10 Tips For Students

I want to take this opportunity to remind you of my top 10 tips for students that will help you lead a successful semester. 

1. INTENTION

   • Set an intention that you want to make a positive impact and help others through the education that you are pursuing. 

2. VISION

   • Give serious attention to identifying your purpose and to find your calling then declare your major accordingly. It requires effort from research, to results of aptitude tests, experiments, and counseling, etc.  

3. ORGANIZATION

   • Organize your papers, notes, and presentations on Google Drive so that you can access them easily and conveniently. Also place all of the important exam dates and deadlines that you have on your syllabus on Google calendar and synchronize it on your electronic devices so you can receive automatic reminders.

4. RELATIONSHIPS

   • Nurture relationships with professors by sitting in the front of the class, being proactive in participation, utilizing their office hours and networking with them through other settings. This will ultimately help you with letters of recommendation, internship opportunities, etc.

5. PRIORITIZATION

   • Avoid distractions and set a checklist and a clear schedule of tasks and make sure that you manage your time based on first things first. At the end of the day, your purpose is acquiring your education, developing your skills and graduating with excellence.  

6. PREPERATION

   • Study in advance alone or with a study group of serious students. Believe me from experience that cramming the night before will not bring much benefit. You might retain the information in short term memory for the exam, but you will find difficulty maintaining it for the long term.

7. CAPITALIZATION

   • Take advantage of the numerous resources on campus to grow, learn, and benefit, whether by going to the career center, tutoring center, scholarship office, or attending professional training workshops, etc. Many students are too busy running in and out of classes that they lose out on these opportunities.

8. OBLIGATION

   • Remember to fulfill other personal, spiritual, or social obligations so that you remain balanced. Block time in your schedule to attend to such obligations.

9. RECREATION

   • Maintain a healthy lifestyle of sleep, food and exercise as well as a decent dose of fun time. Take breaks and reward yourself when you get an A on a paper, etc.

10. CONTRIBUTION

• Join student clubs and volunteer some time to help as long as you don’t drown yourself in volunteering at the expense of your education. Make sure to add that experience to your resume if it is of value.

Best regards,
Dr. Mohammed Almathil