Today Dr. Waters talked to our class about how to succeed in college. He provided us with numerous strategies to study, manage our time, and do well in our classes. What i took away from Dr. Water’s advice was to use office hours to my FULL advantage. Professors know the material like the back of their hand, they make the tests, and they give you your final grade so talking to them about tests and challenging material is most logical.

I always thought that office hours were meant for you to be recognized and known by your Professor, but that is not the only purpose they serve. From Dr. Waters presentation today I learned hoe to use office hours to my advantage- to learn material better. I have been to office hours with Professor Nichols multiple times asking questions about assignments and for real time chat, but I haven’t gone to review or ask questions about material I am struggling with. I didn’t think Professors helped you with that, I was under the impression you are on your own completely with the help of tutors if needed. This really influenced me to want to meet up with my professors if I am having trouble with material in the reading. Taking the time to go and talk to the person who makes my test is a lot more beneficial than memorizing the wrong material and settling for a C or D grade.

Another part of the presentation I found very insightful was how “A” students study much less than “C” students. Why? Because they know HOW to study. Memorization is not always the best way to study material and is also not the only way to study. Mr. Waters provided us with a list of different ways to approach material other than the basic flash cards. You can make diagrams, charts, study a little every night. In college, you can’t just know the material, you  have to understand the material. A very helpful tactic to make sure you actually understand material is to try teaching it or explaining it to someone else. When you do this, it shows how much you really know and understand the material because you are able to teach it to someone without the help of your book or notes.

I want to do well in college by getting good grades in my classes and if that means I need to meet with professors to get a little extra help or get a little ahead, than so be it. I will definitely be using office hours to my academic advantage in the future. Hopefully none of my instructors will get sick of me!!