Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

Matthew Dulin        Ray Hafner       Geronimo Rodriguez
         Shaun Salnave          Cara Sarelli

Start the semester right

Welcome to the beginning of a new semester. If it's anything like every pervious semester, most of you won't do nearly as well as you'd like to. That's something you can change right now, though.

Many of the problems that you'll be facing later on -- to study too much material for one class, or to prepare for tests in several classes at once -- can be dealt with now, before they become problems.

Whether you did very well last semester and want to keep doing so, did very poorly and wish to improve, or are (like most of us) somewhere in between, now is the best time to start putting some effort into things.

Even tasks that may seem daunting later on, like the week you're guaranteed where you'll have a long paper and two tests, can be a lot more manageable with some planning and work early on.

Once you have all your syllabi for the semester, you can sit down and plan the best way to finish all your academic tasks without going crazy, even if, like many of us, you have to work in addition to going to school.

Have a test the same week that a paper's due? Remember that you can start that paper beforehand, and give yourself far less to worry about during the week of your test.

As for studying for tests, you can do so at any time. While you'll want to study a little more in depth the night before a big test, you can review your notes every day, and not have to cram (which is far less efficient) the day before the exam. You could even do so immediately after the class itself, to better remember the things you just learned.

It ought to go without saying (if it doesn't, you should do some serious reviewing of your study habits) that you should pay attention in class. This will make it a lot easier to study: instead of trying to remember things after seeing them for the first time, you'll have heard them before at least once.

Yes, that's right, put down the Cougar now and start listening to what your professor is saying. Save the crossword puzzle for lunch.

Keep in mind, also, that it's pretty difficult to pay attention in class without actually being there. True, it may not be a problem if you miss just once, but what happens if you get sick or some real problem comes up later? Save your "just once" just in case.

Starting things out right is the best way to ensure that they keep going that way. It's like the old saying: well begun is halfway to an A.

Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu