Only a few days into my freshman year at St. Paul's Northwestern College, I discovered that college demanded a whole new way of studying. If I was going to survive even that first year, I knew I needed to make some big and small changes in my study habits. And you will, too. To help you prepare for the big transition to the world of college studies, I'd like to offer 10 suggestions—all drawn from my own mistakes and small day-to-day victories.

1) Adjust your attitude toward studying
When I was in high school, I was the smart girl. And it was never that cool to be smart. So, although I never really slacked off, I kind of hid my successes. I never really got all that excited. I mean, who wants to brag about a 100 percent on a math test? I would have been labeled The Ultimate Nerd. But at college, I discovered that learning wasn't uncool anymore!

Embrace college as an opportunity to learn about the things you're passionate about. Love math? Then do it with great joy. If you're an art major, get psyched about throwing pottery and learning how to develop photos in a darkroom. If you're into science, you'll discover the world of the clown fish via the marine ecosystem in your classroom lab. What's cooler than all that?

2) Realize profs expect more
College professors aren't going to be as lenient as your high school teachers. Not that they're hard-nosed and mean, but they will now treat you as an adult. They won't necessarily give you extra credit to pull up your grade at the end of the semester. They won't give you step-by-step instructions on how to do all your assignments. And they won't always tell you exactly what is going to be on a test.

They want you to take the initiative in your education, seeing college as a place where you can become an independent thinker. You're paying a lot of money to be at college, so they're assuming you want to be there and will put in the work to do a good job.

3) Get organized
You will need two things in order to get organized: your syllabi and your planner.

In college, your professors let you in on what they plan to teach you for the entire semester. Each of them do this through something called a syllabus (the plural is syllabi), which is usually handed out on the first day of classes. It is basically all the expectations and guidelines your professor has for the semester, plus an outline of all your assignments.

Many colleges have an assignment planner with all the school breaks and activities already printed on the calendar. If it doesn't show up in an orientation packet, look for it in the college bookstore.

So, now you have your planner and your syllabi. Don't let them sit there and collect dust. Begin mapping out your semester in your planner. Write all your due dates into your calendar. This might be a bit overwhelming at first, but once things start to pick up pace, you'll be glad you know when each assignment is due.

Some professors assume you'll keep track of assignments by regularly looking at the syllabus. That's right, they often don't remind you of what's due. Why? Because it's on the syllabus. Again, it's all about the prof's expectations of you as a responsible adult. They won't hold your hand through the semester. They expect you to keep up on your own by following what's assigned on your syllabus. And you can do this by taking those important due dates and jotting them down in your planner.

4) Start working ahead
Let's look forward a bit and imagine you've already filled out your planner. Now try to work ahead in your planner.

That's right. Do Wednesday's homework, even though it's only Monday. Make it a goal to stay slightly ahead of yourself. For instance, you have to do a book report on Les Miserables. Since this is a really long book, you will want to spread out the reading. If you wait too long, you'll get no sleep on the day before the assignment is due—and still only get halfway through the book! So be sure and spread out your reading in fairly manageable chunks.

By the time I was a college senior, I was extremely busy, so making it a goal to stay ahead of my planner meant that I was never behind if I actually did have a time crunch. Plus, even if you don't accomplish Wednesday's homework on Monday, at least you know what's coming.

During my freshman year, one of my professors pointed out that profs tend to make things due at the same time. Usually, this is about every fourth week of the semester. Look to see if this is the case with your classes.

If you have a bunch of midterms all the same week or two term papers due within one day of each other, spread out the workload in your planner. Write it down and try to have one of them done sooner than the actual due date. If it's a long research paper, give yourself several weeks to get it done before it's due.

5) Carefully follow instructions
During my sophomore year, I had what I thought was the easiest class of the semester. And it was. But my professor was extremely picky. We had one assignment where we had to read a chapter a day from the book of John and write a response for each chapter. The response had to be three words that completed the sentence, "I affirm that …" It had to be printed (not written in cursive); it also couldn't be keyboarded. It had it be in black ink, not blue.

I thought this was absolutely ridiculous. I half-heartedly attempted to meet his expectations for how my work should be turned in. Yes, I let a few things slide; I wasn't always careful about the color of ink I used. I just skipped on a few superfluous details I thought were simply silly. Even so, I felt I did good work. In my way of thinking, I did A work. But I got a B in the class.

