Ten Tips for College Success at SIUC From your friends in the Core Curriculum
1	Understand why you are in college. Identify specific personal goals such as a major, a career choice, and a graduation date. Try to have realistic expectations. At first you may not make the grades you made in high school. But, a clear purpose makes success easier.
	Set up a daily schedule and stick to it. If you can't do it alone, find someone in the Counseling Center. Get a Dawg Book or week-at-a-glance calendar from the University Bookstore. Assign sufficient time for study, work, sleep, and recreation. Find ways to balance family and work with academic life.	2
3	Get involved in a campus activity. Visit the Student Development Office (3rd floor, Student Center). Get a U-Card. Work for the campus newspaper or radio station. Join an RSO or support group. Play intramural sports. Most campus organizations welcome newcomers--you're their lifeblood. Students who join even one group are more likely to graduate. Just don't overdo it!
	If you're attending classes full-time, do not work more than 20 hours a week. Most people begin a downhill slide beyond 20 hours. If you need more money, talk to Financial Aid (B360 Woody Hall). Also, students who work on campus tend to do better in classes and are more likely to stay enrolled.	4
5	Find and get to know one individual on campus who cares about your survival. It takes only one. It might be an instructor, a mentor, someone at University Career Services (B204 Woody Hall) or at the Counseling Center (A302 Woody), an advisor to a student organization, or someone where you have an on-campus job. You may have to take the initiative to establish this relationship--but it's worth it.
	Make at least one or two close friends among your peers. Choose your friends for their own merits, not for what they can do for you. In college, as in life, you become like those you befriend.	6
7	See your instructors outside of class. It's okay to go for help. Students who interact with instructors outside class tend to stay in college longer. Take advantage of their office hours. Make them involve you in learning. Choose courses by interest. Take more than one course with a favorite instructor.
	Learn what resources the campus offers and where they are located. The campus has academic and personal support services that are free and confidential. Check them out on the SalukiNet. Don't forget to visit Morris Library. It's there for you!	8
9	Assess and improve your study habits. Determine your own learning style. This will help you learn how to take better notes in class, read more efficiently, and do better on tests. Remember, college study usually requires about two hours for every hour in class. Join at least one study group.
	Show up for class. When asked what they would do differently if they could do it all again, most seniors say, "go to class." Instructors tend to test on what they discuss in class, as well as grade in part on the basis of class attendance and participation. Be there. You'll be amazed at what you learn!	10
Adapted from: John N. Gardner and A. Jerome Jewler, Your College Experience, Expanded Reader Edition, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998.