What to do when you're feeling STRESSED OUT!

By this point in the semester, we have all experienced stress and the unpleasant side effects it brings. When you're stressed out, you may feel like you can't sleep, you are either always hungry or never hungry, and you may even get a tight feeling in your chest. I can say from experience, I know how frustrating all of these side effects can be. But how can we avoid them?

You Can't Always "Do it Later"

Hi guys!

My name is Katie and I am a coach in the Academic Achievement Center. I also help give the Academic Success Workshops on campus. I am currently an Accounting major in the Business School, and I know what it can feel like to be overwhelmed with work and other activities. I am a member of Alpha Phi, a sorority on campus, and I am in the process of joining Beta Alpha Psi the accounting fraternity. I work on campus as well 11 hours a week, and I like to be able to make time for classes, work, and social activities everyday.

When I came to UCONN, I was so overwhelmed with how much time I had during the day, I sometimes found that I put things off because I left like I could always "do it later". Now that I have had some time to get used to UCONN, and learn how to balance all my activities, I know how important Time Management is on a large campus.

AAC Coaches' 4.0 Challenge

In addition to being a tutor at the AAC, I also work at the CUE building and have been sitting here eagerly awaiting to sign up for the AAC Coaches' 4.0 Challenge that will take place here in the CUE in room 130 at 5:00pm. There will be a brief explanation about what the Challenge is at that time and then, if you should choose to accept, you can sign up!

The basic premise is that if you are planning on "doing better" this semester, why not just go for the gold (a 4.0, that is)? Whether or not I actually get a 4.0 this semester, I think this Challenge will be a good reminder, even as the semester drags on and I start to get a little tired and a little lazy, that with a little extra effort, a 4.0 won't actually be to far out of my reach. I mean, if I go to all of my classes and do all of the homework/reading well and on time I think it will be pretty hard to do poorly. Plus the Challenge will offer workshops and events like study breaks and stress-relief seminars to help me stay on track troughout the semester. So I think it's a great opportunity and will be a good support system for me to do well this semester.

If you are interested in joinging the Coaches' Challenge, come to the CUE today at 5:00. It's pretty late notice, so if you're interested in joining but couldn't make it, email aac@uconn.edu or go to aac.uconn.edu for more information.

A's are Risky Business...

Now that I'm well into my fourth year at UConn, I often look back at how I got where I am now. Each semester I have been challenged but motivated and achieved at a level I am proud of. But, to be frank, if the student I was in high school could see me now, she wouldn't recognize herself.

In high school I sometimes felt like I was in the shadow of my very bright, very hard-working, and well-known sister. She had always done well in school and it was kind of her thing; I found my interest in other places like my art classes and extracurriculars. I never really did that poorly in high school, but I did spend a lot of time just doing enough to get by with a grade that was good enough. I did enough to get into UConn (and so did you!), but I made a lot of excuses for why I was perfectly satisfied with getting OK grades and reassured myself that if I really cared, really tried, or really studied then I would be getting straight A's.

Even though I thought I was smart enough and capable enough there was still something in the way of me really doing what it really takes to get those A's. I don't think there is anyone out there who means it when they say they don't want A's or that they want C's or B's. The reality is that A's feel really good to get and D's really don't. A's feel different than B's and a lot different than C's or D's. So the question arises, why would a student not want A's if they feel so good to get?

Ask Ali

Ali is a recent UConn graduate who made several videos outlining the strategies she used to be a very successful student. Although Ali has left UConn, her videos have not! You can access them on her YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/UConnAskAli alongside some helpful "favorites".

UConn students and faculty, you can access the Ask Ali pages of the First Year Programs website with your NetID and password. Click here to check it out!

July Update

Hello Huskies!

As this summer has been speeding by, we've been busy improving the Academic Achievement Center and expanding our services. At the start of the Fall semester the AAC will be offering four workshops a week that will be open to all students. The workshops will cover a wide range of topics and they'll differ from week to week. The workshops will be lead by experienced AAC coaches and successful students. The tentative fall schedule is:

Sunday 4:00pm-5:00pm
Monday 5:00-6:00pm
Tuesday 5:00pm-6:00pm
Wednesday 5:30pm-6:30pm

As the fall approaches, workshop topics will be posted and updated in the Calendar at the bottom of this page. Any changes to the times above will also be updated in the blog calendar. Student groups and classes may also schedule private workshops with the topic of their choosing. To schedule such a workshop please send an email to aac@uconn.edu.

There is also a brand new program in the works called the Coaches' 4.0 Challenge. We're working to create a pledge for students to be intentional and high achieving students. Look for more information in the coming weeks about the details of the challenge and how to sign-up.

As the beginning of the semester nears, I encourage you to visit the AAC once you're back on campus and meet with a coach to be entered into a raffle for $50 Co-op gift card. The AAC will be open Sundays through Wednesdays from 4pm to 8pm. All AAC services are free and available to all students. I also want to remind you that we've made some changes to our meeting locations to offer you more privacy and one-on-one interaction with your coach.

