Twelve Strategies for Student Success

At SCC we want to help you achieve your academic and personal goals. Attending college is an exciting time in life, but it can also be overwhelming trying to balance your course load, a job, your family and everything else in life. These tips are designed to help you get a solid start, stay on track and reach your potential.

• Attend orientation ? and get some of the best tips for navigating the college and enriching your student experience.
• See an advisor early and often, then register early ? Advisors help you establish and examine your academic plan and then review how it fits into your life plan. Registering early provides you the best course selection.
• Make academics a priority - think wisely about the choices you make as well as the ramifications of your choices. Making college a priority helps you make good decisions.
• Know yourself and get organized ? by understanding your habits and what other demands you have on your time, you can create a class and study schedule that is most effective for you.  A planner is essential.
• Attend class and be active ? start off right by taking notes, know what is expected of you, review your syllabus, your textbooks, and be prepared to be engaged in class. Ask questions during and after class if necessary.  College level learning requires understanding how information fits together. Routinely ask yourself ?how does this information fit into the big picture??
• Strengthen your reading and note taking skills ? by reviewing what you will read or go over in class; learn to identify key points and supporting points; stay active with mini-reviews; leave space in notes for new additions; look-up terms you don?t understand; jot down key nouns and verbs; establish a note-taking system that supports your learning style; ask for help if you need it. 
• Focus on writing ? communicating clearly through your writing assignments requires you to understand that all writing must have: 1. a purpose; 2. a premise, idea or thesis; 3. facts, data, or points to develop and support the thesis; 4. a logical conclusion or summary.
• Establish study time for each class ? for every hour in class, research indicates you?ll need two study hours outside of class. Study means more than completing handouts and reading assignments. Review your notes, edit them and determine how they correlate with reading assignments, label handouts, read ahead when possible and prepare for each day as if there will be a pop-quiz.  Even if you have to break your study time into smaller chunks, plan ahead and avoid cramming? it rarely works and you end up learning very little.
• Have a designated place to study and take a tech break ? you will have greater academic success if you study in a focused manner. By taking out your ear buds, turning off your phone, signing out of the chat room, and utilizing short five minute breaks to enjoy one of those activities, you will reduce your stress and use your brain and time wisely.
• Make use of campus resources ? from free tutoring, writing labs, and computer work stations, find out what is available to help you. Get to know your faculty, staff and advisors, and ask questions. If you need someone to talk to, you can feel comfortable and welcome to discuss any concern with SCC counseling staff.
• Talk with your classmates and form study groups ? Research shows that students who study with someone else make better grades. It?s important to stay focused examining key points from class lectures and reading materials. Find real life examples to principles, make correlations. Teach someone who is not in your class to test your knowledge!
• Eat good food, get rest and drink lots of water ? Junk food does not provide the nutrition your body needs to function properly. A lack of sleep is just as detrimental to all of your body?s systems. Studies have shown that a well-hydrated brain performs at a higher capacity.