First-Class Students
Higher Institution is packed with exciting activities like social gatherings, sports events, concerts, and networking. These activities make time in university one of the best years of any student’s life.
Behind all the excitement and fun, the major aim of being in school is to study and get good grades at the end of a course. Many times, the journey to getting impressive grades demands the sacrifice of thrills from many extracurricular activities during your academic period.
For first-class students, delayed gratification becomes the norm. From higher considerations for job placement to sheer confidence, the rewards a first-class certificate gives are unmatched.
Here are four habits that paddle the boats of first-class students in Nigerian Institutions.
Pre-Lecture Study
This is an excellent tip that helps students level up academically. At the start of a semester, students are handed out a syllabus. Now, a syllabus not only shows the course outline but also provides students with topics so they can study before classes. Reading up on a topic beforehand familiarizes you with new information so you are not hearing them for the first time in class. Class participation becomes easy and then you can ask intelligent questions.
Taking Notes During Lectures
Note-taking goes beyond writing quoting your lecturer verbatim on paper. The key essence of this activity is to make highlights of a lecture that will serve as a study guide during your reading time. Always remember to highlight and revisit the topics that come up more than once.
Cultivating Reading Habits
Unless you are a superhero and have a photographic memory, abandoning academic materials until class is in session will only make you an average student. First-class students create reading schedules and religiously stick to them until reading becomes routine. Good reading habits ease up exam season tension as you will never have to speed-read to cover your course content in a short time.
Self-Assessment
When you assess yourself as s student, you can objectively evaluate your progress on a particular topic. This helps you spot gaps in your understanding and discern how to bridge them and enhance your academic performance. You can assess yourself by taking a quiz, revising old examination papers, or joining a study group. Self-assessment also gives you an insight into future tests and examinations and helps you prepare well ahead of time.
It is important to note that being a first-class student goes beyond burying your nose deep in your books at every opportunity. There is a need to foster skills that make you smart all-round. Interpersonal skills, morality, integrity, and other life skills combined with the academic skills listed above will give you an edge during and after your study. With discipline, these skills become effective, and your first-class dream will come to fruition.
