I am delighted to share with you these tips that will help you determine the success of any academic semester on time. The success of any endeavor is highly dependent upon planning and preparations and whether we choose to realize it or not, by our daily decisions and actions, consciously or unconsciously, we are planning and preparing ourselves for either failure or success. A whole lot of us have so much potential that we fail to maximize to yield outstanding results because we often lack the willpower to make decisions, plan and take actions that will lead to the successes we desire. If you want to have a successful semester in any academic session, you will need to consciously plan and prepare for the kind of success you wish to attain by making some decisions and taking some actions.
Here are eight ways you can plan and prepare yourself for a successful semester:
1. Get acquainted with the semester courses before lectures begin
Gaining some basic knowledge about the semester courses before lectures commence helps to prepare your mind for the semester in such a way that when lectures begin, a good number of the things that will be mentioned by the lecturers will not be totally strange and that way, learning and understanding will be much easier and faster. You can browse about the courses on the Internet or you can purchase or collect from senior colleagues some of the textbooks and course materials to get acquainted with courses. Of course, in the same vein, you should already be well aware of the courses you'll be taking and possibly their outlines.
2. Write down anticipated grades where you'll see them regularly
You need to decide the kind of grades you want before you begin the semester and write them down where you'll always see them. Doing this will remind you daily of your goals and targets and spur you to make the commensurate efforts to achieve them. I usually write this on the first page of my lecture notes very boldly at the beginning of every semester. You can also write then down on a piece of paper or cardboard and paste it on your room door, wall, locker or any other place you know you'll regularly notice it.
3. Develop further interest in the courses
Nobody and I repeat nobody has a bad memory or a brain that is incapable of understanding and taking in necessary information. What causes a lack of retention by our memory of what we've studied is usually a lack of 'interest' in that subject. Take for instance, football fans always seem to know every detail about their football club of 'interest'. Why is that so? It's that factor I've just mentioned: 'interest'. For easier retention and quicker understanding, you'll need to develop interest in the courses beforehand, one way of doing this is by researching about interesting practical and real-life applications of what you intend to learn.
4. Learn to read primarily to learn and acquire knowledge
Reading just to pass exams, get good grades and graduate from school with a good certificate is one of the greatest pitfalls of students because it debilitates our potentials. Goals such as passing exams and getting good grades are really great when they don't take the place of what should be the main goal which is learning and knowledge acquisition. These goals can be incentives to learn and should be merely products of learning.
5. Ask questions about the nature of the course lecturers and examiners
Apart from getting acquainted with the course, you need to also be quite acquainted with the course lecturers, coordinators and examiners as the case may be. Ask your predecessors about their own experiences with the lecturers when they took those courses. This has helped so many times in school because by asking questions, I get to know those courses I should give more attention and not take for granted. It will equally help you know how to prepare for the courses beforehand. For instance, you'll find out that some of the lecturers are meticulous in their approach to the course and will in turn expect their students to always pay careful attention to details.
6. Learn to go back to prerequisite courses
Courses are usually assigned to semesters in an organized manner and format and in such a way that the fundamentals and basics are treated at the lower levels to build a solid foundation upon which other lecturers at higher levels will build upon. In other words, lower level courses are usually prerequisites for higher courses. Of course, if you've already spent more than a year in the university, you know what I'm trying to say. Oftentimes, you may need to go back and revise what you've learned in previous semesters or levels as they relate to the courses you'll meet in the coming semester.
7. Plan your study and follow this plan up with discipline
As I have earlier mentioned, a great number of us would be much more successful in our academic endeavors if we can sit down, plan and act on our plans. Hard truth! How we so debilitate and suppress our potential by lacking the self-discipline needed to do what we ought to do. You need to be very disciplined if you must maximize the tremendous potential God has created you with. Plan out adequate time, at least three hours a day - possibly more depending on your schedule for other activities - for private study, prepare a feasible time table and be disciplined enough to sit down and read.
8. Don't leave God out of all your planning
I'm adding this one on the basis of my Christian faith and do not wish to offend anyone but it is one of the keys to true success because the manufacturer of a product knows the capabilities of that product and is the best person to tell you how to make the best and maximum use of the product. Trusting God to give you strength and wisdom to apply His time-tested principles for true and lasting success will surely help you maximize His great potential in you.
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