This week

Study Skills

• Feature — Creating a positive study environment
• Your Turn — Tips on studying
• Stay on track — A checklist of "to-dos"
• Take notice — Important dates
• All about AIEmail — Subscribe, suggest, review

Feature

Creating a positive study environment

One of the biggest challenges in beginning your study time can be getting all necessary materials together and finding a place where you can concentrate. But if you prepare everything at one time, your next study sessions will be focused totally on studying and will be more effective.

Creating a special place where you can study on a daily basis can help you get your assigned work done faster. Here are a few tips on setting yourself up with an ideal study environment.

Find a good location.
Your first instinct may be to use the kitchen table or your bed, but you may want to think about other options. Kitchens can be noisy, and you may be distracted constantly by family members entering, exiting, or preparing meals or snacks. Being close to the refrigerator and those tempting snacks won't help with your progress either. A bedroom may be full of distractions, such as favorite magazines, music, or television. If you can, find a corner of a guest room or study — or any room that is not a high traffic area — that is quiet, comfortable, and out of the way.

Gather the essentials — and only the essentials.
What will you absolutely need to help you study? Good lighting, a comfortable chair, a good writing surface, writing instruments, reference tools (dictionaries, a thesaurus, and other writing guides), and maybe a stapler and paper supplies. Don't bring in a television, CD player, iPod, etc. If you find it easier to study with music playing in the background, pick soothing music and keep it at a low volume. The phone is a definite no, as are video games, sports equipment, or anything else that can cause distractions.

Set up rules and stick to them.
Decide on a consistent time of the day that you can be in study mode, and use that time every weekday to concentrate on your studies. For most students, one to two hours daily is adequate, but sometimes you may have to study longer. Pick a time when you think your concentration level is best. For example, some students like to study before dinner, others are early risers and find they can concentrate the best in the morning. If you don't have homework on a particular day, use your study time to read ahead on your studies, work on your files, or practice for college entrance exams. Tell all your family members when you will be studying and ask them not to disturb you unless it's absolutely necessary.

Reward yourself for sticking to your schedule.
It can be difficult to start a standard study schedule, but the effort can pay off in better grades and preparation. Your teachers will notice your improvement, as will your parents. After a month of continual good study habits, treat yourself to spending some quality time with friends or doing something you enjoy as self-encouragement.

Good luck!

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Your turn

Tips on studying

There are lots of resources on the Web to help you study. Here are a few:

• Adventures In Education Get Ready
  AIE has a helpful section on Internet homework resources, which includes useful information about studying and preparing for college.
  www.AIE.org/Links/links_homework.cfm
• Homework and Study Tips
  This site houses a collection of helpful homework and study tips.
  homeworktips.about.com
• HowStuffWorks
  Recognized as a good source for clear, reliable explanations of how things actually work, HowStuffWorks helps demystify the world around us.
  www.howstuffworks.com

Watch for next week's AIEmail for more resources!

Source: Adventures In Education Find Homework Help (www.AIE.org/Links/links_homework.cfm)

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Stay on track

Checklist for this week

For freshmen and sophomores

• Go over your second semester schedule to make sure you are taking the right courses in order to graduate.
• Use your daily organizer to track your time, your assignments, and your appointments.
• Organize your class materials regularly; that way, if you need to review or study for a test, everything will already be in order.
• Volunteer some time to help out at your place of worship, at a homeless shelter, in your community, or at some other organization.

For juniors

• Keep studying, because your grades are very important this year.
• Visit with college admissions representatives when they visit your school.
• Call the admissions office at your favorite college to find out when they will hold student visit days and make plans to visit.
• Keep sorting through all the correspondence you are receiving from colleges. Keep your files well-organized and read, or at least briefly review, everything you get.
• Send a message to or call some friends who are now in college. Ask them about what college is "really" like — they'll appreciate that you're thinking of them.

For seniors

• Keep working on those college applications. Make sure you put in extra effort on writing good essays.
• Make sure you have ordered all the necessary transcripts for college and scholarship applications.
• Review your list of people who will be writing recommendations on your behalf to colleges and scholarship committees. If you haven't done so, make sure you call them to request their help, and provide them with any information they may need. Don't forget to send them thank you notes for their help!
• Pick up a FAFSA form (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) from your counselor. Ask your counselor if there will be an information session on the FAFSA for parents and make sure you and your parents make plans to attend. If no session is planned, try to set up an appointment with you, your parents, and your counselor to go over the form and answer questions.
• Be on constant lookout for notices about scholarships and apply if you qualify.

For parents

• Find out when exams will be held in school; offer to help your children study and/or set up group study sessions.
• If you have a senior, remember the following:
  • Find out all the deadlines for college applications, scholarships, and financial aid. Make sure your senior is on track.
  • Organize your income tax paperwork, as you will need some of this information to prepare the FAFSA.
  • Check to make sure that your senior has already requested all necessary student transcripts and letters of recommendation for college and scholarship applications.
  • Encourage your senior to write thank you notes to everyone who has helped with the process of preparing for life after high school. This can include counselors, teachers, religious leaders, family, and friends.

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Take notice

Important dates

Mark down these dates.

To get more information on the SAT or SAT Subject Tests, access useful tools, or register, visit the College Board's Web site (www.collegeboard.com) or call (866) 756-7346.

To get more information on the ACT, access useful tools, or register, visit the ACT Web site (www.act.org) or call (319) 337-1270.

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