As always, please tell your friends about the AAC and our blog! For answers to your questions please email aac@uconn.edu

Sincerely,
Sarah M.
AAC Supervisor

The ABC's of Semester Planning

I have to begin this post with a good dose of honesty about my time management history. Before college, I was a notorious procrastinator. I'm not sure that I could even count the number of times I was surprised by a due date, cramming for a test, or sitting through a class completely lost because I hadn't done the reading.

If there is a single most valuable things I have learned at UConn, then it's definitely how to manage my time and plan realistically.

It's true, I graduated from high school with good enough grades to get into UConn, but I also put myself through unnecessary stress and anxiety as I raced against the clock to complete research papers on time and tried explaining to teachers why I hadn't completed my homework.

Managing my work and classes was a big reality check for me, and luckily for me I figured out some good planning strategies early enough in my UConn career to see the benefits of a little bit of organization.


The way I see it, there are different degrees of planning and different types of people are more comfortable at different levels, especially if they are not planners by nature. The place to begin is with the major events. For academic planning especially, just adding all of you due dates and exam dates to one calendar will help you to see those anxiety-inducing dates with a bit more perspective. I like to use the worksheet created by the office of first year programs called, Semester at a Glance to compile all these dates. Then I add them to a monthly calendar on my wall and in my planner.

The way I handle the next level or degree of planning is by filling as much information from each of my classes' syllabuses into my day planner. The image below is from a typical week during the spring Semester.

You can see that in addition to an in-class writing assignment and an upcoming paper due-date (in orange), I've also included the reading assignments on the days they are due for each of my classes. I find that putting all of my due dates and assignments in one place helps me remember what I need to get done but also helps me see how much I have to do for any given day. Seeing that some upcoming weeks or days are busier than others helps me to get started on assignments earlier, when I have less to do, to reduce my stress later.

You can also see above that I color code things, to help me stay organized. Orange is the color that I use for anything from the widest part of the pyramid (due dates, exams papers). The blocks in yellow are meetings with students that I mentor. I use purple for my work schedule, red for personal commitments (like mom's birthday), and Blue is for events for my leadership cohort. Color-coding might be a step further than you'd like to go but it helps me to glance quickly at the page and see what type of commitments and events I have coming up.

The point of the pyramid is the most in-depth and detail-specific level of academic planning. But even within this level there are options and degrees of planning to undertake. What I often do in my busiest weeks is create a prioritized to-do list. I usually make them on post-it notes and stick them to the pages of my planner. This kind of to-do list involves ranking the items in addition to listing them. Here is the ranking system I use:
(A):Must Do--These are thing that have to get done today, like tomorrow's reading assignment.
(B):Should Do--These are task I need to do eventually but I have a little more time for. Like starting an essay that's due a week from today. So I will get to these items after the (A) items.
(C):Could Do--These items can include anything I want to do, even things that won't necessarily get me closer to my academic goals. Some things to include under (C) might be watching a movie with friends or giving myself a pedicure. Working pleasurable tasks into a to-do list can make completing all of your tasks a more positive experience. It's also nice to reward yourself for working hard. (C) items should be completed after all of the (A) and most of the (B) items.

My advice to other students who are figuring out what kind of planning works best is to be realistic about how much you can do in a day and don't strive for perfection. Also pay attention to the way you usually behave a certain times of the day. If 4:30 rolls around and you usually need an hour to unwind and watch a little TV before going to dinner, that's probably going to be OK and you should plan for it. Set aside a different hour for reviewing your class notes, like the time between two classes.

A good way to better understand how you function throughout the day is to use a time monitor for at least a week. The one to the right is available on the First Year Programs website in the Ask Ali Pages (requires NetID sign-in). Spend one week just keeping track of all the ways you spend your time. Include sleep, showering, meals, exercise, entertainment, classes, and time spent studying, and any other way you spend time.

Then, come up with a plan for the following week based on what you observed. It's a mistake to strive for perfection here because it can lead to some serious discouragement. The point is not to
be a super-human task-completion machine, but to organize and prioritize the things you need to do so that you have time for all of the other things you want to.

Give yourself a chance to blow off steam and have some fun and use tools like a daily schedule, or a planner to keep you on track so that you can have that balance! Be realistic and set achievable goals each week. It never hurts to challenge yourself just a little bit. Can you accomplish more in a day if you wake up 15 minutes earlier and shave your "getting ready" time down to 30 minutes? You might surprise yourself how much less time a task like reading for class takes if you put a time limit on it.

Try these tips out and tell me what you think! Good Luck!

Sincerely,
Sarah M
AAC Student Supervisor & Coach

What to DO with all those notes...

