Getting into college means universally that you have to achieve good marks in academic studies. The minimum grade point average to be accepted is generally 2.5.to 3.

To go to college you must achieve good grades and those grades will have an impact on every student's life. Study habits and hard work are the keys to academic success even if you are a genius or gifted student.

We all learn differently. Most of us recall that our teachers told us to pay attention, read the homework assignments carefully, start to finish, prior to starting. This was also a given prior to an exam. The rest was up to us to absorb and discover whatever study plan worked best.

Studying is more scientific these days and The University of Georgia suggests some excellent study tips.

Essentially there are five basic words to remember when you study : survey, question, read, recite and review .

There are a variety of study systems available, but all are organised in basically the same way and are designed to accomplish the same ends.

This document is a brief summary of the SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) system.

You remember more when you are actively involved and understand the content.

The SQ3R method is designed to keep you involved and increase understanding.

STEP 1 - SURVEY. Before you begin reading, take just a few minutes for a preliminary survey of the chapter or section of your assignment. The goal of this step is simply to get an overall picture of the nature of the material and how it is presented (the organisation of the chapter).

If you are not accustomed to doing this, you will be amazed at how clear many materials become, even before you start reading. Some authors make this step easy by providing chapter outlines, descriptive headings, key sentences, or chapter summaries.

If so, read through these as your first step. The outlines, headings and sentences will show you how the material is organised and the summaries will tell you what the author considers to be most important in the chapter.

If you understand this first, it will be much easier to go back and fill in the details.

Even if your authors don't make it easy - don't skip this step. Make your own survey by reading the table of contents, or if necessary, simply quickly scanning the entire chapter to get a rough idea of what it is all about.

STEP 2 - QUESTION . After completing your survey, formulate questions about the material. Again, some authors provide questions either at the beginning or at the end of each chapter. If so, read them and be prepared to answer them after reading the material.

If questions are not provided, make up your own. If the topic is Learning,some of your questions might be: What is learning?How do we learn? What processes are involved in learning? Are there different rates of learning? How about forgetting? As you grow more skilled in the art of questioning, you may find more and more of your questions appearing in examinations! STEP 3 - READ . Now and only now are you ready to begin reading your assignment. As you read, try to answer the questions that you formulated in the previous step.

Answering the questions gives your reading purpose and direction and increases your attention and concentration. There is now a reason for reading this passage and the material makes more sense! STEP 4 - RECITE This step means exactly what it says. After reading a section, actually recite or restate the important ideas from it -- preferably aloud.

If you are in a public place and don't want to be seen talking to yourself, then put down the book and silently do your recitation, word by word. If you can't put your new-found knowledge into your own words, you don't really understand it! Research has demonstrated that for most effective learning, at least one-half of your study time should be spent on questioning and reciting. These steps require your active participation. You can't be daydreaming while you are reciting what you have learned! STEP 5 - REVIEW . This is not just glancing over the material again, but a later repeat of the question and recite steps. Come back to the chapter the next day - or next week and see how much of it you can restate in your own words. How much do you really remember? Now is the time to fill in the weak spots.

This is another vital step. If you spend one hour today studying, by next month you will be fortunate to retain 15-20% of the material.

If you spend 30 minutes today, then review for 15 minutes tomorrow, 10 minutes next week and 5 minutes next month, you may retain 80-90 percent of what you first learned with nt in reciting what you have learned.

A systematic plan of study gives the best return on your time investment.

Rather than grabbing chunks of time here and there for studying, plan some time for study and for review.

This system is simpler than it looks, so give it a chance. Don't let yourself skip any steps. Previous students have discovered that by using effective study techniques they have improved their grades and still had more free time than ever before.

Most of us must study to get the marks! A FINAL WORD . As an overview, there are three primary things to keep in mind about study: Divide any study time you have between reading and reciting. At least half of your time should be spent in reciting what you have learned.

A systematic plan of study gives the best return on your time investment.

Rather than grabbing chunks of time here and there for studying, plan some time for study and for review.

This system is simpler than it looks, so give it a chance. Don't let yourself skip any steps. Previous students have discovered that by using effective study techniques they have improved their grades.