Tips on how to study in 1st year easily. How to study at university as efficiently as possible so that your studies bring the greatest benefit

In this article, I will be happy to recall my student days and share the experience of five long years. Dedicated to all students!

It’s a curious situation: there are millions of students in the country, most of them experience the same problems and difficulties year after year, and there is practically no information on how to deal with them on the Internet. A dozen pages found through Google enlighten students on how to properly prepare for exams and talk the teacher out of it – and that’s all! It’s as if student life is limited by exams... Rather, on the contrary, exams occupy a very insignificant place in a student’s life: “students live happily from session to session.”

(Although: I also managed to find a translated article of a different kind, stuffed with nonsense about And)

Therefore, it is simply necessary to write an article about how to achieve success at a university and, in general, how to ensure that five (for some, six) years of study do not go down the drain.

Let's get started.

Advice number zero. I’m starting from scratch, because the advice is addressed to school graduates and applicants. Usually at the end of the 11th grade, schoolchildren begin to have a natural fever: to pass final exams(well, the Unified State Exam), squeeze into the university... The motto these days is “as long as you get in, it doesn’t matter where.” This is an extremely harmful and wrong approach. At the age of 17, few people think about the importance of choosing a place to study - but in vain, because it has a significant impact on the rest of their lives. Therefore, I suggest that applicants (if they read the article) answer several questions:

1. Why am I going to enter this university? .What do I expect from studying?

2. What will I do after university? How will the knowledge or connections I gained at this university help me in my studies?

3. Where would I go if I knew exactly what I would do?

4. Where should I go, given my answers to the previous three questions?

Tip number one. So, you entered the university, studied there for the first week, no longer confuse the names and patronymics of teachers and know where you can grab a piece between pairs. Wonderful! Now it's time to stop and think. For simplicity, I propose the questions again:

1. What has changed in my attitude towards this university? What new (and important) did I learn about him?

2. What can this university give me in terms of knowledge? How and where do its graduates find employment?

3. What can this university give me besides knowledge? Dating and connections? Experience in social activities? Start of a scientific career?

It is important that you answer these questions as early as possible and determine as honestly as possible the main thing: how studying here relates to yours. Very often, a student comes to the realization that he made a slight mistake when choosing a university or faculty. Very often he understands that his studies are futile. You shouldn't hide from such thoughts. You always need to be fully aware of the situation.

Tip number two. Your further actions depend on the answer to the questions in the previous paragraph. Here are some of the most likely paths:

Situation A: you understand that studying at this university can really give you enough practical and theoretical knowledge; in senior years, students undergo internships and internships in good organizations and studying here definitely makes sense. Well, then everything is simple. Choose the subjects that you will need for your job after graduation and understand them well. On the rest, pay exactly as much attention as necessary so that there are no unnecessary “tails”.

Situation B: everything is exactly the opposite.

— if you haven’t spent much time (you discovered that the university is not suitable for you in your first year), go to another one. It's better to lose a year than 5.

- if a lot of time has passed, then perhaps it would not be very wise to change the place of study.

Tip number three. What to do if the university is not suitable for you, and it’s too late to change?

At one time (unfortunately, it was already in the 4th year...) I outlined the following program of action for myself:

1. Minimize wastage of time at university.

2. Squeeze everything you can out of your home university, since you can’t get good knowledge.

3. Forget that I am a student and find another, more useful business, to which I will devote maximum time and effort.

4. Study at the university as a training in acumen (pass exams without preparation), (persuade particularly evil teachers to let you out of a class) and (sit in compulsory classes).

All this, in principle, worked out well for me. Here are some examples.

Minimizing wasted time:

at the beginning of the semester, I made a rating of teachers - who could skip how long without consequences - and skipped accordingly;
Having caught a slight cold, I ran to the clinic, made tired eyes and complained of weakness - and in the end received the coveted certificate, allowing me to go about my business for a week or two;
Unlike lectures, I attended seminars carefully and did not shut up during them - which is quite simple with some skill. The “active student” lever clicked in the teachers’ heads and pressing the “set the machine” button became as easy as shelling pears;
in my fifth year (late, late...) I got slightly involved in what is now called social activity - another excellent excuse appeared for all occasions.

