8 Study Tips for College Freshmen Written by a College Freshman

8 Study Tips for College Freshman Written by a College Freshman
By: Loriana Noriz-Diaz

    When a consultant doesn’t have a conference or task for the Writing Center, a majority of students use their shift as a designated study time when applicable. Consultant always seem to be working, whether it be from taking a client or homework. But what does studying look like? It’s hard to pinpoint what studying actually means. Learning how to study in college could become a challenge for college freshmen, which I have also found. After doing some research, here are some study tips I find are the most effective for college freshman finding their study pattern as a college freshman. The research in the blog post comes from different articles and my own personal experience.

1. Establishing a time, place, and goal for studying

    I have found it difficult to force myself to study with the amount of "free time" I have in college. Creating a set time to study in the productive atmosphere is key to being an active student. Lian Parsons Harvard Summer School article "Top 10 Study Tips to Study like a Harvard Student" spoke about establishing a space that fuels a productive environment which may be Voho lobby, CHS lobby, the library, the PUB, or other public/academic spaces. Lian Parson continues to state how it is your job, as a student, to curate the area to be productive for yourself.

    Studying can be separated into goals to help produce more active studying habits, according to Lian Parsons "Top 10 Study Tips to Study like a Harvard Student". S.M.A.R.T. goals are referenced in "Top 10 Study Tips to Study like a Harvard Student" by Lian Parson to uplift students by making their goals specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-specific. SMART goals make studying easier to keep track of and obtain. An example of a S.M.A.R.T. goal would be wanting to study at 2pm for Introduction to Sociology for at least 2 hours. Starting small habits, such as siting in the library during down time, can be the starting point for positive learning.

2. Learn your study/learning habits

    In Lian Parsons article "Top 10 Study Tips to Study like a Harvard Student", it is stated how every student will learn differently and retain the information in different ways. The way a brain can process information is specific to the individual person. The way I study is different from my peer that are around me all day. I prefer to rewrite my notes for memorization but my peers enjoy talking their answers out in study sessions. Learning how you can continue to study efficiently is key in college. Professors give the resources, but the student makes the effort and time to use the resources. Knowing how to use resources for studying in a class is key to succeed in a class. The article "How to study effectively" written by University of Wisconsin-La Crosse states you keep building the walls the fortify the studying method to keep it in the brain by learning what works best for your brain.

3. Take care of your mind and body

    The body doesn't rejuvenate itself from staying up till 3am to study for the 9am class; therefore, sleeping is what helps strengthen the mind and body which is supported by "How to study effectively" by University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The body needs proper care to keep learning and proceeding with classes. The lack of care can show physically and mentally which could affect performance during class/study time is a fact stated in "How to study effectively" by University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Take a walk, drink water, sleep more than 5 hours, and take a deep breath to help the body stay active to keep learning. I'm still learning how to properly care for myself while being a full time student, working on campus, and participating in extracurricular activities. It's a personal process that takes time to fully comprehend, but it's important to demonstrate your full potential as a college student. 

4. Break Time!

    The brain can only take so much information at once before it starts becoming incomprehensible. Breaks gives the brain time to process information and retain it into the long term memory. No rest doesn't give the brain to process which makes studying more frustrating and prolonged. The American Psychology Association article "Study Smart" by Lea Winerman claims, “...if you have 12 hours to spend on a subject, it's better to study it for three hours each week for four weeks than to cram all 12 hours into week four.” Taking too long or too short of a break can damage the studying progress you have made according to Lea Winerman's article "Study Smart". For example you can eat a snack, watch a 5 minute breathing exercise, etc. Studying in chunks of information rather than all at once. I have a hard time getting back to work after breaks, but they are helpful when studying becomes frustrating. You will not get every step right in your first semester at college, which can be overwhelming, so breaks help process the emotions, content, and other.

