3 Skills Students Need to Succeed in College

As a former high school special education teacher and current postsecondary education administrator, I have had the opportunity to work with a plethora of students, and I have witnessed three skills that consistently contribute to a successful educational experience during and after high school. Students need to develop the ability to take effective class notes, meet course assignment deadlines, and efficiently complete timed exams. In addition to success in high school, these skills prove to be critical to success in the postsecondary setting—not only for students diagnosed with disabilities, but for all students transitioning to the postsecondary educational setting.

NOTE-TAKING skills

As educators, we cannot assume students know how to take effective notes, as most have never been explicitly taught the skill. We must find the opportunity to instill the skill at multiple levels to ensure mastery.

Before class. A key to success in taking high-quality notes in class occurs prior to the start of class. Students should learn how to read a class schedule or syllabus so they understand what topic will be discussed during the class. Students also need to read the text that will be covered in class, which provides students with background knowledge and helps them identify topics or key ideas to be covered. Students can also take notes while reading the chapter prior to class, which cut down on the amount of writing necessary during class time.

Another powerful strategy is to review notes from previous classes prior to class. As most content covered in coursework builds upon previous concepts or skills, reviewing past notes will help the student make connections of big-picture ideas and will make learning more effective.

Finally, organization is critical. Before each class, students should date and label notes with the title of the focus, allowing for easy access to their notes later. Students should also use a different notebook for each class.

During class. Many students struggle in deciding exactly what to write as the teacher lectures. They do not need to write down every single word the teacher is saying. Rather, they should focus on the main concepts that are presented (this is where prereading plays a major role). The teacher can provide verbal or visual cues when discussing these points. Teachers should explicitly review how to use abbreviations or bullet points throughout the lecture instead of copying down word-for-word sentences. If the student has questions, or concepts are unclear during class, they should write them down as they take notes.

After class. If there is time at the end of class for questions, have the teacher clarify the concepts. If not, students should learn the importance of using time outside of class to have their questions answered. This will transfer over to the postsecondary setting as they learn to use professor office hours. Students should also get into the habit of reviewing their notes. This will allow them to review concepts, fill in any missing information, and even rewrite notes that may appear unclear. When students review their notes daily, it’s easier to study for exams—the content is familiar, and there’s no need to cram.

Effective note-taking is a skill that is critical to student success, including in classes that are more interactive than straight lecture. Amir Taron Ayres has some great tips for teaching students how to take notes, including limiting lectures to 15 minutes and incorporating questioning into the note-taking process. Note-taking also proves beneficial in two other important skills: meeting deadlines and completing timed exams.

MEETING DEADLINES

Another skill that is imperative to success (especially at the college level) is the ability to meet deadlines. In the college setting, student schedules will look very different from the familiar high school layout. Students will be expected to navigate class schedules that are sporadic; some classes meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; others meet Tuesdays and Thursdays; and others may meet one night per week. Additionally, students may have long breaks between class sessions. With this scheduling format, students are expected to keep track of assignment and project deadlines and complete work on time.

In high school, teachers can help students begin to formulate plans to meet deadlines. Students can use a calendar and planner and map out the due dates for assignments in various courses. Another important skill is the ability to break down the project into smaller segments. When I taught high school, I would help students break assignments down into small, reasonable sections; assign personal deadlines to each portion; and record those dates in their planners. Today, I see college-level students struggling to complete projects on time, as they try to do the entire project at once.

TAKING TIMED EXAMS

The third skill that students need to master is the ability to take timed exams. In college, students are expected to complete exams in a single class period. This is a must-have skill at the postsecondary level. Even if time extensions are provided through the school’s disability services office, they still have a definitive time frame to work in. I have seen and personally given high school students time extensions to finish exams (even unlimited time), but this is rarely the case in college settings.

Brain dumping. High school teachers should prepare students to do well on timed exams. One strategy that can work is something I call “brain dumping.” Once students receive their exam, they can turn it over to a blank page and write down key concepts, thoughts, and ideas that they have been studying. Then, as they take the exam, if they come to a question they can’t recall information for, they may have written down the answers already, or the information they wrote down reminds them of other concepts. I have heard from students that this strategy is very effective when working on exam essays. 

Time management. Another test-taking strategy to master is time management. Students should learn to keep an eye on the clock (though without obsessing about it). I teach students to flip through the exam to see how many questions are on it, then figure out exactly how much time, on average, they have to complete each question. This way, they can formulate a plan to successfully complete the exam on time. 

Answer easy questions first. Another final effective strategy is for students to go through the exam and answer the questions they know the answer to first. This will give them more time to work on the more difficult questions, and if they run out of time, they have answered more questions than if they had worked question by question. If they do decide to work in order, and they come across a question they don’t know, they should mark it, skip it, and come back to it. I often witness students getting stuck on a question and wasting too much time trying to figure it out.

Taking effective class notes, meeting course assignment deadlines, and efficiently completing timed exams are all skills that should be taught to high school students. These skills not only will prove to be important to success at the high school level, but also will follow them in their postsecondary educational experience.