a clearinghouse for all sorts of helpful tips for college students, encompassing studying, taking effective notes, taking tests successfully, and writing quality scholarship application essays.
- Develop Good Study Habits For College – Part of wikiHow, an online guide to many skills, this resource provides thirteen steps to forming good study habits, including concepts like scheduling your breaks and partying.
- 9 Awesome Study Tips for College Students – Collected from the New York Times, this list of tips challenges some conventional ideas (don’t over-study; tests can actually help you learn) while endorsing others (flashcards are great).
Productivity and Scheduling Hacks
- Fixed-Schedule Productivity – Professor and blogger Cal Newport details his strategy for accomplishing a lot of work in a limited amount of time, with a concept called fixed-schedule productivity. For students feeling overwhelmed by time management, this can be a good approach to try.
- Building an Autopilot Schedule – Another blog post from Cal Newport, this resource provides a discussion on how to structure your “mechanical” studying parts, like regular review of notes or reading a chapter of a book, into a low-stress routine.
- Other Productivity Methods – There are a variety of other approaches to scheduling and productivity, and Lifehacker offers introductions to five popular methods (based on a reader survey) in this post. Figuring out how you work best is key to your success not only in college, but in your professional career as well.
Essay Writing Advice
- General Advice on Academic Essay Writing – Writing essays and research papers is a common component of many college classes, yet many students struggle with researching and structuring these projects correctly. From the University of Toronto, this resource guides you through the not-always-obvious path of writing a successful academic essay.
- Tips on Article Writing – This resource offers another breakdown of successful essay writing, including tips on planning your time for research and writing, choosing an interesting topic, and actually writing and revising your essay.
- Purdue OWL Lab Resources – A critical part of writing college research papers is proper citation of sources. At best, failing to do so can lose you grade points; at worst, it can lead to questions of plagiarism, an issue many colleges take very seriously. The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University offers handy guides for a variety of common citation styles, including MLA, APA, and AMA, as well as other research and writing tips.
Special Topics
- Studying for College Science Classes – This resource is provided by the University of Washington Oshkosh and is based entirely on the observed behaviors of successful students. This guide advises you to treat science courses like learning a foreign language and tells you how to be successful in college science courses.
- Self-Help Math Study Skills – If you need additional help with studying math, this resource from Texas A&M University offers guidance for how to prepare for classes, get help when you need it, and keep up with your instructor.
- Critical Reading vs. Critical Thinking – These two similar-sounding skills are both essential to studying, but aren’t the same thing. This guide helps you build your skills in both.
- Internet Polyglot – Brush up on your foreign language skills with this online linguistics site that has lessons, quizzes and other study tools for over 20 different languages.
Self-Care Center
- Understanding Self-Care – The term “self-care” is thrown around a lot, but what exactly does it mean, especially to a college student? This resource from the University of California – Davis breaks down the definition of self-care, and provides practical tips and strategies to help you take care of your mental and physical health throughout the common challenges you’ll face in college.
- ULifeline – This resource guides you in how to handle stress and mental difficulties you may run into during your college experience. It includes information on how to keep yourself well and how to check yourself for signs of disorders, as well as information on campus-based resources for help. There are even special sections for student athletes and veterans.
- Money Management Tips – For many college students, part of navigating newfound freedoms means managing money in ways you didn’t need to before. This resource provides a solid overview of financial literacy concepts that you should familiarize yourself with, and offers strategies for making sure you don’t blow out your budget before the first semester ends.