How to Succeed At University--Canadian Edition

By Danton O'Day and Aldona Budniak

This self-help guide takes students from the challenges of first year through to their successful graduation from university. It contains essentially all of the information that a student needs for success. It covers everything from attending lectures and taking effective notes to preparing for and writing tests and exams. It is packed full of valuable advice and step-by-step approaches that will help every student attain the best marks possible. It guides students through issues like effective listening, writing reports and essays, and tackling different types of test questions. It gives advice on how to avoid problems and when they are unavoidable, how to deal with them effectively. Written by a professor with experience teaching at several universities and an MSc graduate who was awarded multiple scholarships, there is insight and guidance in this volume that cannot be matched. In addition to the University calendar and required textbooks, this is the only complete guide a student will need to reach his or her full potential and to graduate with a degree of which they can be proud.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781456608767

Book preview

Guidance

Preface

This is the latest edition of How to Succeed at University written specifically for Canadian students. As a result of collaboration with Aldona Budniak, the book is completely updated with lots of new and proven concepts and suggestions to help students survive and do their best at university. There is no other book that is so comprehensive. This book provides students with most, if not all, of the skills and guidance they will need to get through university with a degree of which they will be proud. It also sets the stage for the students’ future success once they graduate. We’re open to any comments you might have so feel free to email us using Professor O’Day’s email address ([e-mail]). Good luck!

Danton H. O’Day, Ph.D.

Aldona Budniak, M.Sc.

May 2012

Chapter 1

Getting Ready to Succeed

Why I Wrote this Book

In September, the first-year students at the university where I work are required to visit the professors assigned as their advisers. These encounters are usually without incident. The student outlines his or her interests and the program he or she has selected. The student is usually enthusiastic; he or she is excited about new life at the university has great hope for academic success.

In the spring, as his or her first year draws to its inevitable close, the situation is generally not so relaxed and the student is somewhat less than ebullient.

Come in, I respond to the knock that seems to have been made with some trepidation. (My assumption will soon be borne out.)

Have you got some time to discuss my courses? an anxious youthful face asks.

After I respond in the affirmative, the remainder of the youth’s body enters my office.

What’s the problem?

Things haven’t gone so well for me this year.

Thus begins the routine end-of-the-year tale. The distraught student is failing. It’s now too late to do anything and the student is desperate. The only options left are to drop out, to reenrol in first year or, at best, to attempt to salvage a few courses. Where did the time go?

All of a sudden the party’s over and reality has returned. The student normally has plans that necessitate the acquisition of a Bachelor’s degree. Now he or she has to face another year of the same courses, the same material—another year of the same things. All of this could have been avoided if the student had had some guidelines in the beginning.

That’s one reason why I wrote this book: to give incoming students a guide. This book will spell out in black and white what you have to do to succeed in your first and subsequent years at university. It will tell you what no one else will.

There’s a second reason: I succeeded and I want to tell you how I did it. I also want to give you the additional knowledge that years of teaching at university have given me. University was a struggle for me and I believe that if I could do it most other students can do the same. All you need is the sincere desire to succeed.

My pre-university years in North Vancouver, British Columbia, were totally lacking in academic merit. The majority of my grades were well below average in the early years of high school. In grade nine I was told to enter the non-academic (manual arts) program. However, my parents decided that I should stay in the university-oriented program and they encouraged me to work harder. After that my high school grades did improve, but they never became exceptional.

In those days universities had entrance examinations, which all incoming students had to write. Counsellors used the results to advise students which career they should pursue. Many weeks after writing my entrance exams at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, I was summoned to the counsellor’s office and informed of my underwhelming success. Apparently I had demonstrated no academic potential whatsoever. The counsellor was aghast at my poor showing. (I guess he was wondering how I had gotten that far.)

I think that you should forget the idea of going to this or any other university. You simply don’t seem to have the aptitude or the inclination to make it, he said, more or less repeating the words that had been spoken by another counsellor several years before.

You mean that I can’t begin my studies this fall? I asked, fearful for my future.

No—I’m just offering you sound advice. You appear to have no academic future. University would undoubtedly be a waste of time.

I enrolled in the fall despite the learned man’s pessimistic appraisal and I emerged from the University of British Columbia’s hallowed halls four years later with a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology. My first year at the university had been shaky, but I persevered and my last year’s average was only a percent below first-class. I had wanted to go to university and along the way I had discovered the keys to success.