I've coached several students about effective note-taking and creating a daily study routine, but it can be a little confusing. So, I took the notes from one of my Philosophy classes and demonstrated several of the skills we talk about in the AAC. First, just take a look at the notes I took during that class:

The two pages above are just my ordinary, typical notes. You may have noticed that there is a date and title. You may not always be able to add a title to your notes, but a good place to fine one is on your syllabus. In this case, the title of my notes is the reading assignment that was discussed that day in class. I always date my notes because it helps to keep them organized and helps me find them later.

As students, our primary concern in class is to write down as much information as we can. Without lecture notes, there is nothing to study from. So, in class, focus on taking the most complete notes you can. Remember not to panic about the small details, but get the important stuff first and make an honest effort to catch as many details as you can. I really like to write down questions that other students ask or question that my professors ask the class.

It's also important to think about understanding while you're taking notes, you don't need to understand everything but you do need to recognize what you don't understand. Marking points with a question mark or another symbol is like saying, "I recognize that I don't get this right now". If you do it, then you can move on and continue gathering information. Its also important to follow up with those question marks: ask your professor or TA, check your book, bring it to your study group, just don't let it go.

What comes next is most important, your job isn't over just because lecture ended. In my experience, the most effective study habit is revisiting your notes early after class. There's actually research that shows between 9 and 24 hours after class, you only remember between 20% and 30% of the information. So what are your options?

Cornell Note-Taking Format:

The Cornell note-taking format takes a little bit of pre-work, but not much. When you get to class, you'll need to divide the pages of your notebook with a vertical line about 2 inches in from the left-hand side of the page. Then take your notes in the larger right-hand column the way you ordinarily would. Below are what the same notes from above would have looked like if I had taken them using the Cornell method.

Next, comes the critical step and its better if you do it sooner rather than later. It's time to use the left-hand column. There are some variations to this method, but the point is to write down memory triggers to the left of important information. Questions work as great memory triggers because they require you to both understand the information and provide a method for recalling it. To do this step, you'll add questions to the left-hand column that have their answers in the right-hand column. Keep the questions straightforward and the answers relatively short (try to keep them no longer than a phrase or two). Have a look at the same notes from above, once I revisited them and added memory triggers to point at the pieces that matter most.

Modified Cornell Format:

This technique is a variation of the one explained above, and it requires that you do the same things in class and soon after class. The only change is that when you are reviewing your notes You can take this one step further (and I would) by color-coding questions and answers, or just highlighting the answers. I really like this process because you end up creating a great study tool that's easy to review from and its takes virtually no time at all. If you took good class notes and did any outside reading, the Cornell review process only takes minutes, especially if you do it after every class. Click on the pictures blow to see how I did this to the same notes I've been showing you.

Mind Map:

A mind map is a great way to personalize your study materials even more. Mind mapping each day's lecture notes take only a few minutes each day you have class and the end product is a page that you can combine with maps from other lectures. The combination of all of these mind maps makes exam review more efficient and less time-consuming.

To make a mind map, start with a blank piece of paper. I liked unlined paper because it means I can write anywhere on the page and in any direction. Write your topic in the center of the page and circle it. Then add branches with the major details. The next level of information contains all of the minor details and the key is to organize them in a way that makes sense to you. If you're not sure where to put something, write it anywhere and connect it later. Include pictures, charts, or any other visual cue that helps you remember a particular detail or idea. Your mind map doesn't have to make sense to anyone else but you, and a good mind map usually doesn't do as much for others as it does for the student who made it. I mind mapped this same lecture's notes below.



Add more details as you review reading notes or remember other ideas presented in class. Draw arrows to show the connections between details and ideas. I like to add color to show what kind of relationships and connections these are. I showed problems or objections in orange, examples and demonstrations of a point in yellow, and affirmative arguments in pink. The other colors just help me distinguish the structure of information. The key to an effective mind map is understanding how you think and remember and creating a tool that reflects that.

Sincerely,
Sarah M.
AAC Student Supervisor

For more information about note-taking and mind maps, you can visit the Ask Ali pages on the First Year Programs website (requires NetID sign in) or meet with a coach at the Academic Achievement Center.

If you have questions please comment below or email aac@uconn.edu

June Update

Hello out there UConn!

Even though it's summer and the Academic Achievement Center won't be open again until the fall semester, we've been busy working with lot's of people in a few different departments to bring you an ever better AAC when that time comes.

We'll have more convenient hours and smaller rooms for meeting with coaches that provide a little more privacy and one-on-one attention. We'll be open Sunday through Wednesday from 4:00pm until 8:00pm, check in is at the CUE info desk.

We sent a follow up survey to the students we worked with last semester and in addition to sharing some honest feedback, about 78% said they would recommend that a friend visit the AAC and about 22% said that maybe they would.

There is also a great new resource available to students and faculty on the First year programs website. The "Ask Ali" pages are a collection of short videos and resources that are kind of like an Academic Survival Guide. Ali is a recent UConn grad and former AAC coach who had a lot of success as a student. Ali's strategies and the tools that complement them are sure to help you (or your students) handle academic life.
(The pages require a NetID sign-in)

Sincerely,
Sarah M.
Student Supervisor