Getting everything you can out of the university:

an increased scholarship – of course (the machines and a beautiful record book helped);
trip to the south;
dating and connections.

Over the last two years, I also worked in 6-7 places, grabbed a dozen certificates and diplomas in various competitions outside the university, managed to start (and fail, which is natural) my own business project, as well as “pump up” my communication and communication skills. speak publicly, manage time. The only thing I regret is that I started playing truant too late and was an exemplary student for too long. I wish I could start in the second year! Eh!

Hello! I am 18 years old, a 1st year student at the Faculty of Pediatrics, studying commerce. I want to drop out of the academy because already in the 1st semester I realized that the profession of a doctor was not for me. Since childhood, I decided to become a doctor and therefore, my parents knew who I wanted to become and therefore they had no questions about what exams I would take and who I would apply for. It was all my fault, I didn’t say that my views on what I wanted to become had changed. On 1 semester during the session I only had 1 test left unsigned and I panicked, I said that this is how it should be, because I don’t want to do this. My mother said that I was just panicking and there was no point in saying that. But by the end of the session, on the last day they signed the test for me. I told my mother that I still wanted to leave, but she said if I was coping with my studies, then I shouldn’t say that. I gave up and continued my studies. Now I have a session, the last day is June 10, and I have detentions for 12 subjects out of 15. I can pass everything, but I have no desire to continue studying to become a doctor. Since the beginning of the course, I’ve been wondering what will happen if I quit? How where should I go? Most likely I will have to lose another 1 year. What specialty do I want to study for? does not require the subjects that I took for the Unified State Exam. I want to become a teacher of Russian language and literature or a translator, I briefly talked about this and they didn’t take me seriously. I love to read and at school literature was closer to me than mathematics. At our academy there were foreign languages: English and Latin. It turned out that I know English quite well and I rarely used a dictionary. I don’t know what to do. It was difficult to enter here. I was born in Buryatia in a city that is located on the border with Mongolia. In order for me to enter, my mother sold car and my stepfather helped with this. My parents divorced about 6-7 years ago. At first I talked to my father, he called us, invited us to go for a walk, but he lasted for several months. I communicate well with my stepfather, he replaced my father, he spends more time with me spent in a year than my father did in all his time. He remembered me now only because I turned 18 years old and I can sell the house that I inherited from my great-grandfather (his grandfather). My birthday is in April, so 2 the semester was not easy for me from the beginning. My mother is pregnant (already 8 months), and he is pestering her about problems with the house. I don’t want to worry my mother that I want to finish my studies at the academy and change my specialty to a completely different one. She and so I’m not old enough to give birth calmly. I feel like a selfish person who doesn’t care about others and only thinks about myself

Hello Nastya!
Studying at the medical academy is very difficult, and, as my son said, while studying in his 3rd year of medical school, “I don’t understand those who study at medical school without intending to become a doctor!” Only very motivated people can withstand this load. I understand you well, it’s scary to tell your mother that you want to quit school, especially since you’ve invested so much in your studies, but life is still yours, and it’s not worth spending 6 years of your life on a profession that you don’t love. Moreover, this will not bring happiness. Try to tell your mom about this very gently, talk about your feelings. Promise to study. If you're a Russian language teacher, will you have to take extra tests? Literature? What if you are a biology or chemistry teacher? Or a pharmacist. Then it's not necessary? Nastya, it's up to you to decide. Of course, mom will be upset. And then she will calm down, especially since she will have something to do. It’s better to wait until she gives birth. But in my opinion it’s impossible to pass 12 “tails”!
Good luck to you.

Surzhina Oksana Fedorovna, psychologist, Voronezh

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Hello, Nastya!

In such matters, everything must be carefully weighed, since a large and important part of the path has already been passed.

It is very important to listen to your feelings “From childhood, I decided to become a doctor and therefore my parents knew what I wanted to become and therefore they had no questions about what exams I would take and who I would apply for.”

