Make Your Summer Count

As a student who has taken significant advantage of the many summer session courses that UConn has to offer, I would like to take the time to make the case for why taking a summer course may benefit you. Are you a freshman or a sophomore who struggled in a class and would jump at the chance to retake it, but do not want to fall behind? Are you a junior who still has several higher level classes to take, and are unsure if you will be able to graduate in time? Taking at least one summer session course could solve either of these problems and help build the confidence needed to relax and have a successful semester in the fall.

Taking a class during the summer at UConn often provides a different atmosphere than during the semester. There are much less distractions. Dorms are empty, nobody is walking down Fairfield Way, the weather is beautiful, and it all serves as the perfect atmosphere to relax and focus on academics. That statistics class you took at 8 AM along with 50 other people now becomes a class at noon with ten others, and the professor is relaxed and able to give you a lot more attention. This is just one example of how a class that seemed difficult or boring in the past can now become one that you find interesting and manageable.

Another benefit of taking a course in the summer is that you are allowed to be a lot more flexible with choosing the course(s) that you want. Many classes that are general education requirements are offered in multiple sessions. Many courses are also offered at UConn’s regional campuses. The only restrictions are that you must first take all prerequisite classes for a desired course.

So go ahead, check out the list of classes: http://summersession.uconn.edu/summer/ , and consider investing at least a few weeks of your summer into your UConn career. I believe that you will be pleased you did!

The Final Stretch

There’s two weeks left of class and your mind may be more preoccupied with summer plans and Spring Weekend but don’t forget that finals are right around the corner. So how are you going to make it through that final stretch so that you can kick back and relax? If you haven’t thought about it yet now is a great time to start planning out how you’re going to finish out the semester.

First and foremost, you should take a look at the rest of your semester and see what assignments, group projects and quizzes you have before the final. Try to get a head start on those things this next week so that you will be less stressed out and will have more time to concentrate on prepping for finals.

Next, take a serious look at the classes you’re taking. Which classes have cumulative finals? How much does your final count towards your final grade? Which classes have you had trouble with during the semester and which classes will take more time to study for? By answering these questions you will have a better idea about which classes will require more time and how you should divide your studying time. Also make sure that you double check your final exam schedule at http://www.registrar.uconn.edu/examinfo.html. Use all this information to prioritize your classes.

Then make a list for each of your classes of things that you feel would be helpful for studying for your exams (such as reviewing past exams, making notecards, finishing up any readings, completing study guides, outlining exam questions, etc.) Then separate them into sizable chunks and prioritize them by importance to get the most out of your studying. For example, instead of completing an entire study guide in one night split it into two or three nights. Also, remember that if you plan on creating notecards they take a long time to create and you want to make sure that you have time to not only make them but also a substantial amount of time to review them.

Once you have done all of that you can now start planning out your study schedule. I would suggest that you start as soon as possible but at the very least one week out from your exam. Plan on completing about three tasks a night, however, be aware that the later you start the more that you will have to complete per night and this could potentially create a great deal of stress.

It’s hard to come up with a plan that will suit everyone’s schedule, classes and demands but these are some helpful tips that will help you get started on the right track. If you’d like even more help with planning out your last few weeks of class the coaches at the Academic Achievement Center would be happy to meet with you and come up with an individualized plan. The center is open Sunday through Monday from 4-8pm and our friendly coaches look forward to meeting with you!

Being Intentional

Webster’s defines intentionality as “doing by design”. Many great athletes can be described as intentional. They have a clear goal for what they want to accomplish and commit to working purposely towards this objective.

Being intentional means understanding the process that works for you and then constantly repeating it. When it comes to studying, do not just go through the motions, understand your strengths and play to them.

The road to becoming intentional is fairly straightforward. The first step is to examine yourself. Think about what your objectives are. These could be as simple as getting a good grade on an exam or what your career goals are.

Goal Setting

Setting goals for yourself is always a helpful thing to do. It can help keep you on track and motivate you not to procrastinate. The best way to set goals is to use the SMART Goal method. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-specific.

When making a goal be specific, the more specific you are, the easier it will be to work on obtaining your goal. For example, instead of setting a goal of saving money to buy a new car, a specific goal would be to save up $5,000 in five years to buy a used Honda. The more specific you can be with your goal the better. Having a measurable goal will also make it easier to obtain. Using my previous example, saving $5,000 in five years makes this goal measurable.

Improving Your Memory

We all know the reason for getting an education is to gain new knowledge you can use and remember for the rest of your life. However, as an exam approaches and you have pages and pages of notes to memorize, whether or not you will need this information years from now is the least of your concerns. You just need to pass the exam. This is why having a good memory is very important piece to success in college. If you struggle with remembering class material, I have some advice for you and like anything else your memory can get better with practice.

