How to make it in college, now that your're here

Course: ENC 1101

“How to Make It in College, Now That You're Here”
Brian O'Keeney

In his article How to make it in college, now that you’re here, O’Keeney believes that despite your background anyone can attend college, despite the challenges of life that we face on a day to day basis. He also argued that his “no-fail” system that he worked out based off his personal experience and from interviews of past college student will help you with coping with college.
Since we all attend college for the purpose of passing, getting those credits and earning a degree. And the fact is, if you want to earn that credit you're on your own and will have to put in the time effort and work to be successful. O'Keeney revealed the secret to being successful and presented 8 study techniques that will deliver solid results and ensure a successful college pursuit: These techniques are, setting up a study place which is essentially very quiet and boring which is secluded enough to only allow to only study and not be distracted by anything or anyone. Get in the frame of mind, plan the topic of study and establish the attitude that you’re going to get it done and learn in the process. Reward yourself if you planned and achieved a study session.
Skim the textbook first, even though the assignment is on a set page, skim trough the chapter, look at titles, sub titles, heading, pictures, first and last paragraphs to get a general idea of the topic and as a result put you in a better place to answer the question. Take notes on what you are studying. The idea is to summarize the main idea so it's much easier to make reference to weather studying for a test or doing an assignment. Review after you've read and take notes.
Give up. Not as contradictory as it sounds, but it's you won’t get much done or learn much when your exhausted. So give up and take a break. And finally, take a college skills course if you need it. The question was asked, how can I keep up with all my responsibilities without going crazy, and O'Keeney suggested three simple tactics that will avoid you from reaching your breaking point when trying to cover all the basis in your life: He suggest that you get a monthly calendar and highlight important due dates and exam dates for the semester. Set up a study schedule around your work and class times. And the most important tactic is the "To Do" list. It's always a great idea to have of what needs to be done for each week that way nothing important is left undone. He also researched this question, what can I do if personal problems get in the way of my studies? Based off interviews with pass college students, O'Keeney believes that personal problems can be very overwhelming and can affect your college life in a major way. His solution to this is developing a little network of support from fellow friendly classmates with whom you could share your difficulties, questions, and complaints. In addition, he also suggested that if it gets too overwhelming then you should seek professional help since they are actually paid to listen and council student with personal problems. And finally, O'Keeney believes that the main reason why some people make it and some drop out is: attitude. A positive attitude is the key in good study habits, smart time scheduling, and coping with personal difficulties. From the get and for the long haul, a positive attitude must be keep in order to achieve a college education. In conclusion, O'Keeney insists that these advices will successfully carry you through and earn you the education you deserve.
It’s quite interesting to see how much I can relate to this article both negative and positive. Overall this article was very good and O’Keeney had the reader’s best interest at heart with inspiring the pursuit of a college education. I agree with O’Keeney with his techniques with coping with college since I myself practice some of these techniques. But I must say these techniques aren’t full proof for every single individual since every individual adapts and learns differently. Take for example those that suffer from Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they have to develop their own techniques that best suit their needs base off their disorder. O’Keeney also overlooked those individuals that are very easily distracted. It’s going to take more than just a quite secluded and boring area for some people to be focused and actually learn. You could put some people in a quite sound proof room with nothing more than a desk and chair and they still get distracted, probable by the white walls. Who knows the mind can perceive the white walls as a peaceful landscape and then they get zoned out. My point is, each individual need to identify the faults and seek professional help in ways to develop the own techniques. I totally agree with O’Keeney on having the right attitude towards college. To add to that, I’d also recommend surround yourself with positive people who can motivate you when you’re down and that positive attitude is gone. Because let’s face it, nobody is ever always in a positive mood around the clock. And finally, I’d just like to add that even though O’Keeney makes some very important point with how to balance personal problems and your studies. However, I disagree with one point that he made about seeking a fellow classmate and sharing your personal problems with them. I’m not one to judge, but no matter how kind a person looks, you can just expect and assume that they won’t share your personal problems with the entire campus and in the long run ending up hurting yourself more. One personal experience I had was with one of my classmate. She was able to pay her tuitions by doing exotic dancing which eventually added personal problems in her life. She confided in another classmate and shared her life stories with him and reached out for advice. This was the worst thing she could have done since the guy went and told the rest of the class and the next you know, she has potential customers at school and she ended up dropping out. I do however, agreed and urge that if you have personal problems, seek the help of the paid professional counselors. I would strongly recommend this article to high school seniors whom are looking forward to graduating and attending college. Also, I’d recommend this to those mothers whom think it’s impossible to attend college post pregnancy.