10 unconventional college survival tips
If you have a choice between a morning quickie & some last-minute cramming for an exam (we’re talking like 5 minutes here), only choose the cramming if you haven’t already studied. Arousal of any kind boosts recall; sex relieves stress; stress depletes recall. You do the math.
If you find yourself losing focus in lecture, hold your pencil between your teeth. Facial feedback yields a more alert state. Plus, it makes you happier.
Always carry a toothbrush & travel toothpaste in your backpack. Nothing is worse than sitting through a long lecture with morning breath, and whether you were up all night studying in the library’s 24 hour room, crashing at a friend’s place, or simply running ridiculously late, this toothbrush will be your lifesaver.
If you get periods, consider investing in a diva cup. They’re more cost-effective than pads or tampons after 2-5 cycles (great for students who can’t afford to buy supplies every month or so); they can last you an entire day if necessary; you can put them in ahead of time, which means no more panicking about washing your sheets/pants/favorite underwear/favorite chair in the library; you’ll never be late to class because of an emergency tampon change again.
Morning classes are not the devil. Mid-afternoon classes are the devil. There’s a reason why many cultures have a designated siesta at that time of day! Yes, you’ll have to go to bed a bit earlier in order to get enough sleep, but overall you’ll be far more alert if you schedule your classes early in the day.
If you have a mountain of work to do between 9pm and 9am the next day and you know you won’t have time to sleep, begin by alternating between readings and problem sets, then move on to writing, then move on to aesthetic tasks (finishing the setup of a presentation, sketching a design for a lab, etc). Frustration is often the largest impedance to getting work done when you’re exhausted, so if you get the big frustration-inducing tasks out of the way before you really start to get sleepy you’re good to go. Writing can be frustrating for sure, but it’s more of a “dammit why doesn’t this sound right” type of frustration than a “dammit why don’t I understand this” type of frustration, and in my opinion that’s way better.
If you’re feeling adventurous, don’t bring your phone to class. At all.
If you’re going to drink, stop studying a little while beforehand. Alcohol impairs memory retention; taking shots immediately after reading 100 pages of your textbook is basically shooting yourself in the foot.
Napping as a study break is actually a great idea, especially if you’re trying to memorize things.
Do your psets alone. If you need help, go to office hours and work with a TA. Do not, under any circumstance, work with other students on your psets unless you’re explaining a concept to them and already understand it well yourself. Working with others allows things to slip by. You might nod and say “oh, that makes sense,” but when it comes down to it you have no idea whether or not you’d be able to replicate it on the test and that’s not good.