5. Studying Reward

    Studying can become a mentally exhausting task that takes lots of brain power. Lian Parsons article "Top 10 Study Tips to Study like a Harvard Student" claims to have a small reward for the time and effort put into studying that fuels the brain to get tasks done faster, such as studying. A series of small motivations keep the brain boosting to meet the goal/reward. A Cornell University study "It's about Time: Immediate Reward Boost Workplace Motivation" showed how an immediate reward to a task increase attention by 20% more than the group who didn't have an immediate reward. I often use this method because it feels significant to be working towards an outside source. Reading 30 pages can take so much energy as a college freshman, so learning there is a reward to reading those 30 pages makes the process faster and more productive in my brain.

6. No Cramming!!!!

    Classes, extracurricular, work studies, and internships take up so much part of the day that the time frame for studying becomes smaller and smaller. Each class has a specific amount of time you should be working on, but with so little time in one day the norm becomes cramming. Forbes "5 Essential Study Tips for College Students" written by Quora states how cramming is helpful when you know the information to be used as a review method, but not a study method. Studying is used to understand the concept after learning it, cramming does not help comprehend concepts according to Quora's article "5 Essential Study Tips for College Students". Similar to taking breaks, the brain cannot take hundreds of pages from the textbook in an hour without needing some downtime. In high school, my form of studying used to be only cramming and it wasn't until college I realized it doesn't work. I needed to sit down and learn the information in full. Taking quick glances at a worksheet does nothing for you than barley pass the exam. Do not overwork you brain to the point of not retaining information. 

7. Always Review and Revise

    According to David Harrington's article "14 Study Tips for First-Year College Success", to keep the studying material active in your brain means to live by studying or reviewing. Studying is not a "one and done", but a constant stream of reviewing to keep the material in the long term memory. The building blocks are strengthened when we keep supporting ourselves in studying. With reviewing over and over again it will soon become second nature; although, reviewing week 1 content on week 10 will not hurt you and only continue to help you. I will never forget information from Exam 1 going into Exam 3 because I keep the content interconnecting to help my brain keep the set of information. "How to Build Strong Study Habits" by Thea Beckman explains how habits are created for smoother pathways; therefore, incorporating studying as a routine or habit creates a smoother path to keeping the studying pattern. 

8. Don't be Afraid to Ask for Help

    Professors at Coe want to help and encourage students to come to office hours for a reason. It's terrifying to ask for help, but the professors are here to uplift our ideas and point us in the right direction. At Coe, we have a multitude of resources such as the Writing Center, tutors, and professors. The more I have explored at Coe, the more comfortable I grew into the resources available. I enjoy going into office hours or asking questions after class to help ease mt own anxiety or be headed in the right direction. There are resources at Coe to help uplift your needs in the academic journey so don't ignore them. 

Works Cited: 

Beckman, Thea. "How to Build Strong Study Habits" Brainscape Academy, 26 Feb. 2025, www.brainscape.com/academy/build-study-habits/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Breazeale, Ron. “S.M.A.R.T. Goals.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 2 May 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/in-the-face-of-adversity/201705/smart-goals. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025. 

Cornell University. “It’s about Time: Immediate Rewards Boost Workplace Motivation.” ScienceDaily, 6 June 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180606143709.htm. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Harrington, David.  “14 Study Tips for First-Year College Success.” Post University, 20 Oct. 2023, post.edu/blog/study-tips-for-first-year-college-success/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

“How to Study Effectively.” University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 3 Dec. 2024, www.uwlax.edu/college-tips/how-to-study-effectively/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025

Parsons, Lian. “Top 10 Study Tips to Study like a Harvard Student.” Harvard Summer School, 8 Nov. 2023, summer.harvard.edu/blog/top-10-study-tips-to-study-like-a-harvard-student/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Quora. “5 Essential Study Tips for College Students.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 2 Sept. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2022/08/31/5-essential-study-tips-for-college-students/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Winerman, Lea. “Study Smart.” American Psychological Association, Nov. 2011, www.apa.org/gradpsych/2011/11/study-smart.  Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.