How to be a successful college
student:
Work hard. In college, how hard you work is a more important determinant of success than how smart you are. The sharpest tool in the shed won't perform if she/he doesn't work at it — I have seen this repeatedly over the years.
Work effectively. Don't spend hours going over notes from class that are incomplete and disorganized. Re-write your lecture notes, include information that you missed in class, include information from memory, the textbook, from your peers' notes, from other sources (the web, etc.). Re-organize so that things are in a logical sequence. Figure out what the logical sequence was in class — the instructor will usually have one.
Have some fun, just not too much fun.
Be skeptical and inquisitive. This is your chance! Explore, stretch your limits, have some fun intellectually.
Plan your time. Keep a calendar of test dates, due dates for papers and presentations, etc. Keep it current. Check it daily.
Don't get "stressed out": plan your time carefully, work hard, but engage in some stress relieving activity — kick-boxing, weight-lifting, bowling, bicycling (but be careful bicycling around Sherman).
Take care of yourself physically. Eat a nutritious, balanced diet, exercise, sleep, don't drink and drive, stay out of dangerous situations (Cutter's is called that for a reason)
If you need help, get it soon: The difficulty of solving a problem increases with time.
• social: area coordinator, mentor, student affairs office, peers
• medical, psychological: Adams Center, personal physician
Listen well but also share well; voice (or write) your opinion effectively.
Get to know your peers — these are the people you will be around for the next four years, and some will be lifelong friends. Be peer pressure for the good — don't succumb to bad peer pressure.
Go to the career counseling office early.
See the Study Abroad advisor early.
Enroll in some interesting courses that are outside your area of concentration.
Listen to your academic advisor, but also be sure you understand the curriculum and the program you are following. You are ultimately responsible for getting out of here.
Talk to your professors — ask questions about our courses, what research we are doing, what January Terms we teach — get to know us and we will get to know you.
Call the faculty members "professor so-and-so", unless you know they have a Ph.D., in which case you can call them "Doctor so-and-so". Many will tell you to call them by first names; do this if you are comfortable with it.
How to be a successful Biology major
Never forget anything you learn in a college science course (chem, phys, bio, geol) — it will be important later when you least expect it (MCAT, GRE).
Listen well and take good notes. Assume that everything the professor says is important information, whether you think so or not. The answer to "should we be writing this down" is "yes" and the answer to "how much of this do we have to know" is "all of it". You may think the professor is just telling you funny stories about things that happened a long time ago, when in fact the stories have an important point. Don't assume that just because the professor doesn't write something on the board or overhead or on powerpoint it is not important — this is not high school where the teachers make an outline of all of the important information and spoon-feed it to you.
Take thorough notes in class and re-copy them with supplementary information from the textbook, your peers' notes, the web, your memory — do this after each class; ask during the next class period for clarification on points in your notes if you need it.
Tape-record class sessions if you wish, but don't expect the tape recordings to substitute for attentive note-taking in class.
If the professor asks a question, answer if you can, or just take a guess — we will not make fun of you.
Go to class diligently — you are paying for it, you might as well get your money's worth
Make lists of the important terms (and they are all important) — I always recommend actually writing in longhand the terms and their meanings — why should you do it this way?
Don't cram for tests — learn the material as you go; assimilation takes time (and rest!)
Read the textbook 2 or 3 times — once before class.
Study in groups, ask each other questions -- if you can explain it, you understand it.
Ask questions in class anytime you don't understand something.
Get to know the faculty and your peers, including the upperclass bio majors — they have been through this.
Take advantage of opportunities for social interaction — humans are social creatures. The biology department has various types of associated student groups and occasional social events, plus a weekend field trip each year.