And here is the key phrase: “It’s not my fault, I didn’t say that my views on who I want to become have changed.” It’s interesting to analyze why you didn’t tell anyone that your views had changed? Such an important question is where to go, what profession to connect your future with, and you didn’t discuss your doubts with your loved ones, especially knowing that “It was difficult to get in here,” “In order for me to get in, my mother sold the car and my stepfather helped with this.” Have you seen the efforts made to ensure that you act and remain silent about the fact that your views have changed?

Another phrase was incomprehensible to me: “My birthday is in April, so the 2nd semester was not easy for me from the beginning.” ???What is the relationship between a birthday and the degree of difficulty of studying at the academy?

In general, judging by your letter, now you are confused and the focus of your attention is somewhat various issues- studying at the Medical Academy, the appearance of your own father in your life associated with the sale of a house, your mother’s pregnancy.

It is very important that right now, during this period of time, you very clearly answer your question - you do not want to continue studying at the Medical Academy because you do not see yourself in the future as a doctor or you have encountered difficulties studying in this educational institution, have started your studies and are afraid that you do not have enough strength to correct this situation? And you began to think that studying at the Medical Academy is not your calling and you need to move to another university.

Why is it important to answer this question now? Because now key point in your life. The first two years of adaptation at the university, you are faced with a large number new information, learn to overcome yourself. And you must understand very clearly that these are the most difficult years of study, since your main task is to transition to a university after school. But at some point a turning point occurs, you already know the basics and it’s easier and easier to move on.

Remember yourself as a child, how you dreamed of becoming a doctor, with what hopes did you pass the exams?

And imagine that you changed your profession, let’s say you became a Russian language teacher.

You can even walk around the hospital, watch the doctors work and walk around the school, watch how the teachers work.

At these moments, try to focus on your feelings, where it was more pleasant and interesting for you to be.

Studying is just a path to a profession that is the final product. It is important to feel what your profession is. These are only internal sensations. They can only be obtained by coming into contact with the profession.

We often make a choice in favor of intuitive sensations, then we begin to doubt, get lost, and change options.

Sometimes such changes are necessary; it happens that after time people regret that they turned away from their chosen path. Everything is very subjective. Therefore, it is very important to listen to your true feelings, and not to worries and doubts.

Timofeeva Nina Gennadievna, psychologist Chita

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Tip 1. Learn to communicate, always know how to establish contact with people

University - amazing place. It is unlikely that in your future life you will find yourself in such a cluster of the most diverse, diverse and interesting young people gathered in one place. Here you can master communication skills to perfection. Look for the right, “your” people, stick to them, and learn to respect everyone else around you. Know how to establish contact with them. This will most likely be a very important skill that will help you out more than once.
Communicate more! It is very rare that lonely people suffering from “autism” get along well in life. Never forget a simple truth: it is easiest to make friends at school and university; later it will be incomparably more difficult. Set goals for yourself, achieve them, rejoice in your small victories, enjoy them. Repeat this procedure over and over again. Learn to focus on the most important things training courses, on the most important for you affairs at the university. Focus your attention, make plans for the future, but never lose your sense of the present moment. It is in the present moment that you direct all your strength, all your energy. But please, do not lose control over everything else.

This is very controversial for many, but no less important advice. Never, ever work while studying at university! Especially full time and permanent place work. Working full time will most likely ruin your education, and the “system” will work hard to encourage that.
Why? You are wasting your time. Are you gaining experience? It's not always useful. Are you completely sure of what you will need in the future?
Just remember that while you are investing your mind, health and time in the development of someone else’s company (namely someone else’s, your own company is a completely different matter), someone at the same moment is investing in the development of their personality and intellect. What do you think is the higher priority? Think about this question. And if work turns out to be more important for you, then try to answer the question, why do you need education at all...

