Stay Ahead in High School

7 Tips for Building Study Habits and Skills

Use these tips to develop a solid work ethic:

  1. Discover a quiet place to study. Find a place that’s free of distractions and noise where you won’t be interrupted. Ask your parents, guardians, or teachers for recommendations. 
  2. Plan a daily homework schedule, and stick to it. 
  3. Sit near the front of the classroom. Studies show students who sit there get better grades. 
  4. Identify a support system of friends and family —“study buddies” to help you get ready for tests, complete homework, and even proofread your essays and reports. 
  5. Use your library. Believe it or not, you won’t find all the answers online (and you can’t even be sure they’re factually correct). Get a library card, make your librarian your new best friend, and you’ll be surprised how much the content of your work improves. 
  6. Read the news regularly to get a better understanding of the world. Reading news articles can also help improve your comprehension skills. 
  7. Build your vocabulary. When you don’t know what a word means, look it up! Register for “word of the day” notifications or download an app that introduces you to new words on a regular basis. Another way to expand your vocabulary is by using a thesaurus when you write.

Step by Step: Critical Milestones That Lead to College Planning Success 

My Journey On-Demand Session

It’s no secret — college and career planning can be overwhelming. During this presentation, we’ll pull back the curtain and identify critical milestones that will help students and families plan for success.

The session will highlight 9th and 10th-grade college prep behaviors and break down time sensitive college application advice for 11th and 12th graders. Learn how a counselor helped students explore careers, jobs, and various types of colleges to help them arrive at a balanced college match list that met their needs.