Ika Janiszewski, First Year Advisor

Academic success is something to strive for, but it’s not uncommon to encounter some challenges as you progress through your undergrad. Perhaps it’s failing to grasp a concept as well as you would like to, or having trouble wrapping your mind around an idea in class. In high school, you may have had your teacher repeat the lesson the next day for the students that were struggling, but given the faster pace and increased level of content in university, anything beyond a five-minute review at the start of class likely isn’t feasible. So, what are your options?

Worry not, there are many resources available for you to make sure you are staying on top of everything that’s important in your classes.

Reach Out To Your Instructors

First up are your professors themselves, or your TA’s. Although it may be intimidating initially, they are the best source for help. Not only do they know exactly what the material is all about, but they can point you to resources in your textbook or online to help you learn more. They are more than happy to meet with you; that’s why they have office hours every week for students! If you are looking to meet with a professor, be sure to send them an email that you are planning to drop by, or to arrange an alternate time so they are ready to help you out with whatever you need to review.

Peer-to-Peer Mentorship

two female students looking at a laptopYour peers are also a great resource for concepts you may not understand. As we all learn in different ways, your peers can give you a valuable new perspective on the material. It can be as simple as explaining a new way to solve a statistics problem or to find the main issues in an accounting case. Whatever the course or assignment sharing strategies and study habits with your peers is a very organic and resourceful way to learn new material and skills. Your peers are also great to form study groups with. Finding 3-4 friends who you like to study with, and sitting down for an hour or so every week to review the material covered in class is a great way to clarify any questions off the bat, and to keep concepts fresh in your mind on an ongoing basis.

Get Acquainted With Helpful Student Organizations

Finally, third party organizations also bring a lot of value to grasping concepts. Student-led organizations like Jumpstart, Schumon peer tutoring (managed by the Undergraduate Business Society) or York SOS, offer a variety of services based on what you nee

aerial shot of a group of young professionals at a desk with laptops, notepads, drafting paper and coffee

d or are looking for. From one-to-one tutoring sessions, to 3-hour crash courses before a mid term or final, material will be presented to you in a new and fresh way. Run by upper year Schulich students or recent grads, you can count on working with someone who was in your shoes at one point, and then went on to achieve success in the course. These groups promote heavily in the Schulich Facebook pages so you wont miss the details about their next session!

Be Kind To Yourself

Although these resources are fantastic, it’s always important to remember not to be too hard on yourself. It may not be your best day, you may have had less sleep than usual, you may be worried about other things, or perhaps your study space isn’t the best for a very focused session. Putting your study habits and strategies in context with the rest of your life is especially important in order to understand wha

t is working for you and what isn’t. The sooner you figure that out during your undergraduate studies, the better.

To conclude, if you are struggling with anything at all, reach out for help. Professors, your peers, other academic based organizations, and of course, the advisors in the UPU are there to help you succeed, so don’t be afraid to make the most of the resources available to you!