View College as Your Chosen Profession

How to be a professional:

• Choose a solitary desk in a private area of the library. This is your office.
• Be organized about the tasks you want to accomplish.
• Schedule daily office hours, at least 3 hours a day. Maintain the schedule.
• Minimize break times and take breaks away from your desk.
• Take one day off a week.

What to do as a professional:

• Do the assigned reading several days before the class period, highlighting key passages.
• Just prior to the class period, re-read the highlighted portion of the assigned reading.
• After each class, write on 4 x 6" index cards everything you need to know (not just definitions) about key terms and concepts. Write the term on one side of the card and your notes on the other.
• Begin studying for the exam a week in advance.

• The first day, try to review half of the material that will be covered on the exam. Reread the corresponding highlighted portion of your text. Read your corresponding 4 x 6" note cards.
• The second day, review the other half and reread the corresponding highlighted portion of your text. Read your corresponding cards.
• The third day, quickly review the material you know and spend time relearning that you don't. Reread the text for concepts you are relearning.
• The fourth day, practice recalling material using your note cards as "flash cards," rereading your highlighted text for difficult concepts.
• The fifth and sixth days, practice recalling material using your note cards.
• The seventh day, make sure you know everything. Practice recalling material that you're having trouble with.
• Day of the exam: Be confident! Bring only material you need to take the test (e.g., pencil, pen, bluebook). Smile at students around you anxiously looking over their notes.

Skills you establish now will be useful as a paid professional!

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