I succeeded in my undergraduate studies essentially because I followed the program that I outline in the following pages. I was no academic whiz kid, but I fared well and set the stage for my next two university degrees and my eventual position, at twenty-five years old, of professor at the University of Toronto. With years of teaching experience at several different universities in the United States and Canada, I have a pretty good grasp of what students need to know to succeed. With all my teaching experience, I still realize that I don’t know everything. I also know that what works for one person may not work for another.

So I’ve read a lot of books and research papers to give me a better perspective. Did you know that there are at over four dozen journals dedicated to higher education? Each of these publishes ten or more articles per month. So each year over 5,000 articles on life and learning at college and university appear in print. In thirty years, that would be about 150,000 articles. And these are just the best papers, published in quality journals only after other experts have checked them out! Clearly, I haven’t read them all. However, this is not a research book for teachers, it is a learning resource for students. My goal is not to impress other educators but to get down to the basics of what students need to do to be successful.

Did You Know?

A diversity of research has shown that self-image is the strongest indicator of life satisfaction. More to the point, academic performance at university is directly related to life satisfaction.¹

There are a couple of take-home messages here. I am an expert on university life, have good insight into what motivates students and know what works for most and what doesn’t. On the other hand, like anyone, I don’t know everything. Since I don’t know everything, I keep trying to improve, to grow and to learn. I also know you are not like every other student. You have your own ideas and approaches. You will like some of my ideas and will hate others. The key is that you read what I have to say. If you don’t like some things, then use the information to suit your needs. Adapt what I have to say to your own specifications. If you don’t then it will take you several years before you’re truly on track and doing the best you can at university.

This is a fully updated version of a book that many previous students have found invaluable in their quest for success at university. It contains the tried-and-true information that never changes. It also contains new insights into student learning and new approaches. Are you hoping to be a doctor, lawyer or business professional? Are you just trying to make Mom and Dad happy because they’re footing the bill? Or are you still unsure about what you want to be in life but you want to ensure that your academic background will help rather than hinder your success? Whatever your reasons are for wanting to be successful in school, this book is for you. This book will not only show you the tricks and skills you need for student success, it will put them into a relevant context and assist you in preparing for your future.

The Ten Rules for University Success

An undergraduate degree used to take four years. Now the typical student takes an average of over five years to complete his or her Bachelor’s degree. Here are some tips to get done in four years with a degree (i.e., marks) of which you can be proud. Many of these points are expanded upon later in this chapter and elsewhere in the book, but here is a quick summary of the guidelines for university success:

1. Get on Track Immediately

It’s too bad that your introduction to university life starts with Party Week—sorry, I meant to say Orientation. Many students fail to understand that once classes start the party is over. It’s okay to go out with your friends but make it once a week not every night.

2. Use Your Freedom Wisely

You’re now on your own. No one is going to tell you what to do or when to do it. As your own boss, you need to remind yourself that you do have responsibilities and commitments. Then make sure you live up to them. One of these commitments is emphasized in the next point.

3. Attend All of Your Classes

I can tell you from experience: It’s always the class you miss that turns out to be the most important. Getting the notes from other students just doesn’t cut it. Often you won’t be able to read their writing let alone understand what their shorthand means. Sometimes, professors drop clues or emphasize points that indicate what will be on tests and exams. Other important course issues can also be brought up that can cost you dearly if you don’t find out about them.

4. Do All of Your Coursework

It’s not uncommon for students to study hard for the big tests and finals but to put minimal effort into the minor quizzes and reports. This approach is an A killer and most likely a B killer as well. Getting poor marks on the minor quizzes and reports can nickel and dime you to death, taking your A or B grade on major tests and exams down to a C. Also, many professors look at their students’ progress in the course as they assign final grades. For example, I try to pull students over lines to give them the best possible grade or to reward them for consistently high quality work. If I see a student with an uneven record, I won’t adjust his or her grade upwards. In short, students get what they deserve.

5. Manage Your Time

All students these days are taught the basics of time management in high school but few employ these methods. Why? Because in high school you usually don’t need them; you can cram successfully or pull an all-nighter to get reports or studying done. At university, this just doesn’t work. You’ll need to schedule your commitments on a daily, weekly and monthly basis using your timetable, a calendar and To Do lists.

6. Talk to Your Professors

Every year I get dozens of requests from students who need letters of recommendation. Sir, I did well in your cell biology course. Can you write me a letter of recommendation for medical school? My response is, Who are you? Actually, I don’t say that, but I do think it because most of the time I don’t know the students. They’ve never spoken to me before or asked questions in class. With hundreds of students in each class, how can I get to know them unless they make an effort? There’s another reason for talking with your professors. They can give you insight not only into other aspects of the courses they teach but also ideas that can help you make meaningful career and life choices.

