Patrick O' Brien and Susan Davis-Ali write about that habits that may have got you through high school but are going to negatively impact your results at college.

The habits that will fail you in college

1. Starting your studying the night before a test.

In college, the subject matter is typically much more complex than you were faced with in high school. As such, starting your studying the night before a test will not allow you adequate time to get questions answered, when they arise. Starting your study efforts three days before the exam is a better approach in college.

2. Studying a couple hours for a test.

If you were in the habit of studying two or three hours for a test in high school, you’ll need to make a major adjustment when you get to college. My basic recommendation to students is to study for a given test for 10 hours. Yes, I did just say 10 hours. In fact, building on my comment above, start starting early enough that if 10 hours isn’t enough, you have time to do more. If you have high A’s in every class halfway through the semester, cut back and spend more time going to parties.

3. Memorizing and moving on.

In high school, simply memorizing material to be able to spit it back onto paper on the test is a tried and true method of getting good results. In college, professors will ask questions to determine whether or not you truly understand the material. Straight memorization will still get you a passing grade in most cases, but will not get you an A.

4. Studying socially.

High school is easy enough that you can typically get away with studying while enjoying Instagram and Snapchat with friends. In college, most of the material is more mentally challenging, so a multimedia study approach will likely be ineffective. Maximize the quality of your study time so you can minimize the quantity of study time — and still achieve the results you want.

This is a terrible habit that you must stop, it will negatively affect your career. Having a good work ethic is all about making the correct habits. Or possibly, even more important would be breaking the bad ones. Bad habits in the work place that will be stunting your career growth include texting to often and arriving late. Stop these negative career habits today.

5. Treating finals week like any other week.

In high school, most students step up their game a little bit during the actual week of finals. In college, my recommended approach is to attack finals with tremendous intensity — and start EARLY. Start your study efforts a full 10 days before your first final, and cut out all unnecessary social activity to get the grades you want. Most freshmen bomb their first finals as they do not start early enough, and are then forced to go to sleepless to cover the necessary material. This rarely ends well.

6. Faking your way through a class.

College professors are smart people, smart enough to know the material they are teaching, and smart enough to know the people who are trying to fake their way through a class. If general statements based on a vague understanding of the material have been enough to get you by in a high school classroom, you’ll need to take your game up a notch. The level of understanding of the material that got you an A in high school will not get you an A in college.

7. Treating deadlines like they are optional.

Many high school teachers are happy to accommodate a good student who needs an extra day to get the assignment done. College professors may not be as accommodating. Learn now that deadlines are real and non-negotiable. It’s a skill that were serve you well in college and into your career.

8. Believing that success does not require sacrifice.

Let’s face it, many high school students are able to get good grades, be involved in many extracurricular activities and still have time to for an active social life. College is different. I quickly learned that there are social activities in college every night, not just on the weekends, and I regularly had to choose between studying and having fun. Turning down fun takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice. You will need to make that sacrifice on a daily basis, so be ready to decide.

Take a look at The Life Habit for some more great advice on how to be successful when you study. We know that you have endless distractions. You have to do at least a little studying in order to progress from year to year. The secret is not cramming everything in, but rather to study smarter and adopt the correct daily habits that will make achieving your grades a breeze.

Read the original article here