Maintaining Your Momentum as a Successful Student
Because there has been so much research done on first-year students like you, we can confidently tell you that successful completion of this course is a good predictor for overall success in college. When you finish any of your courses in college, take some time to step back, reflect, and ask yourself some thoughtful questions:
- What did I learn in this course?
- How can I apply what I have learned to other courses?
- How will I use what I learned both in and out of class?
- What did I learn that I am most likely to remember?
- Do I want to stay in touch with this instructor?
- Did I improve my basic skills?
- How do I feel about what I accomplished?
- Did I do better than I thought I would?
- What did I do that helped me progress, and how can I repeat those kinds of successful efforts in other courses?
- What challenges do I still face?
Whether you are finishing this course at the end of your first term or at the end of your first year in college, you have learned many success strategies that can help you throughout your entire college experience.
For many students the first year is by far the most challenging, especially in terms of adjustment to college life. Once you have made it past this hurdle, many decisions and opportunities await you, and you need a set of strategies to succeed beyond the first year. The final Checklist for Success contains some concrete action steps that you can put in place for next term and for the remainder of your college career.
