Studying in college can seem tedious, depending on the course and the material. Different students have different techniques for how to properly study in order to ensure a good grade on any quiz, test or exam. Some students may prefer to highlight certain sections of their textbooks, some may prefer to memorize utilizing sticky notes, the options vary. It all depends on how invested and engaged the student is in their learning. In any college learning scenario, studying is a necessity and it is vital that students figure out what works the best for them.

I attended two different colleges during my college career, which spanned five years from 2012-2017. I earned two degrees respectively, an Associate's Degree in General Studies from the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication from Curry College. I took many courses in those years, all of which had different material. The end goal was the same for every course, to pass and earn my degree. Therefore, I figured out quickly that I would have to find a variety of ways to make those classes immersive enough, even if the course material did not pique my interest.

The reason the material may not have been interesting to me is because certain courses are graduation requirements and not necessarily courses a student chooses to take for the purpose of pursuing a hobby or learning something new. One such course at the Community College of Rhode Island was a Science course called The Solar System, because I am admittedly not well-versed in Science, nor is it an interest of mine. I had to take a course of that nature to be able to graduate, so my studying habit was to read a lot of material and learn many scientific terms just enough to pass.

That was a hard course, unbeknownst to me beforehand, so fortunately, I passed with a C. As for some courses I thoroughly enjoyed, which made studying more fun, I took a course at CCRI called Abnormal Psychology and a course at Curry called Persuasion. Abnormal Psychology was much easier than Persuasion and studying was too. I studied for Abnormal Psychology exams by reading the textbook and the handouts repeatedly, while memorizing both to where I could answer the exam questions correctly. As for Persuasion, those exams were much more complex, because the concepts the exams covered were harder for me to comprehend. My studying habit for Persuasion was to read, and read, and read. I am a reader, so that worked for me.

My memory proved to be helpful when it came to my studying, which was a learning style advantage that I channeled quite often throughout my college years. Other students may not possess that type of memory, so for those students, I would suggest highlighting the textbook and handouts, as well as testing themselves on the material for preparation. There are different ways to accomplish goals all throughout life, so when it comes to studying in college, read, memorize, take notes and make it fun for yourselves.

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