7. Correct Any Failings

This is a tough one because each of us has strengths and weaknesses. One area of common weakness is in writing. You are going to have to write reports and essays as well as essay-type examinations. If your writing is weak, no matter how well you know the course material you’ll lose marks regularly because you can’t communicate your thoughts effectively. Another issue is spelling. Each discipline has key terms and words that embody the subject. Learn to spell them correctly.

8. Leave Your High School Attitudes Behind

Some students attend a university where their friends are going rather than one that specifically suits them. Others seem to carry over high school attitudes. A simple example is talking to friends during lectures (my special pet peeve) or having your cell phone ring. Not only will these approaches annoy your instructors, your fellow students will also notice your attitude.

9. Know What Is Available

Things won’t always go as planned. You may get sick. You may get lonely. Something bad may happen. For these reasons, you need to know what resources are available on your campus. The registrar’s office offers a diversity of resources to help you in your academic life. There are doctors, nurses and counsellors to help you with health issues. There are clubs where you can join in activities that may interest you. There are always on-campus activities and sporting events where you can meet up with your old friends or make new ones.

10. Have Fun

While the previous nine rules may sound like you’re in prison, that’s not true. You’ll be interacting with students between classes and at various social events. You’ll still get to party and have a great time. If you find that you’re not enjoying yourself, then it’s time to re-evaluate why you are at university. What do you want out of life? Once you know, then you’ll be on your way to success.

Understand Yourself

Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

At first glance the university can be an awe-inspiring place. You will enter the almost sacrosanct halls of academe as the underling. You have lost your place as one of the seniors in high school; you are now one of the juniors at university. You are young. As a result you may feel insecure in your new environment. You will be tempted to sacrifice the me for the us. Don’t do it!

Remain unique. If you are not already independent, develop independence. Don’t follow the crowd unless it is clearly to your benefit. Your newfound freedom, the freedom that life at university can give, can lead to your rapid decline if you aren’t enough of an individual to survive.

The biggest problem for students, as for people in general, is to understand themselves. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your personal limits? You must learn to build on your strengths and cautiously avoid your weaknesses or, better yet, overcome them. For instance, a surprising number of students enter university with a limited command of written English. If your written English is weak, you can work around your deficiency. Don’t try to write sentences that are beyond you. Don’t get so tangled up in words that your meaning isn’t clear. You should write sentences that are short and to the point. On exams most professors are not expecting fancy displays of terminology; they want you to tell them that you understand and know the course material.

Did You Know?

In 2011, only 52% of high school graduates who took the ACT (a standardized admission test for colleges and universities in the United States) were capable of reading at the college level.²

However, you will be assigned reports and essays in which you will be expected to show a reasonable command of the English language. If your English expression is weak, you would be well advised to strengthen it by taking an introductory English course in your first year.

Even when you have an extensive vocabulary, you must know your limits. Don’t employ words or terminology that you are not positive about. A simple word that is correct conveys more than a pompous one that is wrong. Using a wrong word may suggest that you don’t know what you’re talking about when in reality you might.

The person who uses a lot of big words is not trying to inform you; he’s trying to impress you.

—Oscar Miller

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating adhering to an inadequate vocabulary. I am saying that while developing your vocabulary, you should be careful to remain within the limits of your learning.

There are few mandatory first-year English courses in universities today. Often high school English requirements are also minimal. In the absence of good training you should use what you do know to your advantage.

If you are not competent in English, you will pay for your incompetence time and time again. In every course your grades will be lower because you have difficulty expressing your ideas in written words. The cure is a writing workshop (most universities have one), a non-credit course that teaches you how to write essays, book reports, etc. In a writing workshop you will write essays for critical assessment. Your weaknesses will be corrected and your strengths reinforced. If your written communication is weak, take advantage of this facility. Details about the university writing workshop (how it is organized, when it operates, whom to see, etc.) will usually be available in the registrar’s office and in the library.

This seems the best time to broach a very important aspect of your life. You are a unique, special person. You have to develop your feelings of worthiness. If you find that book learning does not come easily for you no matter how hard you try, don’t feel stupid. Some people can’t learn easily from books; some people do not do well at university. So what? Find out what you are good at and do it. If you discover that you just aren’t interested in succeeding at university, know when to pack it in. Exploit your virtues, not your weaknesses. Don’t waste time trying to get a degree that will be made meaningless by low grades on your academic transcripts.

People who can’t learn from books are in the minority. I firmly believe that anyone with normal intelligence can be a top student at university. That’s what this book is all about.

