{"id":10648,"date":"2023-01-18T15:26:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T21:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rctc.edu\/echo\/?p=10648"},"modified":"2025-05-16T13:59:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T19:59:35","slug":"study-tips-to-start-off-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/study-tips-to-start-off-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"Study tips to start off strong"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>RCTC Learning Center offers ideas to keep you engaged from day one of the new semester<\/h2>\n<h3><b>By Jordyn Oie<br>\n<b>Echo Staff Writer<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Nothing is worse than returning to school after a long break and already feeling behind as you tackle new courses. Wouldn\u2019t you rather start off strong and build from there? If so, here are some tips from the RCTC Learning Center:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This might sound obvious, but <strong>start studying as early as possible.<\/strong> Make a pact with yourself to procrastinate and cram less in 2023. Your understanding of a subject will be much greater by studying a little bit here and a little bit there for days or weeks leading up to your exams.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get organized.<\/strong> Make a study plan and hold yourself accountable for sticking to it. This plan could include the days and times you plan to study, what you will cover and, even, where you will study. Your motivation and progress will greatly improve when you try different study locations and consistently place yourself in a positive learning environment.<\/li>\n<li>Along those lines, strengthen your knowledge of a course by using <strong>a variety of study tactics.<\/strong> These might include note cards, reviews and practice tests. Test out a few of them to see what method or methods help you learn best.<\/li>\n<li>Keep in mind the importance of <strong>creating a community.<\/strong> Connect with your peers and study in groups. As you walk into new classes, introduce yourself so that you can meet people with whom you can work through problems and get answers to questions you have.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lean on your professors.<\/strong> They\u2019re here to help you, so ask for help! Don\u2019t wait until you\u2019re feeling under water. They want you to succeed.<\/li>\n<li>Finally, make sure you are <strong>fueling your brain and body<\/strong>. Plan breaks to let your brain rest. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and eat well-balanced meals so that you can function at your best. As you\u2019re taking an exam, remember to breathe. At that point, you\u2019ve studied hard. Be confident and do your best.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I asked RCTC students Rachel Gasser and Bella Pena to share their favorite ways to study for exams.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel Gasser:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-10664 size-medium\" src=\"\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rachel-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Lady with her horse\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rachel-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rachel-853x1280.jpg 853w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rachel-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rachel-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rachel-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rachel.jpg 1448w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Rachel likes to change it up for each class. She takes lots of notes for chemistry, goes through a review sheet for calculus, fills out a study guide for geography, and works through a practice exam for physics.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bella Pena:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10665 size-medium\" src=\"\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Subject-234x300.png\" alt=\"RCTC student\" width=\"234\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Subject-234x300.png 234w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Subject.png 595w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 234px) 100vw, 234px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Bella likes \u201c\u2026to take pretty notes, especially using colors to make me excited to study.\u201d Using fun colors and strong organization helps her focus, she said. Another tip she uses is trying to teach material to someone else, which helps her speak confidently about the topic and make sure it clicks fully in her brain.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on how you can be the best student you can be, call the Learning Center at 507-285-7182 or email <a href=\"mailto:LearningCenter@RCTC.edu\">LearningCenter@RCTC.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RCTC Learning Center offers ideas to keep you engaged from day one of the new semester By Jordyn Oie Echo Staff Writer Nothing is worse than returning to school after a long break and already feeling behind as you tackle new courses. Wouldn\u2019t you rather start off strong and build from there? If so, here [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1015,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[85,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-majors","category-campus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1015"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}