The first year can be a challenging time, given that university studies are different from what you were used to in your school and college days.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can study better. These are borderline cliché suggestions, but they are tried and tested, and they work for most people.

Be regular
What a hilarious suggestion. Study regularly; who doesn’t know that, right?

Well, you will be surprised how irregular your studies become at university. Maybe you did not have any classes on a particular day, or maybe what was taught in class was very little, so you are thinking of skipping studying for that day.

Don’t.

Take it from me and a hundred other graduates: sit at your desk and try to go through the materials for a little while. It is a much better method than trying to gobble everything the night before an exam, something you are highly likely to do. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Explore books and research papers
Your faculty will prescribe you a textbook, and you will probably try to read that one book and memorise as much as you can. This might have worked in school and college, but university is different, and if you have any desire to engage yourself in research in the future, avoid the tedious hours spent in inane attempts to memorise texts.

Instead, read the same topic from different textbooks written by different authors. Look up research and explanatory articles on the topic.

This demands a lot of effort and time, but it will expand your horizon, and you will realise that this leaves a longer impression on your mind than memorisation ever could.

Teach your friends and engage in group study
We all have that one friend who teaches better than the teacher and saves our grades in the hours before entering the exam hall. But here is an idea: why don’t you become that friend?

There is a huge difference in the level of comprehension required when it comes to understanding something well enough for yourself and understanding it well enough to teach.

Teaching requires a staggering amount of conceptual depth because you are bombarded with questions from different angles, and this process truly clarifies the concept.

“This works every time. Even if not teaching in the plain sense, more like talking about it with your friends. Everyone sees and understands things differently. When you talk about it, you get to look at it from all those angles and see all those questions. In the end, it becomes an effective discussion that helps everyone understand,” said Fabiha Mahbub, a lecturer at the Department of Criminology at the University of Dhaka.

Take notes. Seriously!
At university, you will meet another type of person. They show up to classes with absolutely nothing. Sometimes they bring a single sheet of paper, sometimes not even that. They will borrow a pen from one person, a sheet of paper from another, and still take no notes.

Don’t be that person.

No matter how trivial the lecture may sound, take notes. And if you can manage it, take notes in English. This way, your brain translates the information while you are listening and writing it down, processing the material at least twice in the process.

This will help you remember things better, and the night before exams, these notes can come in very handy.

Find examples in the real world
Ideally, your university studies will discuss the theoretical concepts of your field in detail and how they affect the real world. Some of those theories may sound a bit over the top at first, but they become easier to grasp when you can relate them to real situations.

Find real-life examples. Find real scenarios and discuss how different theories influence the outcome. It works even better if you can relate your personal experiences to them.

Think of it as a modified ‘memory palace’ technique, also known as the method of loci, which is a real technique used by competitors in memory competitions. In this case, you are simply adapting it to your own advantage.

Watch documentaries or find a YouTube channel
As unfortunate as it may be, sometimes classroom lectures just do not work for many students. This can happen for various reasons, and when it does, you have no choice but to teach yourself.

Whether you are in this situation or simply want to revise what you already know, watching relevant documentaries or finding a YouTube channel related to your subject can be extremely helpful.

“Documentaries and cinematic lessons work wonders. They combine visual and auditory learning, which makes your brain process the topic in two different ways. Unlike reading books, which often fades easily, cinematic lessons always stayed with me, and the understanding was much clearer,” recalled Kaniz Mehzabin, a lecturer in Microbiology at a private university.

Of course, none of these methods will work if you are not willing to put in the effort and learn on your own. In many ways, university studies are simple: stay consistent and be regular. The learning will come naturally.