Work on yourself, constantly. You just need to constantly improve and look for new sources of information. Read, write, solve. Don’t be afraid to express yourself, take part in everything that you find interesting: olympiads, competitions, competitions, grants, trips... Follow these events and find important and interesting ones for yourself.
You should not feel satisfied that you have mastered all the knowledge gained in class. Remember that this is just minimum required. Not every student succeeds, so you must always be one step ahead of everyone else.
Don't be afraid that no one will need your knowledge. Intelligent, intelligent “heads” are expensive. Knowledge has never gone “unpunished”, and work has never gone unrewarded! Do not assume that there will be any exception to this rule in your case.
And most importantly, make sure that your “study did not interfere with education”.
There are very few young people who are naturally talented; most of them have to make their way in life through hard everyday work.

Everyone probably knows examples of how some famous personalities(will not name their names) never graduated from university, but at the same time they feel great in this life, having achieved sky-high success. But!
Firstly, they are far from proud of the fact that they did not graduate from universities, and they do not at all preach this lifestyle. Do they give priority when hiring people without education? No!
Secondly, if you declare yourself a C student and don’t care about your average score, then it’s unlikely that this will somehow help you start your own company and achieve worldwide recognition. Very often young people find in this simply a reason that will cover up their idleness and incompetence in some matters. Is it true?
Does academic performance, your GPA, matter? What do parents and friends think about this? Not an authoritative opinion? Then an example: one of the founders of Google believes that nothing characterizes a person’s intelligence as well as the average grade point of his diploma, namely grades in mathematics and English language. The remaining assessments, in his opinion, reflect a person’s ability to implement this knowledge in all other areas. You should know about this. Think about this now, because you will no longer have the opportunity to correct the GPA of your diploma.

Nowadays this phrase is often used to end speeches at conferences. For me, its meaning consists of the following components.

Something different from everyone else
To be famous, recognizable
Earn respect, earn authority
Be better, at least in something

If 6 years ago, or at least a little later, there had been a person who would have told me these now obvious things, I think I would have structured my studies at the university and relationships with people completely differently. Most likely, it would change my life now, and in general, I would be a different person.

Please treat everything said as mine. personal experience. I am in no way trying to impose my opinion and do not consider it absolutely correct, but I hope that this will be useful and interesting to someone.

Communicate constantly. One thing you'll learn at university, if you haven't already, is that friends don't necessarily just happen. Interact with people, talk, ask questions. Do this within reason, of course. If people are interested in you, they will be interested in you. The best time to start this is during Freshers' Week, when everyone is in the same boat and actively looking for people to be friends with.

Chat with your flatmates. This doesn't mean you have to be best friends with them, but keep in mind that you are together almost 24/7 and share a kitchen / common wall. Bad relationships with your flatmates bring your entire apartment down, so do your best, even if you don't like them very much, to include yourself and them in activities like walking, shopping, gym etc. There will be times when you will be angry at one of your flatmates for drinking your milk, or another for not cleaning your bowl after use, but being on good terms can be helpful.

Don't allow yourself to spend all your money while walking. You are a university student, of course you want to go out! But keep in mind that finances are a factor and bars are here to stay. No matter how cheap campus drinks may seem, when you add up all these purchases, you run the risk of falling into debt, or perhaps being unable to afford essential purchases such as groceries and bills. Drinking may be a well-known student pastime, but be aware of other recreational options available to you, e.g. gym, societies and club meetings.

Hide food and dishes away. This may seem a little extreme, but in my experience it's for the best. Just remember that most of the time your flatmates won't take food maliciously, only when the milk has just run out and they decided to drink some of yours, or someone came home very hungover and ate your mom's delicious lasagne, taking from refrigerator. Many universities have anticipated this problem and cabinets come with lock holes on the doors. By blocking your food and utensils, you will save food, money, time, energy, and washing up.

Develop a smart strategy for coping with stress. Most people who were planning to go to university fall into three categories: 1) they can't wait to get away from their parents, 2) they are afraid to leave the comfort of their own home, and 3) they are nervous and anxious. These are all completely normal and acceptable feelings. You'll likely feel homesick from time to time, especially if something negative happens, such as stress from too much work, a fight with a friend, or worries about money. Remember that your parents will be thinking about you, and will be more than happy to talk to you if you need help or advice. Some may find that regular calls/visits at home are therapeutic in helping them cope with separation, while others may find that limited contact stops them from thinking about home. Formulate a smart strategy that works for you and helps you stay productive and happy. First of all, make sure you are busy.

