As the school year starts to pick up for the recently arrived freshmen, it is of vital importance that they set up a structured schedule in order to be successful. As a result of the workload supplied by teachers and the fact that many students are active participants in outside activities, certain strategies prove to be highly effective in terms of producing high quality work efficiently. In order to achieve as much as possible some of this school’s top students have explained what they do to succeed.

One skill that is of the utmost importance may appear to be very obvious but is nonetheless quite necessary. While many students refrain from asking teachers questions, it is in their best interest that they do so. Senior Edward Cen shared one of his top strategies for getting ahead.

“I think a lot of people are scared to walk up and ask teachers because they’re scared of not knowing the material or are embarrassed,” Cen said. “I’m not scared to ask the teachers for help. I think that one of the most important things to do is ask during class or in your free time or lunch time.”

In addition, Cen said that he prefers to purchase physical textbooks over e-books. This being as many textbooks are online with less and less physical copies.

“I actually like to buy textbooks,” Cen said. “I know nowadays they don’t give out textbooks but I like to have the actual textbooks. Last year for Psychology I bought the textbook on Amazon, an old edition for like $10. So when she told us to do the vocabulary online I used the physical textbook. I find that I do better with the physical textbook. I feel buying the textbook is a better way to learn and is a good investment.”

When approaching the task of completing homework people have different methods of how they finish assignments.  

“When I get home, if I don’t crash, I usually start with the easiest things,” senior Jonathan Zhang said. “Regardless of how big they are, I look at what is due tomorrow and then I look at the easiest things and do those. Then I go down to the hard things.”

This practice made it possible for a person to focus time on a difficult assignment without the overhanging realization that they have more to do once done. Cen took a different action and tended to go in the order of his schedule. Either way, all of your work should be done in a timely manner. In order to do all of your work in a timely manner, study groups were recommended by both Zhang and Cen.

“I study in groups when I’m at school, but not at home,” Cen said. “I do use some group chat for information, but I feel like I focus more when I’m alone. With my friends we joke around when we’re together so it’s detrimental when we try to study together.  When I’m at school right before a test yes, we’ll study but not at home where studying for me is a personal activity.”

Zhang rarely studied in groups, however he stated that when he did study in groups, it was done in a structured manner. He said that people went from topic to topic going over any topics not understood.

“When I study in groups it’ll be for major exams or the AP,” Zhang said. “The last time, we had a general outline of what we had to study and we went through the topics. We just moved through the curriculum, and if anyone had a particular question we would just address it together. It was a discussion.”

The insight of both of these high achieving seniors gives the idea that while many skills may appear to be expected or obvious, readdressing them can still prove to be very viable. It is also important to note that unorganized or nonexistent study habits can prove to often fail. Overall, the study habits or tips included in this article should help one achieve more than what they already do.