This is an extreme case, but the point is still the same. If profs tell you what they want, do your best to follow the assignment instructions.

6) Find your best study spot
My favorite places to study and read are Barnes & Noble and Starbucks.

I found out early that dorm rooms aren't always the best places for studying. First off, there's your bed calling out for you to take just a short nap. Secondly, your roommate might like to study with music; you might not. Your roommate might think watching TV while studying is effective; you might not. Or your roommate might just be extremely chatty.

Personally, I'm a fan of the coffee shop because it feels like you're going out. You get to leave your dorm room and hang out at a fun place. And if you're strapped for cash, skip the fancy lattes for a simple cup of coffee or tea. However, if you are one of those people who gets easily distracted, you may need to opt for the library. And most colleges keep the library open late on weeknights.

7) Ask for help
A lot of colleges have a tutoring center that hires people to read through your papers. Take advantage of these kinds of helpful services.

You can even ask your professor to read your paper before it's due. If you aren't sure you're doing what he wants, ask him.

On the first day of class, most professors will tell you how you can get a hold of them. They will either post their office hours or include them in your syllabi. Sometimes they will ask you to e-mail them if you have questions.

Just like all other human beings, professors like to talk about things they know a lot about. And that's what they're there for. Plus, picking a professor's brain not only helps you with one assignment; it will tell her that you're a serious student.

I had a speech class my freshman year. The problem: I'm really not a good public speaker, so you can imagine how the very thought of this class made my throat dry and scratchy!

On a couple of occasions, I approached my speech teacher in his office just to ask for his advice about my topic. I never did get higher than an 89 percent on a speech, but I got an A in the class. Do you want to know why I think he pushed my grade up to an A? Because I did my best to figure out what he was trying to teach me.

So, go talk to your prof. Just make sure you approach her in plenty of time before the assignment is due.

8) Speed up your reading skills
Let me state the obvious: You'll read a lot in college. A whole lot. And if you're committed to getting the most out of your classes, you probably shouldn't skip any reading assignments. But you can learn how to read more quickly.

One of my best friends in college always took a lot longer than I did to finish the same assignment. I'm not bragging because I certainly didn't do better work than she did. But the big difference was this: I speed read, she didn't. In fact, she read every single word of every single assigned text. Honestly, I don't think you're losing anything in the knowledge department if you speed read.

Before speed reading, though, overview the text. Some textbooks have an outline at the beginning of each chapter. Read it. Figure out the framework of what you're going read. Pay attention to bold-faced sections. Then as you read, look for the overall idea of the passage.

To learn how to speed read, look for a book on the topic the next time you're at Barnes & Noble. I recommend 10 Days to Faster Reading by Princeton Language Institute Staff (Warner Books) or Triple Your Reading Speed by Wade Cutler (Simon and Schuster). You could also see if your college offers a speed reading class. Sometimes the basics of speed reading are even taught in study skills classes, which are often available to incoming freshmen.

9) Get some sleep
College is synonymous with all-nighters. At least that's what many people think (some very tired people live it). When I was a freshman, I can remember staying up all night with a friend to finish homework—mostly because it made me feel like I was really in college, not because I really had to.

Trust me, I eventually discovered the panic of a real all-nighter. But, all-nighters don't need to happen that often (maybe once a semester during finals).

To avoid midnight cramming, start your homework early in the day. Work on assignments between your classes so that you don't have to go to the library at 10 p.m. If your first class is held late in the morning, get up before class and do homework. If you're anything like me, you can concentrate better when you're freshly awake than when you're tired after a long day of classes.

You want to create good late-night memories (for me, it was midnight showings of Lord of the Rings) and not bad ones (like staying up forever to finish a term paper on the effects of the persecution of the Huguenots).

10) Draw closer to God
College is not simply about academics or a future job. It's also a place where God can teach us about himself and his wonderful world. So as you study, say, physics, take the time to get to know the One who invented gravity. If you're majoring in astronomy, draw close to the Creator who made and numbered each star in the universe. If you're an art student, enjoy the work of the Great Artist who paints each and every sunset.

College will be great, but getting closer to the One who makes all education possible is really the best goal you can set for your college experience … and for your entire life.

Rebecca graduated in '04 with a communications degree from Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She currently is an arts and entertainment reporter for a suburban weekly newspaper.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life's Ignite Your Faith magazine.
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