Five myths of college success

August 17, 2009 in College Tips, Productivity | 1 comment

With school starting in a week or two, the blogosphere is filling with posts offering advice for students starting or returning to college. As a recent graduate and (nearly) straight-A student, I feel qualified to offer my own advice and debunk what I regard as some of the myths of college success.

Disclaimer: This post is intended for people who are smart, responsible, and organized. If you are majoring in beer and the opposite sex, this advice is not for you. You need to read college advice written by people who will tell you to put your nose to the grindstone and never let up.

Myth Number 1: Never miss a class

This is generally good advice. Most professors test heavily on material covered in lectures, so you need to either be there or get notes from someone else. You can often get a feel for how the professor will test by listening to lectures. Some professors require attendance and base part of your grade on it. However, there are a few situations in which skipping class can actually help you work more efficiently.

The professor is an ineffective lecturer and you can learn the material by studying the textbook. This works best with math and science classes. I once had a trigonometry class where the textbook was so well written that I could learn the material better by staying home and studying than by listening to lectures. Homework assignments were posted on the course website, and the professor did not require attendance. I made sure I had tests and due dates on my calendar, and I dropped off homework at the professor’s office each week. I earned a B in that class. It would have been an A, but I got lazy during finals week.
Recitation sessions that slow you down. I spread my general education classes throughout all four years, which meant I took several freshman-level classes as an upperclassman. Some of the 100 level classes had “recitation sessions” in addition to the lectures. The recitation sections were run by teaching assistants, and provided a way to reinforce concepts and collaborate on homework. After a couple of sessions in one class, I realized that I could do the work faster on my own. I talked to the TA, who told me I could just turn in my homework and leave if I preferred. I did that for the rest of the semester and earned an A in the class.
You have a test or project in another class that is distracting you from the one you are sitting in. If you are sitting in Class A worrying about the paper you have to turn in tomorrow for Class B, you should probably go work on your paper. Just make sure you get notes from someone later.

Myth Number 2: Always buy the textbook

I nearly choked on my morning orange juice when I read this one. This is good advice some of the time, but with the exorbitant price of textbooks, you don’t want to buy anything you don’t absolutely have to have. You also don’t want to have to haul extra weight around if you don’t have to.

Unfortunately, it took me a long time to wise up on this one. I bought a lot of books that I never even touched between the first week of classes and textbook buyback at the bookstore. Among other things, I was concerned about paying the higher price of a new book later if I didn’t buy the used book now.

Here are some suggestions for determining whether you really need the book:

Talk to a friend who has already taken the class from that professor. Find out which books they used and which they didn’t.
Talk to the professor on the first day of class. Find out whether you will be tested on material that is in the book but not covered in lectures. Find out whether the book will be used in class. If the answer to these questions is no, then you don’t need the book. Even if the book will be used in class, you might be able to work out some kind of sharing arrangement with another student.

Myth Number 3: You need the latest edition of the textbook

Textbook publishers gratuitously print new editions every few years, even if there is no new material. It’s a scam, and is usually done for no other reason than to make more money. Mrs. Fencepost once painstakingly compared a current edition to the previous edition, and found them to be nearly identical. The publisher had moved one chapter and changed a few of the end of chapter questions. Ironically, some of the changes included errors in the new edition that weren’t in the old.

Some professors are more sympathetic than others in this regard. Some will go so far as to include page numbers in the syllabus for the previous edition. Others don’t care which edition you use, but you are on your own for finding and reading the right section. It helps if you have a friend in the class who will let you compare your book with theirs when necessary.

Myth Number 4: Always pick classes that challenge you

All universities have a core curriculum, often called general education, that all students must take to graduate. The idea is that you will graduate as a well-rounded individual, able to understand and converse on a variety of topics- not just your specialty. I applaud this idea. My degrees are in music performance, but some of my favorite classes were on history, economics, and psychology. I use concepts from my major to make a living, but I use concepts from general ed classes to understand the world and the people around me.

That said, the fact is that during most semesters, you will eventually go into what I call “survival mode.” In other words, no matter how jazzed you were about your classes at the beginning of the semester, you will eventually get to a point where you are struggling just to keep up with all of them. Homework, tests, and papers all blur together, and YOU JUST WANT TO NOT BE STRESSED OUT ANYMORE!!! Having one or two “easy A’s” can be a real sanity-saver and prevent burnout.

Myth Number 5: Work hard all the time and don’t party

Even the most dedicated students need to unwind sometimes. Find some things to do for fun, and a few friends to do them with. You’ll be happier and more efficient if you do. If you don’t have time for fun, you are probably taking too many credits. No one is going to die if you take longer than 4 years to complete your double-major in chemical engineering and microbiology with minors in owl stuffing and didgeridoo performance. You can have all the academic and monetary success in the world, but if you don’t take some time to enjoy it, what’s the point?

Besides that, much of your success in life will happen through your friends. Socializing isn’t a waste of time- it’s an opportunity to build connections that just might help you find a job, fund a business, or get a promotion some day.

The most important learning you do in college won’t happen in class. Moving away from home, taking control of your life, and trying new things (some of which your mother wouldn’t approve of) is part of growing up. Along the way, you’ll learn what works and doesn’t work for you. It’s fairly likely that you’ll change your major at some point, possibly more than once. You may decide to study abroad for a semester, or take some time off and travel. The beauty of being an adult is that you can make those choices, and you don’t have to apologize for them. What kind of life you choose to build for yourself is up to you.