Strategies for Academic Success
Most courses at Princeton move at a rapid pace, and, despite the bravado of some students who claim they can cram successfully during the final weeks of a term, you will be well advised to keep up with your assignments. You are expected to cover a great deal of material, to be prepared for classes and precepts, and to work on research papers due at specific times in the term. Falling behind in your work will almost always have serious consequences. You may have many unscheduled hours each day, and it is essential that you budget your time effectively and keep up with your work.
Do not depend on the last two weeks of the term to catch up on major portions of your work. Reading period is designed for reviewing course material, not for learning it for the first time, and for completing the last written assignment in a course rather than just starting it.
Scheduling Your Time
Find a place where you can work effectively. If your room is noisy and your roommate likes to entertain, or if you have too many welcome but unexpected visitors, plan to work in your residential college library or in one of the University libraries. You will accomplish more in two hours of concentrated studying than in a whole evening interrupted by visitors, phone calls, and unexpected temptations.
• Use most of your free weekday hours for study. Do not try to do all your studying in the evenings or put it off until the weekends.
• You may want to break up study periods of several hours by working on two or three different subjects. At times it may be more efficient to concentrate on one subject, but if you notice that you are no longer studying with full attention, switch to a new subject. Starting a new subject may rekindle your interest and increase your learning rate. After two hours of intense concentration take a break.
• Working with a small group of fellow students can be extremely effective in both tackling weekly problem sets and reviewing for exams. Studying with others can help you move more efficiently through difficult material and judge more accurately the state of your own preparation. Consult with your instructor in each course to determine the extent to which collaboration on assignments is acceptable.
• Remember that papers due at the end of the term require a great deal of reading and research, which should be started early. In brief, you will have to learn that only a fraction of the time you do not spend in classes, labs, and precepts is “free time.”
• Schedule regular review periods.
• Balance your academic commitments, your job assignments, and your recreational activities. If you are involved in sports or other regularly scheduled and demanding extracurricular activities, you will have to be especially careful about budgeting your time. Frequent weekend trips will cut seriously into your uninterrupted study time.
Developing Effective Study Skills
While study skills can be acquired, they are no substitute for interest, motivation, or commitment to learning. You may, however, increase the effectiveness of your learning and utilize your study time more efficiently by paying attention to a few simple rules.
• Survey the whole assignment before you read it carefully. Read a few introductory and concluding paragraphs rapidly. Get a general idea of the content of the chapter and the development of arguments. A quick survey of the table of contents may give you a good overview of the material in the book.
• Think about the title of the chapter and/or section headings.
• Convert titles, headings, and subheadings into questions. Attempting to answer those questions may help focus your reading. Ask what the author intends to convey in the chapter or article and what points he or she is trying to make. When you finish a paragraph, ask a general question about its main topic. It is through this kind of self-examination that you test your understanding of the material.
• Underline just enough to make important points stand out. If there are several points made serially, mark them in the margin 1, 2, 3, or a, b, c. Do not underline excessively. You may want to put key words, phrases, or questions in the margin of the book.
• Take notes in your own words—do not copy the textbook. Make them brief but well organized so that you can use them for review. Capture the main themes and a few supporting ideas. Jot down any questions or comments you may have about the material covered in the notes.
• Review your lecture notes as soon as possible after you have taken them. Be sure you understand them.
• Review what you have read. To review is not the same as to memorize. Concentrate on the major points. Be sure that you can summarize and explain them. You cannot claim to understand something unless you can communicate it.
• Raise critical questions wherever appropriate. Has the author expressed his or her ideas effectively? Are they valid, well supported, well reasoned? What point of view do they present? What are the fundamental assumptions, explicit or implicit, on which the arguments are based?
Writing Papers
Writing at Princeton is in many ways different from writing in high school: papers are typically longer, and students are usually expected to formulate their own ideas and take them to a deeper level. Here are a few tips for writing effective papers at Princeton:
(1) Start early. If you want to write well, begin with enough time to put away your draft for at least a day and return to it with “fresh eyes.” How early is early enough? A good guideline is five days for every five pages you expect to write, giving you time both to plan and to revise your draft. Everyone has a unique writing process. Some writers, for example, outline before the draft; others, after it. The crucial thing is not to short-circuit your process. Allow time for it to unfold.
