Without a doubt, you were a hard-working high school student absolutely sure that your academic progress would automatically transfer to the college routine. However, the reality is that your recent grades prove that something just went wrong. You look at your final grades and the diversity of alphabet letters makes you cry. What happened? When did things start to go bad? You were a winner not too long ago. Have your skills suddenly went nowhere? Or, are college classes just more difficult than you could imagine? The truth is, college life is associated with a lot of changes that, in turn, affect your academic progress. Let us take a closer look at why you may be failing your classes, and what you can do to change the situation.
You Fail to Manage Your Time Wisely
Sometimes, the reason why you’re not doing good in college is your messy schedule, or perhaps your inability to manage time. If you take up too many commitments, such as extra-curricular activities, part-time jobs, sports, drama clubs, the system is going to fail sooner than you think. And how do we deal with that? First, always double-check your schedule before you settle on it. Reasonable planning is the key. Use a digital planner or a journal, if you fail to keep things in mind.
You Don’t Invest Enough Time in Studying
This is one of the most common mistakes that college students do during their first year in college. While high school students prefer studying the night before an exam and succeed the next day, college students can’t do the same. In the case with most courses that are exam-based, it is important to start preparing a couple of weeks before the test. This includes checking your notes, re-reading journals and books, as well as revising your textbooks. This might sound quite obvious, but you can’t even imagine how many undergrads fail to make enough time to study! You are supposed to dose information in order to learn it over a long period of time, not the night before the exam.
Your Study Environment Is Non-Productive
A lot of college students tend to have a tough study environment at home. Maybe you share your place with your friends or family members, and too much noise doesn’t inspire you to study. If that’s the case, we recommend doing much of your homework studying in the library or any lecture hall when it’s free.
You Procrastinate
Putting off something until tomorrow is something we all faced at some point or another. Instead of writing an essay, students choose to watch some HBO show, socialize until the morning, Facebooking, and so on. With loads of fun stuff available on campus, it is very easy to forget about college to-do assignments. However, chronic procrastination is dangerous. The ability to choose long-term success over immediate pleasure is the quality that students have to cultivate to maintain an academic career. We’re definitely not going to tell you that you have to forget about all college fun and adventures, but do not let them turn into your routine.
You Get Distracted
So, you’re finally ready to get things done, but you just can’t help but check your Instagram messenger and Facebook newsfeed to ensure you’re not missing out on something huge. Our recommendation to you is to download the apps like SelfControl and FocusWriter to manage distractions and addictions.
Skipping Classes
Skipping classes will eventually bring you to poor academic performance. Whether or not your college tutor suggests or enforces your student attendance, make sure you are there. First of all, you will be able to ask questions and talk directly to an expert. Second, you will take notes that will serve as your primary source of information later.
In case you’re not motivated enough to attend this or that class, keep in mind that college education is provided on a paid basis. Your parents are paying for your academic career, and it is wise to treat that kind of privilege with respect.
You’re Not Trying Hard Enough
If you have already taken all the steps we discussed above to boost your academic performance and are still not doing well, it’s time to push a bit more. For instance, you can approach your classmates or your tutor for help. College is hard, and you shouldn’t do this all on your own. Check information available on your tutor’s office hours to schedule an appointment. Regular meetings will help you work out your academic issues, address any problems, and together arrive at a solution on how you can boost your progress. At the same time, having your classmate there for you to answer some questions on college materials is better than handling it all alone.
If you can say for sure that you’ve taken each step, it means that you did your best in order to succeed academically. And after all, knowing that you’ve tried hard is better than feeling like you failed to take your chance.