Study Tips to Help You Succeed!

Public Safety - All

Feeling overwhelmed with homework? We’re here to help! Check out our ten study tips below and get ready to ace those next exams.

1. Find a study group. Meeting with (studious) classmates will not only help you prepare for that next test, it’ll boost your morale and make studying way more fun.

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Need a space to study? The Allstate Library can offer you private study rooms, as well as a technology center featuring twelve brand-new computers.

2. Choose a quiet place to study. If you need to get out of the house and away from distractions, the Allstate Library has two private study rooms, plenty of comfy chairs, and 12 brand-new Dell computers. Check it out!

3. Don’t cram. It can be tempting to postpone studying until the night before, but it won’t get you good results. If you study more gradually, it will actually help you remember the material better. In an article for The New York Times, journalist Benedict Carey explains, “An hour of study tonight, an hour on the weekend, another session a week from now: such so-called spacing improves later recall, without requiring students to put in more overall study effort or pay more attention, dozens of studies have found.”

4. Sometimes it feels impossible to find time to study. One solution is to break up study time into small increments throughout your day. The Berkeley Student Learning Center suggests you turn wait time into study time: “Five minutes waiting time for the bus, 20 minutes waiting for the dentist, 10 minutes between classes — waiting time adds up fast. Have short study tasks ready to do during these times. For example, carry 3X5 cards with equations, formulas, or definitions and pull them out anywhere.” (For more great tips, check out the entire article.)

5. Try listening to music. Classical music may help you feel less anxious and focus on the materials, studies find.

6. Use online resources. As an SPC student, you have access to many online articles and videos through our library catalogue. Here are some of the most helpful databases that focus on public safety and criminal justice. Click on the links below to check them out. To sign into the library databases, your borrow ID is your student ID number and your PIN is the last four digits of your social security number

If you get stuck searching the databases, just remember that your local librarian will be happy to help you! Call 727-341-4486 with any questions.

7. Take care of yourself mentally. Check out BayCare’s Student Assistance Program, which offers you free mental and emotional care, including a toll-free confidential helpline and many online resources. To access some of these online resources, log into MySPC, click on Resources, and you’ll find their website under Student Assistance Counseling. Next, navigate to Students, and choose Emotional Health. You can call their toll-free, confidential helpline at (800) 878-5470. They can help with problems such as:

  • Adjustment difficulties
  • Anxiety
  • Building successful relationships
  • Conflict resolution
  • Identifying and handling stress
  • Overcoming procrastination
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Sharpening study skills
  • Substance abuse
  • Time management

8. Take care of yourself physically. SPC offers free chiropractic and acupuncture care through the National University of Health Sciences Clinic/Caruth Health Education Center. You can schedule an appointment by calling 727-341-3760. Their services are free not only to SPC students, but also to immediate family.

9. Get help. When you’re feeling stuck, remember that you’re surrounded by people who are here for you. Stop by an SPC tutoring center: “Students who visit our Learning Centers more than four times in a term have better than an 80% chance at success.” Those are pretty great odds. If you don’t feel like leaving the house (we’ve all been there), you can use our Smarthinking online tutoring website. Click the link below, and scroll down for a tutorial video that shows you how to access it: http://www.spcollege.edu/tutoring/#tab=3

10. Reward yourself. After you’ve finished that exam, do something to celebrate. Remember, you’re one step closer to reaching your goal!

keep calm and study