(2) Get feedback. Unless you’re writing a take-home exam or have explicit instructions not to share your drafts, get feedback before you submit your writing for a grade. Good prospects for readers are tutors from the Writing Center, someone in your class, a roommate, or a friend. Just keep in mind that, while readers are permitted to tell you what they find confusing or unconvincing, and even to make suggestions for revision, they may not edit or re-write your drafts. You should acknowledge their substantive ideas in a friendly footnote, in keeping with common scholarly practice.
(3) Focus on clarity and argument. All of your professors and preceptors value clarity—clear sentences and an easy-to-follow structure (not to be confused with simple sentences and a simple structure). Many also want to see a strong thesis—an interesting, arguable idea of your own—that you explore and substantiate through reference to one or more sources. Note that most of your papers will be far more complex in both conception and structure than the traditional “five-paragraph essay,” with its introduction, three supporting paragraphs, and conclusion.
(4) Use a style appropriate to the discipline. Conventions for writing vary from discipline to discipline. When writing about literature, for example, the convention is to quote sources directly; when writing in a science class, the convention is to use few quotations, if any. Ask your professor or preceptor to explain the elements of writing in his or her discipline. Also, skim a few relevant articles or books to see how writers in the discipline handle structure, sources, citations, and so on.
(5) Acknowledge your sources. Borrowing someone else’s words or ideas without acknowledgment—even if done unintentionally (through sloppy note-taking, for example)—is plagiarism, the most serious of all academic offenses. Check out Academic Integrity at Princeton, available at www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity, for guidance on using sources properly. See also “Academic Integrity at Princeton: A Guide to Campus Resources” at www.princeton.edu/writing/integrity.
Consulting Your Professors
Every professor schedules time for providing individual assistance to students, and most professors post their office hours. Many students (and only too often those who need it most) fail to take advantage of this opportunity. Those who visit their instructors will find them almost without exception interested and helpful.
Several departments have clinics or resource centers open to students on a walk-in basis. The help you will get there is often specifically related to the material of the course in which you are encountering difficulties.
Do not hesitate to approach your preceptor or lab assistant for help. Some of them do not have individual offices, and you may have to make a special effort to locate them. They are, however, knowledgeable and willing to help, and you should not hesitate to seek them out.
Studying for Exams
Know the aims of the course. Notes from lectures and on readings will provide a good basis for review. Try to anticipate the questions that will be asked on the exam and the form in which they will be asked (for example, “trace,” “develop,” “compare,” “defend,” “analyze”), and test your ability to answer them. Be sure you can apply a theory or principle to the solution of specific problems in preparation for quizzes and exams. Quite frequently students memorize a theory and then discover that they are unable to use it to solve a problem on the examination. You can usually practice the application of a theory by answering questions at the end of chapters or by spending time on the material in the workbook that complements the main text.
Also, study carefully the tests that have been returned; they can tell you the things you know (and shouldn’t waste time on) and the things you don’t know (and need to study). If the instructor offers the class the opportunity to look at tests that were given in previous years, study them carefully. While the questions on your examination will be different, you will nevertheless get an idea both of the essential material in the course and of the way questions tend to be formulated. Reflect on the material. Think up questions, arguments; combine facts differently. Pace your study for exams; do not leave it all for reading period.
Taking Exams
Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the examination. Follow directions. Read all the questions carefully so that you can plan your time. Also, while you are working on one question, you will, on another level, be thinking about the questions you still have to answer. Organize your answer before you start writing. Give a frame of reference to your answer, but do not overgeneralize. Include relevant supporting material. Exams should show what you know in a well-organized and coherent manner.
Seeking Extra Academic Help
Do not wait to get help until it is too late to catch up. Sometimes a few hours of individual tutoring or attendance at review sessions or study halls may clarify the material for you and enable you to keep up with the assignments. Also, do not hesitate to approach your instructor or your residential college dean or director of studies for a recommendation to get a tutor. There is no shame in having difficulties in a course—and the sooner you deal with them the better chance you have to complete the course successfully.
Individual Tutoring
From time to time you may, for reasons as varied as inadequate preparation, prolonged illness, lack of aptitude, or insufficient effort, find yourself unable to keep up in a course. This can be particularly distressing if the course is required for your intended major or if you are taking it to fulfill a University requirement.
If your instructor suggests that you work with a tutor, or if you believe a tutor is necessary for your success in a course, please see your dean or director of studies without delay. He or she may already be aware of difficulties you are experiencing, and can assign you a tutor who can help clarify the course material. You should be aware that our pool of qualified tutors is limited, and a student who is already doing solid work in a course will not be able to get a tutor for the purpose of improving an already acceptable grade.
