<p>Your situation could be so much worse…just breathe and be thankful that it’s not worse. So many would LOVE to be in your situation. I don’t way this to be rude, but really…your NOT in a bad situation.
Good luck!</p>
<p>I second Geomom’s suggestions. Cal Newport is awesome. To get a quick sense of his philosophy, check out his blog at calnewport.com (or a not-so-quick sense–he’s got a LOT of great material on his blog).</p>
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<p>I think you know EXACTLY what your problem is.</p>
<p>My D1 is a straight A college student. Here are some things she does:</p>
<ul>
<li>Block off your week like it is a work week. Plan your class time, workout time, meals, work, group meetings, etc. Use time between those for studying if you have a free hour or more.</li>
<li>Don’t study on your bed. Bad plan… She goes to the library, or has other “study nooks” around campus she likes to use.</li>
<li>She goes to the library for a couple of hours most nights after dinner. She takes her backpack to the dining hall so she can go straight to the library (she says going back to her room is risky, she would often get distracted for quite a while before heading to the library, or sometimes never leave the dorm after all).</li>
<li>She is a regular visitor to professor’s office hours.</li>
<li>Agree with those who say to read the material BEFORE the class. Staying a full day ahead in classes that are hard for you is a good idea. Then the material is somewhat familiar when you go into the lecture. You can reinforce what you don’t know, and focus in on the items that are unclear.</li>
<li>Her friends are mostly good students like she is (a good influence on each other, I think).</li>
<li>She keeps her materials organized, including handouts, notes, assignments, flash cards, etc. so they are easy to find for each class.</li>
</ul>
<p>Also… those who get those “sweet gigs” like consulting are usually good students and very sharp. And honestly, you work like a dog (I was one, I know) – you need to use a lot of the same skills described above (at least, time management and efficient ability to learn material/get stuff done) for any of the future plans you have. The sooner you figure out how to do this, the more success you will have.</p>
<p>Microsoft One Note if you’re on Windows, Growly Notes if you’re on Mac.</p>
<p>Ok everyone, I feel like I owe you an update. </p>
<p>First I’d like to say thank you very much to everyone who was helpful or encouraged me, it was much appreciated. I tried to incorporate most/a lot of the advice and struggled at times (old habits die hard!) but I feel like I am on the right track for next year. </p>
<p>I finished the year and last quarter extremely well (much higher GPA than the previous two quarters) and I’m fairly content with my freshman year GPA. I still struggle mightily with time management, but I am working on it. I took an extra course (signed up for classes in Feb.) ended up regretting it but I managed it all right. Had to cut back on “fun” activities somewhat, and most weeks I would only go out once a week, if I went out at all. Still working towards that work hard/play hard balance. </p>
<p>Used my resources better, went to the writing center to help me revise/proof a paper and ended up doing well on the paper. Overall, I was more focused this quarter and it paid off. </p>
<p>Thanks for all of the help!! I still have some work to do/improve my study habits, but I think I’m on the right track.</p>
<p>Thanks for the update, sounds like you are on your way. I have two kids who didn’t “need/want” to study much and one who studies all the time in high school… The two who didn’t “need/want” to study much in high school struggled to learn that balance in college between downtime and study and managing a schedule as freshmen but once they got their feet under them, found the writing center, learned that the ‘study groups’ are a good idea (and sometimes fun)…they took off. So you’ve in actuality learned the most important lesson in college (and life) from my perspective and that is to find balance, learn to ask for help, celebrate the successes and recoup from the failures/losses. Good luck I do think you are on the right track.</p>
<p>You should seek help. I think there are available free classes for tutoring in colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks for the update Jeffrey11 and on your real accomplishment – which is LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES. I can’t tell you how many people never learn this. Ever. And you did, as a freshman in college, under tough circumstances, and in less than one year. You should feel very, very good about this. Congratulations - here’s to a fabulous 3 years of college & beyond.</p>