<p>My son who is a junior at Duke changed his lifestyle after freshman year in these ways, dropped a class he was very shaky in after he was sick (one time privilege and cost us the entire price of the class ouch) when he realized high school and college are not the same…you can no longer just “do your homework” and expect to upload information with enough sophistication to survive a bell curve in a class with classmates drawn from the top academic college pool in the USA:</p>
<p>lights out by 1am at the latest Sunday through Thursday</p>
<p>always take one class that you just love and enjoy when faced with difficult classes you must master, preferably at least one small class to counteract semesters that feel grim with large classes only</p>
<p>always get to know your teacher…even if you are not the class superstar..Duke teachers are pretty approachable and enjoyable, he has rave reviews for teacher who barely notice him…and some who are friends.</p>
<p>wears noise canceling headphones when studying in the dorm</p>
<p>eats big protein/full breakfast by 8:30 daily, takes time for three squares a day with friends to cheer himself up</p>
<p>No more eating and ordering in food after 10 pm which encouraged him to stay up till 3, sleep late, lose every morning for studying, end up tired at night but not having studied well ever</p>
<p>Body clock “reset” so that he treated studying like a 9 to 5 job</p>
<p>Only sleeps in one day a week</p>
<p>Enjoy a guilt free Friday night and blowing Saturday</p>
<p>Gave up believing he could “make up” for blowing a test on the next one, which proved to be more fantasy than reality…studied for all tests as if they were midterms or final exams..</p>
<p>Joined study groups with people trying to make Bs and As and showed up for them..you can learn from excellent peers</p>
<p>Paid friend who was a math whiz to tutor him</p>
<p>Never missed a lecture, which apparantly is rare, but learned he could not “teach it to himself” if he missed lectures..he is very auditory (OK>>there are classmates smart enough to skip class, and everyone knows who they are, he is not on the savant short list)</p>
<p>Outlined lecture notes every afternoon instead of just before exams (just like the Academic Skills classes instruct) Websites are full of good study skills..Dartmouth has a very good one on their site</p>
<p>Now he accepts his grades with grace as his “best effort” because they are indeed his best effort. An A average is a goal but even if not achieved he did not avoid hard classes and feels his GPA is fair. One thing I really like about my son..is that he is not jealous of kids who are smarter than he is, and he truly admires his classmates who ace organic and can compete on math teams..he loves being around talented people. He can make As in areas where he has more talent. It is important at a school like Duke to make peace with the talent around you and to remind yourself you chose to attend a school where everyone has something special to offer and everyone can do the basics well.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to consider FOCUS, a semester abroad or truly taking on a foreign language while you are at Duke. Three things I mention that generally offer small group studying, and intimacy with teachers and a new social circle that adds to your life at Duke. </p>
<p>Be strong. You have the ability to get the most out of Duke and you were selected by admissions for a few good reasons. Truly advise you to take advantage of the study skills offered in Academic advising and to remind yourself that tons of successful people had at least one dud semester re grades…you did OK and were busy on many fronts adjusting on other levels..use second semester to hone your study skills
all best and hope Duke is as magnificent for you as it has been for our son.</p>