Oh No, It's Only March! Tips For A Successful Second Half

My name is Christopher DeMilia, and I am one of the coaches here at the Academic Achievement Center. I'm a senior majoring in psychology, and have been a coach for two semesters.

I hope everyone reading this is feeling nice and refreshed after being away from campus and everything that goes along with it during Spring Break. Whether you've just been around the world and back, or spent the week catching up on some much needed sleep (or perhaps on those LOST episodes that you haven't watched because of school), Spring Break was a much deserved time to unwind from all of the stresses of college life. The semester, however, is only half over. Despite the wonderful weather outside, it is still only March! Here's some tips that will help you during the second half of the semester:

1. Make sure to keep attending class! You've worked so hard throughout the long winter months, and now that good weather and March Madness has arrived, you want to go outside and and enjoy yourself. It's alright to watch the NCAA Tournament games or to try and get a tan when you have the time, but never do so at the expense of going to class. Work just as hard as you did for the first half and you will be rewarded with the grades that you want. Besides, we're college students ... we have four months to get a tan later!
2. Interact with your notes. Sometimes attending class, taking notes, and reading the book still doesn't prepare you for an exam, and with finals coming up this is even more important. Study for an upcoming exam before your professor even gives you a study guide and it will pay off. For each chapter you go over, create 10 questions from your notes, and then answer them in the same format that your professor uses for their exams. You'll be more than prepared for that next test!
3. Reward yourself for a good grade. Play Ultimate Frisbee with your friends. Play catch. Relax outside in the sun. If you save these activities until after an exam, you'll be able to have fun and do them guilt-free.
4. Don't forget to talk with your professors. Seeing your professors during their office hours allows them to get to know you outside of class and see that you really are determined to do well. Go over previous exams with them, especially if you got a grade that you didn't expect. This can help you figure out how to prepare better for the next exam (and eventually the final).

I hope this can be of some help to you. Follow these four steps, and I believe you will be well on you way towards having a successful semester. It may seem like there is a lot of time left, but it will all be over before you know it!

Stress Management and Relief Techniques

As a senior graduating in May, I am especially under more stress than usual this semester. One of my issues, as I am sure many students have, is dealing with this stress. While staying organized and on top of your work will relieve some of your stress, no one is perfect and stress inevitably results. Some personal techniques I have for de-stressing are listening to music and working out for an hour at the gym. However, these my not work for everyone and they do not always work for me, so I felt I should have more techniques that I could use in addition to these two. I did some research and I thought I would share with you the techniques I found.

At www.healthed.uconn.edu/stressfree_zone.html you can find several stress management techniques such as the 3-2-1 relaxation technique. This technique allows you to relax your body more and more as you count down from 3 to 1. Another technique you can find on this site is a short breathing exercise where you focus on your breathing while thinking positive thoughts and tuning out distractions and stress. One other technique on this site is progressive relaxation and reflection where you put yourself in a place that relaxes you, then you move on to focusing on and controlling your breathing while relaxing your entire body, limb by limb. In addition to these, the Women's Center on campus offers techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and massages free to students.

Other techniques I found include deep breathing, meditation, and guided imagery. As with anything, practice makes perfect and the more you practice your stress management techniques, the more effective they will be. Also keep in mind that every technique does not always work for everyone, so it is important that you find a technique that works for you and that you stick to it!

Learning from exams

It’s already the 6th week of the semester and if you have not had any midterms yet, they are probably right around the corner. Getting low grades usually doesn’t bring out the best feelings, but really it’s a chance to improve. Going over previous tests can be a useful tool to help improve the process for studying. There are several steps that you can use to help raise your grade for the next exam. When going over your test, think about the following things:

Making the Most Out of Class Time

Hey Everyone!

My name is Jennie and I'm a volunteer coach over at the Academic Achievement Center located on the bottom floor of the CUE building. This semester has already picked up speed and is in full swing. Now that schedules are set and you've gotten used to the classwork and requirements for this semester it's a good time to take a look at how you've been doing so far. You may even have a couple grades already. How are you doing? Even if you are doing stellar, there are always ways to do things better and more efficiently. One way to make the most of your time is with what you do with your class time.

Sure, everyone misses class from time to time but I think everyone here at the AAC agrees that actually getting to class 95-100% of the time is a great way to boast that GPA. For those of you rolling your eyes just hear me out. There is a study called Effort and Reward: The Assumption That College Grades Are Affected by Quantity of Study done by Schuman et al.(http://www.jstor.org/stable/2578600?cookieSet=1).This study found that GPA is actually not strongly predicted by quantity of study (not to say that you shouldn't study because quality studying is a great way to help out your GPA. For more information about quality studying or studying more effectively see some of the other blog posts or stop in the AAC Sunday-Wednesday nights from 4-8). The study did, however, find that class attendence is actually a very good predictor of grades in college. Something as simple as going to class can get you on track for success!