Don't leave all your work to the last minute. This may be very tempting because you will have long terms, sometimes for a couple of months, as well as an increased length of vacation (also sometimes a month), but the deadline will soon begin to quickly approach. A very useful strategy, although a bit boring, is to do the job as soon as you get it, or as soon as possible after that. This way, the notes are still fresh in your mind, and you'll have more time to play after finishing work, and won't have to worry about that essay you should have started a week ago.

Don't be nocturnal. It's also very tempting because you won't have a parent nagging you about going to bed at a reasonable time. Either way you have to configure your own dream, but getting to that stage where you go to bed at 6am and wake up at 4pm is too ridiculous. University is fun but difficult; give your body everything else it needs and the rest will follow.

Don't be afraid to raise a question or ask for help. University is very different from school and college. Learning styles are different, the work is harder, and you are expected to develop your own way training. In fact, you will learn much more on your own than with a teacher. The teachers understand that it takes time and patience to adjust to this state of affairs, so if you don't understand something, ask them. It won't make you look stupid in their eyes as if you weren't listening, in fact, you'll be smarter because... You will know exactly what is expected of you and how to do it, unlike a classmate who decided to fall asleep during the lecture rather than follow it.

So, the worries associated with choosing a profession and the procedure for entering a university are left behind. The applicant turns into a full-fledged first-year student who begins completely new stage of your life. But at the same time a joyful event new anxieties, new worries and expectations appear, which we will talk about today.

So, first time for the first year. What to expect from the first year of university? What are the surprises and disappointments of the first year?

University and school

The first thought that should definitely be learned is that university is not a school. Many will consider this statement to be self-evident and banal, but even more applicants underestimate the differences in the system of secondary and higher education itself. But what are they?

At a university, a student is completely left to his own devices. In the vast majority of cases, no one controls him, no one calls his parents and, in essence, does not force him to visit couples. Moreover, most teachers demonstrate an indifference to the fate of individual students, which is simply unimaginable in school.

For some newly minted students, such changes cause a feeling of relaxation, because if no one particularly demands anything, then you can study carelessly. The stress of such students will be even greater during the first session, when the true essence of studying at a university is revealed to them. Nothing describes education at an institute or university more successfully than the proverb “students live cheerfully from session to session.”

Thus, the first year begins to play a special role self-discipline and self-organization. These qualities will help you achieve the desired success in your studies. But even if a young man does not strive for special achievements in this field, he can make his life much easier if he forces himself to do the required minimum without outside pressure.

Education and self-education

From the previous thought comes another: at the university there is significantly higher value is given to self-education. In essence, the task of an institute, academy or university is not to give the student all the skills and knowledge in the chosen specialty. It is much more important to teach him to find this knowledge and work on his own professional development in his chosen field.

For example, in universities, homework is much less important: some teachers do not practice this form of teaching at all. But a much more important role is played by the lecturer’s recommendations, advice on choosing literature, and independent research on a particular topic.

In essence, you can graduate from college without any self-education, using only notes and cheat sheets. But self-education is the first step towards professional self-development. After all, then, at the place of work, no one will dictate lectures to the newcomer and give him the “correct” literature.

The first course is the most difficult (the easiest)

Both beliefs are equally wrong. After all, in fact, the first year for a student is a period of adaptation to a new reality and a new learning model. Many things will be difficult and unusual, but, on the other hand, the knowledge in the first year is usually of a general nature, and somewhere has something in common with what each of us learned at school.

The importance of the first course lies, rather, in create a certain reputation for yourself from teachers and classmates. The great thing is that this reputation can be created literally from scratch, forgetting about the grievances, conflicts and disappointments of the school. In addition, in the first year it is important not to initially derail the learning process, because it will be very difficult to restore lost knowledge and reputation!