A Personal Definition for Success

How do you define college success? The definition really depends on you. Your definition of success may include getting an associate’s degree, or a bachelor’s, master’s, or even a Ph.D. Maybe your definition of success means receiving a certificate of completion or finishing skill-based training.

Maybe your definition of success also includes making social connections or gaining job experience that can apply to your career later on. Maybe you want to establish a balanced health routine that includes enough sleep and time to exercise throughout the week, while also keeping up with your coursework. Maybe success for you means that you spend time working during school to keep your overall debt load smaller or that you balance your student life with your personal life so you can continue pursuing personal interests or spending time with your family.

You might be thinking of other measures of college success, too—like grades. For instance, you might be unhappy with anything less than an A in a course, although maybe this depends on the difficulty of the subject. You might also be perfectly content with passing the class with a C.

To help you start to define what success means to you, take this quick self-assessment about your college goals and beyond. How many of these items are important to you?

Most students want to be successful in their courses, yet not all college students are. We’ve talked already about common misconceptions about not being “smart enough” for college. Some students suffer from imposter syndrome, or a feeling that they are impostors and don’t belong in college. Impostor syndrome is real and challenging.

Instead of worrying about whether you are smart enough or belong in college, you might focus on some concrete strategies you can employ to increase your success in college. We suggest you embrace and master the following eight strategies:

1. Learn how to take effective notes in class. Instead of writing everything your instructor says, take short-hand notes on main concepts or specific explanations that helped you understand the concepts you are learning.
2. Review the text and your reading notes prior to class. This type of preparation will help you retain the information better when it is presented again in class.
3. Participate in class discussions. Hearing others’ perspectives and explanations can help you build your understanding of class concepts.
4. Go to office hours and ask your instructor questions. Your instructors set aside this time specifically to help students in their classes, and they are more than willing to help when you need extra support.
5. Give yourself enough time to research, write, and edit your essays in manageable stages. Breaking your assignments into smaller chunks helps you avoid procrastination and last minute stress.
6. Take advantage of online or on-campus academic support resources. For example, tutoring is generally free in college, and the strategies and knowledge you gain will be invaluable.
7. Join a study group or find a study buddy. This gives you a chance to ask questions and talk about concepts with others, broadening your understanding.
8. Create a regular study schedule and allow yourself ample study time. Most college success experts agree that students should study two hours outside of class for every hour in class. Only break away from your committed schedule if an extreme situation prevents you from sticking to it.

If you find yourself worrying about succeeding in college, ask yourself instead if you can implement or improve your use of some of these strategies.

Overall, students struggle in college not because of natural intellect or smarts, but because of poor time management, disorganization, and lack of quality study time. The good news is that there are ways to combat this, specifically by using strategies like those listed above, and reaching out for support when needed.