It’s Your Future

Most students attend university to obtain a degree. That’s a simple fact. It wasn’t always this way. Years ago students attended university to learn for the sake of learning, but that’s not the way it is today. You will probably attend university for the purpose of making it through three or four years to emerge with a Bachelor’s degree in some area of specialization. If you are like many students you will start out with the intention of entering some professional school. Perhaps you intend to be a doctor or a dentist or to enter some other equally remunerative occupation.

Most universities have many professional faculties. Here is a partial list: architecture, dentistry, forestry, law, medicine, rehabilitation medicine, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, graduate studies, management studies, criminology. You should contact the ones you are interested in for details.

I teach cell biology and a course in human development so it’s not surprising that many of my students are motivated to become medical professionals. If I had a dollar for every student who told me he or she was going to be a doctor, I would be rich. The sad part is few students have the grades to enter medical school, let alone any other professional school.

One of my big concerns as a teacher has to deal with students who have unrealistic goals. It is not easy trying to gently explain to a student with a 75% average or less that he or she has no chance of even being considered by a reputable medical school as a potential student. If a student has such unrealistic expectations, I often try to guide that student along by asking if he or she has ever thought of alternative occupations which are more in keeping with his or her marks (GPA or grade point average).

While I am not a counsellor, I give students some suggestions about potential alternative life choices hoping that in time, they will move these secondary choices to the front line when they realize their marks won’t be enough to allow them to apply let alone get accepted to medicine. If the students persist in their single-mindedness, I don’t try to dash their dreams but suggest that they then need to focus entirely on their studies if they hope to meet their goal. You also need to determine if your current goals are realistic. Ask yourself some questions:

• Why are you taking the courses you are taking?

• Are your grades good enough to get accepted to any postgraduate program?

• Do you like the courses and program you are taking?

• Do you find that you often question what you are doing?

• Are there some other areas that seem more interesting?

Unfortunately, the reality is that there is very little chance of you being accepted by a professional school. Just look around you and assess how many doctors there are per capita and you will realize that not everyone gets to be one. I have no intention of bursting bubbles or telling you that your dreams are not possible. You are reading this book, but I don’t know who you are or whether you have the potential to be admitted to a professional school. If you do have the potential, then I sincerely hope that you can reach your goal. I also hope that this book will help you in your quest. This book can help you generate the high grades needed for admission to professional schools, but it cannot work the miracle of increasing the number of places in these schools. This is where I would like to offer you some other aspects of succeeding at university.

Look at your transcripts. Often your marks reflect your true interests. If you are getting great marks in specific courses, that could indicate your special interests or abilities in that subject area. Look at what options and opportunities exist in that area and try to determine if that’s a route to follow. I’d also advise you not to panic. Sometimes students don’t really figure out what they want in life until it’s almost time to graduate. Remember, a good education will serve you in a diversity of ways that may have nothing at all to do with the specific subjects that you studied.

Did You Know?

According to 2006 data, only 60% of those with a Bachelor’s degree or university certificate held a job closely related to their field of study. This percentage varied by subject area; those that graduated from education and health programs were the most likely to have a job closely related to their studies, while arts and humanities graduates were least likely to hold a job closely related to their education.³

Evaluating Your Goals and Alternatives

It’s often the case that students haven’t even thought of alternatives to their primary goal in life. In high school, the job opportunities that students are made aware of are generally very limited. Attending university can open your eyes to the wide variety of career options that are available. In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to reassess your current situation. Often one’s primary goal, especially for the professions of medicine, dentistry and law, among others, is in reality a parental dream not the student’s.

Every year I have students come to ask for advice about their progress in my courses. Often they are failing or doing poorly and can’t understand why. In a large number of cases, the reason is simple. They are attending university for all the wrong reasons. The primary reason is Mom and/or Dad want them to become a professional. I’ve had dozens of students over the years come to me and ask what they can do because their parents are putting unrealistic pressure on them to become a professional when they either aren’t interested or won’t be able to meet the demands of getting accepted to that profession.

Did You Know?

A 2010 survey of first-year students at 39 Canadian universities revealed that for 27% of students surveyed, meeting parental expectations was a very important reason for attending university.⁴

As an adult, you need to look out for your own interests. So if your marks are not up to par for your goals or if you are finding that your goals are changing, here’s a list of assessment questions you can answer that should help you in determining just what is right for you:

1. Write down your goals and interests in two side-by-side columns and list the positives and negatives for them.

2. Note whether they are your goals or whether someone else is pushing you in that choice.

3. List the courses in which you are doing