How To Become A Successful College Student Research Paper

During the beginning stages of returning to college or starting for the first time, students struggle with knowing how to properly and effectively study.  Students also do not know exactly how to manage time wisely to get the best from college. This research paper will be helpful in learning how to become a successful college student during the course of their new journey.

Background

Being a successful college student is important and take a lot of work in class and inside yourself. Most students are not successful in college because they fail to put forth the effort it takes such as managing time wisely. According to Zimmerman’s research students are not successful because they have not learned to self-regulate. Zimmerman state to self-regulate you must be able to manage time to be successful. (Zimmerman 64). Students also struggle to be successful in college is because fail to make attending class a priority.  Cueso states that being actively involved is most important when it comes to success. In order to be actively involved Cueso states that you must be actively attending class and seeking help if need be these are just a few ways to be actively involved. (Deb, Crislip-Baker 114).

Research Question

The research question is how do students become successful academic performers in college? In order to truly understand the research question at hand we must understand the terms associated with the question. The term student means a person in college geared for learning. This   definition is best because we are in college and wanting to learn which makes us a college student. The second term to look at is successful this means making good grades and holding in the information learned.  Being successful can be many things but in regards to college it is about learning and making good grades. Following successful we look at academics or the work we do in school, this relates to our research question because we are all doing some form of academics or work in college. Then we have the word performer which is just a word a person who does something. This term is good for the research project because we may not be singing or dancing but were learning and doing college work to become successful so we are still performing in a way of learning and succeeding. Last but not least we have the word college which we all know is a place we go to further our career and gain life changing knowledge. Choosing this definition was easy because colleges have been around for a while and we all know what they are meant for.

Methods

two participants were interviewed in spring 2021. Both participants were asked what they thought it took to be a successful college student and what they did to make sure they were successful in college. The first participant was a male between 40-50 years of age, a former college graduate. The second participant was a female between 20 and 25 years of age who is currently in college for paralegal. These interviews were completed over email and used the same two questions to compare responses.  What does it take to be a successful college student? What steps will be taken to ensure success as a college student?

Findings

Participant one’s response was “to be successful you must be dedicated and ready to change your ways and gear yourself towards success. When asked what steps Participant one has done to be successful participant one stated the steps he took were informing his family he may not be as available as he was prior to starting college but, this is to better their home and give his family stability. He also said he had to set times in the day and even night where he would study, read the chapters and have his wife quiz him on the material he was learning. The second participant stated when asked what a successful college student was that she believed to be successful you must apply yourself to the role and strive to do the work required and understand the material she has learned. The steps this participant is taking to become a successful college student are creating a schedule for school and work life as well as making sure she can balance her time with her four children. Her final statement was “My children are my motivation, and they give me the dedication I need to be successful in college.

Discussion

While reviewing the data taken from each participant the meanings of each response of a successful college student were similar yet different. The findings showed that being successful Means taking the time to evaluate your life and taking steps and goals to achieve the new life. Being successful based on the findings is have a strong support system and have a growth mind set in terms of knowing things will be tough but, also realizing being successful means taking the bumps in the road to college completion as lessons and ways to change different techniques of study habits and supports. Each participant had one main answer to set time wisely, yet they have different ways they felt would help with success. For example, participant one stated staying up late to study was a big thing. While participant two stated using a scheduled help which the participant created around work and home life.

Self-reflection

During my time studying in this course, I have learned so much not just about the course but, also about my own study habits.  One thing that stood out to me was the growth and fixed mind set. I realized that I have a growth mind set one certain thing such as when testing if I mess up, I tell myself study more and dedicate more time to study in a quite area. While I also realized that my fixed mind set for example as I struggle memory, I caught my self-thinking “I’m never going to be able to memorize this stuff”. I did not realize I was considered having a fixed mindset until I read about it. So now I know I need to fix my own mind set and find a way to set a balance between work, school and home life to become successful in college.

Conclusion

In conclusion becoming a successful college student takes time and some people struggle with this. They struggle because they do not know how to properly set time to study and manage time wisely. It is important to learn how to become a successful college student in order to have a successful career and make a new beginning to life and a successful career.