As you grow up and take more advanced classes, there comes a point where attendance at class becomes optional. For example,  it is rare for anyone to record attendance at university classes. You paid for the class, you’re considered an adult, and it’s up to you whether you show up or not. It’s really tempting to skip some classes. You were up too late the night before, you find the lectures boring, you think you can just read the textbook, you have to work on an assignment that’s due tomorrow, you have to get groceries and do laundry, and the list goes on. Go to class! Try to stay awake! Pay attention! In most cases, if it’s important enough to be on the exam, it’s important enough to emphasize in class.  You’ll save time by attending class and learning what the teacher thinks is important. If you pay attention, you can often get a relatively good idea what topics are most likely to be on the exams, and get hints about what is expected on assignments or projects. Taking your own notes is also much more helpful than studying from your friend’s notes later on. The process of taking notes helps with learning and memorizing. You’ll remember details that weren’t written down and things will make much more sense when you study from them later. Professors also tend to notice who is attending class, paying attention, and participating. If a time comes when you need extra help or have special circumstances to address, they are more likely to be accommodating if they know you’ve been working hard all term.

How has your  note-taking changed since you’ve been at school?

As you become more responsible for your education, it becomes common to have to make your own decisions on scheduling  classes. When thinking about scheduling your classes, you can have several decisions to make about how you want your timetable to look. You may have breaks between classes, and you may have days with nothing scheduled. This initially sounds like it gives you lots of free time, but you’ll quickly realize that you’re busier than ever because you have a lot more course work to do outside of class time.  Sometimes for every hour of class time, you’ll have several hours of work to do on your own. This will vary slightly with different classes and may increase/decrease from week to week, but it gives you a rough idea. When scheduling classes, try to schedule them in blocks so that you’ll have larger blocks of “free time” to work on assignments. It’s really hard to get anything done when you only have an hour between classes. By the time you find a place to work and get settled, it’s time to pack up for the next class. If possible, try to make sure that consecutive classes are not located too far apart, unless you enjoy a 10 minute sprint (it’s more like an obstacle course, with everyone else changing classes too) with no time to refill your water bottle or to grab a coffee.

What is your scheduling strategy?