Clint Cora

Which Courses To Take For College Success or University Success

College University blogger

Colleges and universities often have a wide, dizzying number of study programs available for students, especially when compared to what was offered at the high school level. It can be quite a challenge just to pick or choose which study programs to pursue. Here are some useful tips on what to study for college success or university success.

If you already know what field you want to be in for your future career, then it makes sense to take the related courses at university or college. If you intend on going to a professional program like medical school, you will have to take certain course prerequisites like biology and chemistry. But even after prerequisites, it’s still a good idea to fill up the rest of your course list with a variety of other subjects in order to get a wider field of knowledge. This is part of college success as you can take some courses as special interest. I took a course each on general psychology and basic law just for interest without the intention of ever becoming either a psychologist or a lawyer.

If you don’t know what career you want, then take the programs that interest you most for now. Sure, some degrees might result in getting jobs easier after graduation but trust me, if you take certain programs just to get a job, you will not be happy if you end up hating the field. Get an education with the programs you are really interested in and with effort, you will find jobs in the future.

No matter what program you take, there will be courses that will seem to have no use for your future career. I recall sitting in an organic chemistry class wondering why the heck I was learning that stuff anyway. I realized years later that the purpose of taking these useless (but difficult) courses was not to be able to use them in the real world. Their purpose was to teach you to think at higher levels. These subjects challenge your brains and help sharpen your minds. Think of these as exercise for your mind.

A sharp mind will help you in a future career, plan for your investments or anything else that will take some brainpower. Remember that college success or university success is not just about the grades. It is about how your mind is developed during those years.

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author and martial arts karate world champion. His book, “The Life Champion In You”, is about how to overcome challenges and achieve life success. It is one man’s journey from personal tragedy to becoming a karate world champion. More information about his speaking programs, books, videos, articles on motivation and success can be found at www.clintcora.com

How To Study To Maximize Your College Success or University Success

College University blogger

I remember when I was in high school, I would be studying for tests and exams in my room while my radio was turned up really loud. It just felt like a cool thing to do. And I got through high school well enough to get into university. When I started university, I of course used the same study methods since I thought they were my proven way. The result was that I almost ending up failing some of my first year courses.

It’s great listening to music blasting away in your room but if your head isn’t absorbing the stuff you’re suppose to be studying and your grades suffer, then you need a change in study environment. This means turning off the tunes until your study session is done. Can’t concentrate in your room or friends always interrupting? Then hit the library and find some quiet space.

Also, make a habit of studying regularly, even right after tests so that you will be prepared well in advance for the next one. This way, most course material will still be fresh in your mind by the time final exams come. This is one of the secret strategies college success or university success. Taking the time to study even when there are no exams just around the corner helps you learn your material so much better so you won’t have to do any last minute cramming for exams. This way of studying was a drastic change in my study habits. It was time consuming since I had to allocate regular study time during my days even when there were no exams in the near future. But it did work extremely well in helping me know the course material.

Back in high school, some teachers might have hassled you if your grades were low. At university or college, nobody is going to be on your case to study. This might sound good but if your study habits are lousy, you might end up failing out and many professors won’t really care. Again, I almost failed out of my first year and had to really improve on my studying to stay in. I did improve my grades well enough by my fourth year to get accepted into one of the MBA schools.

When I got to MBA school, it was a good thing that I had developed better study habits because we needed a B average to stay in the program. During our first semester, we lost about a quarter of our students because they couldn’t make that minimum B average.

There’s much more competition from other students for the top grades at this level of learning. It really pays to have good study habits. Good money was paid for your tuition so don’t fail out. Put in the time to study as if it was your full time job for the present. This will help insure that you are a college success or university success.

Of course, getting exposed to good external guest speakers on campus will also add to your college or university success since they often teach you about things that are not normally covered in your courses. Plus you don’t have to study the material presented by the guest speakers which is a welcome change.

Clint Cora is a motivational keynote speaker, author and martial arts karate world champion. His book, “The Life Champion In You”, is about how to overcome challenges and achieve life success. It is one man’s journey from personal tragedy to becoming a karate world champion. More information about his speaking programs, books, videos, articles on motivation and success can be found at www.clintcora.com

Top College University Study Skills Strategy – No More Cramming For Exams

College University blogger

When I started my first year in university, it was a bit of a culture shock in many ways. One of the most extreme differences on campus compared to high school was that the professors didn’t really seem to care whether I showed up for classes or not. In some classes, many students were even falling asleep. I even nodded off during some lectures, especially if the courses were conducted in nice theatres with really comfortable seats.

I enjoyed this freedom of showing up for classes whenever I wanted. This was certainly a big difference from high school where the teachers constantly took class attendance. But the rude awakening soon came when I got my first set of grades. My marks sank to -C’ averages with even the odd course at risk of failing.

My study skills were poor and last minute cramming for tests or exams made university life stressful. I was not enjoying campus life as I should be doing. Some things had to change as I faced the possibility of dropping out of university without a degree.

Fortunately, I stumbled onto a study strategy that saved my hide. This tactic if used faithfully, virtually eliminates the need to cram for exams. I started using this strategy at the beginning of my third year if I recall correctly and it made all the difference in the world for me.

This study strategy is ideal especially for university or college courses that involve final exams that cover material from the entire courses. Here is what this strategy involves.

-For each of your courses, schedule a regular study session for it EACH WEEK -Stick to this study session schedule faithfully whether you have decided to have sessions during weekdays, weekends or a combination – just stick to it! -During each study session, review EVERYTHING that you have covered in your course so far from DAY ONE to PRESENT. -Continue reviewing all content EACH week EVEN if you don’t have an upcoming test or exam.

It’s true that there will be more material to cover each week for each course as you move along the school year. However, as you get more familiar with the earlier material each week, covering them will be faster. You might not have to increase that much time to each study session as the year goes by.

The beauty of this study strategy is that by the time final exams roll around, you will be quite familiar with most of the course content already because you have been reviewing them each week. This eliminates the need to cram for final exams.

Using this study strategy will allow you to go into your final exams with much more confidence than ever before. The only new material is the most recent since older content will be well absorbed into your head from all those weeks of regular study.

This study strategy worked wonders for me as it took me from a -C’ average student to -B+/A– average by graduation. This not only allowed me to finish my degree successfully, it got me into MBA school where I really needed to have better study skills in place.

So there it is – my top study strategy that basically involves weekly review of everything that you’ve covered in your courses to date. If it worked for me, it will work for you. So no more cramming!

Clint Cora is a college motivational diversity speaker, author and martial arts karate world champion. More information about his college speaking programs, books, videos, articles on motivation and diversity can be found at www.clintcora.com