Individual tutors are Princeton upperclass students. They are paid $10.60 an hour by the University, and you will be charged on a sliding scale. Group review sessions, for the most part, are led by graduate students recommended by their departments.
Ordinarily, you will receive tutoring only in those subjects you are currently taking. Tutoring is provided most commonly in introductory-level courses in the natural sciences, mathematics, foreign languages, and economics.
You may have up to 15 hours of tutoring per term per subject, and you may be tutored in more than one subject. You may be tutored throughout the term, including the reading period, but not during the final exam period.
If you have difficulties reaching the tutor, do not give up. Contact your dean or director of studies as soon as possible, and you will be assigned another tutor. Do not delay starting the tutoring sessions.
Please note that students may engage only the services of tutors in the Princeton undergraduate tutoring program. Private tutors fall outside this program, and students are in violation of University regulations if they engage the service of private tutors (see Rights, Rules, Responsibilities).
The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning
Don't just study at Princeton—study smarter and excel. Located at 328 Frist Campus Center, the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning provides a range of opportunities for students to enhance their productivity and to develop as learners. The center provides McGraw’s Study Hall @ Frist, a free tutoring service for students in introductory chemistry, economics, mathematics, physics, integrated sciences, and logic. Through McGraw’s study-skills workshops and ACE study-skills conferences, students at all levels learn how to manage their time effectively, problem-solve successfully, take effective notes and create study tools, craft and present effective public presentations, prepare for precepts and exams, overcome test anxiety and procrastination, and identify learning preferences. For a schedule of workshops and presentations, or to make a free, one-on-one appointment with a trained and experienced ACE Fellow, go to www.princeton.edu/mcgraw/excel.html, or drop in Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
McGraw Study Hall @ Frist
McGraw’s Study Hall @ Frist offers free tutoring in introductory chemistry, economics, mathematics, physics, integrated sciences, and logic. Experienced, trained, undergraduate tutors are available to guide students through learning course material, thinking through problem sets and the concepts underlying them, and preparing for exams. Study Hall also provides a good space for study groups to meet or for informal group work with classmates. Study Hall takes place directly outside the McGraw Center on the 300 level of Frist Campus Center and is open Sunday through Wednesday evenings, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., throughout the semester. No appointments are necessary. For a list of courses supported, visit www.princeton.edu/mcgraw/mcgraw_study_hall.html.
Review Sessions
Certain courses—particularly those in math, science, and engineering—offer review sessions; students should ask their instructors whether review sessions are offered for their courses. Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, offers review sessions for several sophomore-level engineering courses. Information about these sessions is broadcast by e-mail to sophomore and freshman B.S.E. students and is also announced in class. See also the Course-Specific Support section of the Academic Support at Princeton website: www.princeton.edu/asap.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center offers student writers free one-on-one tutoring sessions with experienced fellow writers trained to consult on writing projects in any discipline. Students are welcome to bring writing in any form—ideas, notes, or a first or final draft. Writing Center Fellows can offer advice about the writing process, from getting started to revising, and they can work with their students on essential elements of academic writing, such as thesis, organization, use of sources, and clarity of ideas and sentences.
To make an appointment or to look up drop-in hours, students should visit the online scheduler at www.princeton.edu/writing/appt.
Personal Difficulties and Individual Growth
A significant percentage of all students use Counseling and Psychological Services (part of University Health Services) sometime during their four years at Princeton. While students bring a wide range of concerns, the most frequent complaints are depression and anxiety. Underclass students are often concerned about leaving home, adjusting to an unfamiliar environment, making new friends, coping with academic pressures, or deciding on an area of concentration. The struggles for autonomy, despite being painful, often lead to personal growth and maturity. Counseling can play an important part in helping you to gain understanding and insight into your own development.
At the risk of repetition, we want to urge you as strongly as we can to seek help—academic or personal—whenever you may need it. In your four years here you are likely to have some difficult moments. You will deal with many of them yourself, possibly with the help of your friends, but you should remember at all times that there are many people at Princeton who are able and willing to help you.
Summing Up
This booklet contains a fair number of warnings, expectations, admonitions, cautions, and guides for making the most of your first two years at Princeton. But it also tries, in a relatively small space, to give you a sense of the rich and wonderful opportunities open to you. Opportunities cannot be translated into rules or formulas. They can only be pointed to. Reach for them and make your years here as rich, rewarding, and challenging as they were for all the generations who came before you.
We wish you the best of success.