1. Location, location, location...

If you're serious about getting work done:

Find a place that is relatively free of distractions.

Establish guidelines for quiet times for yourself, or use the libraries, study rooms, or empty classrooms.

Remember don't study in front of the TV, it is very DISTRACTING!!!

Avoid all-night cram sessions in which you (unsuccessfully) try to understand and retain large amounts of information. 

Spend time on your studies each day, and you can stay on top of your courses and still have time for fun. 

Use small blocks of time - you'll be amazed what you can get done between classes!

Whether you're an 'A' student or a 'D' student, you can strengthen your learning skills. 

Visit the library, get help from friends who are good in that topic or talk to your teacher. 

Get to know your teacher and tutors. It's your academic career - make the most of it.

Remember important dates.

It's up to you to remember due dates for assignments and test dates. 

A day planner is great for organizing your life. 

A wall calendar of important dates is also a good idea.

Not understanding? Trouble remembering? 

Comprehension and memory are affected by stress and fatigue. When you're hungry, tense, or tired your brain can't function at its full potential. 

It's especially crucial to eat well, exercise, and get adequate sleep during exam periods. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep regularly and at least 7.5 hours during exams if you can.

Don't fall into the habit of missing class. Someone else's notes aren't going to be as good as having gone to the "lecture" yourself. 

In class, listen for emphasis and examples. Take a thorough set of notes; you'll be thankful at test time. Don't understand something? Then, ask right away before you forget or put it off. 

Isn't it better to learn as you go than to find yourself unprepared the night before the test or an exam?

Many unsuccessful students see a course as "a lot of stuff to memorize." 

Learning requires understanding how pieces of information fit together to form a "BIG picture." 

Use course outlines, tables of content, headings and subheadings to organize the information in each of your courses. 

Routinely ask yourself, "What's the purpose of this detail?" and "Does it make sense?"

Capture your understanding of course material in an active way. 

• generate examples,
• create mnemonics,
• make summary notes,
• identify key words, 
• highlight textbooks or add margin notes (if your allowed to),
• or just talk about it with someone and try to see if you can make them understand. 

Be creative and interested and you'll probably be awesome at test time.

No matter how well you understand something, without practice some forgetting will occur. 

Before a test, make sure that you can recall important information from memory. 

Self-test by recalling information without looking at notes or textbooks and by doing practice exams if available. 

You and a friend can make up a pretest and see if you can answer the other person's test.

Don't lose marks because of test-writing errors such as misreading a question or running out of time. 

Think through specific strategies to tackle different types of tests (e.g., multiple-choice). 

Also, carefully read instructions, budget time to marks, and do less difficult questions first to build confidence.