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Study Start

What we would have liked to know when we started our studies

personer i laboratoriekitler foran et eksperiment med en flaske - de er udendørs
A study group can help you stay focused and support you. Skim the material before the lesson and read difficult sections thoroughly after the class. Participate in social activities to build a network. Remove distractions by putting your phone away. Regular sleep and eating routines improve concentration.

Table of contents

  • Get yourself a study buddy – quickly!
  • Skim the material before each lesson
  • Sign up for things with people
  • Put your phone in another room when you study
  • Good food and good routines make a difference

Get yourself a study buddy – quickly!

Or even better – a study group. Get yourself a group of people who keep you on track with your reading when you'd rather scroll, and who can help you when there's something you don't understand.

And be honest with them when there's something you can't figure out. You help each other much better by being honest from the start. And there are always more of you who find it really difficult.
What is the difference between high school and higher education?
oppefra ned perspektiv - to personer. begge sidder udenfor med åbne bøger oppefra ned perspektiv - to personer. begge sidder udenfor med åbne bøger

Skim the material before each lesson

If you can’t manage to read everything (and no one can), at least make sure you’ve skimmed all the material for the class, so you can orient yourself during the lesson and take notes on the most relevant topics. It’s better than reading one text thoroughly and then forgetting the content when you’re in the lecture hall. You can follow the lesson much more easily when you have an overview of the lesson plan and the material being used.

After the class, you can review difficult sections and theoretical concepts, and write notes on the things you understood well. Then the material is available when you approach the exam, where you – surprise – go through it all for the third time.

The introvert’s guide to starting university

Sign up for things with people

Yes, you have to study, and there’s a lot!

You also need to figure out how the library card works, your new student email, and who pays for the insurance? There are plenty of things ready to demand your attention. Still, do yourself a favour and join in when there’s Friday beer, or room for a new member in the Friday bar or a committee that sounds fun.

Study time is a good time to challenge your comfort zone, and it gets better and easier when you surround yourself with good people. At IDA, we also know that students with a good network are less likely to drop out and have higher well-being.

SPS – This is how it works
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Put your phone in another room when you study

We are all guilty of it. According to the clock, we've been reading for 7 hours straight, but in reality, we distract ourselves again and again with social media, a message from friends, or pointless notifications that buzz us out of concentration.

If you manage to put your phone away – completely away, without vibration and a screen lighting up at the edge of your vision when you read – you will find that you can get by with fewer hours of reading each day. And you actually get more information into your head. It takes practice and technique to master, but it's time well spent.

Good food and good routines make a difference

It sounds hopelessly grown-up, but if you go to bed and get up at roughly the same time every day, your body gets used to it.

If you also study at the time of day when you find it easiest to concentrate, it becomes easier. And yes, when you eat your meals before you’re starving and completely unfocused and hangry, you also get more out of both reading and classes.

Considering skipping the start of your studies?

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