At College – U. Got It?, we’re always on the lookout for guest bloggers. This week we asked Vincent Mackey, an administrative assistant for The CollegeBound Network, to share his study tips for a successful college career.

Students new to college life (or just gearing up for it) have much to learn in the ways of unlearning, and hopefully my experiences here regarding the transition from high school study habits to college study habits can help. In fact, it was unlearning how to study that ultimately got me through college. Here are couple of tips I learned along the way:

A busier schedule equals better grades…
I had always thought that more free time meant more time to study. But while I definitely had more time, I wasn’t necessarily spending it studying during my early college years.

This all changed when I tried completing 25 credits in one semester. When you have so much going on, instead of becoming overburdened, you become focused. The drifting and procrastinating almost go away entirely because you have no choice but to sit down and get it all done.

Schedule your classes strategically…
This actually has a big impact on how you study. Whenever I was home, I noticed I was easily distracted and rarely started homework; my home is my comfort zone — not my workplace.

Try scheduling classes with a couple of hours between them. You will find that you are almost forced not to go back to your dorm or home because there simply is too little time. Instead, go to the library and find a quiet work place. You will be surprised how much work can be done in a focused two hours.

“I don’t need to study if they give reviews…”
Sounds like something the kid failing class would say, right? Not really, if you do this right. A review session basically gives you the test answers the day or two before you take it. If you really want to get through a class without barely opening a book, then here is your chance. But be careful. Sitting through a review and nothing more, simply put, will make you fail.

Be very attentive during the review and immediately sit down for a good three to four hours in the library and study. Write out your answers. You need to be extremely active at this point, but once you get your good grade, you can go back to being a slacker again — until the next review, anyway.

The time doesn’t matter…
Studying at nine and finishing at 10 at night because you have to go to bed and get up in the morning probably worked when you were in high school — but you’re in college now! These are the years where going to bed at 1a.m. is “turning in early” and waking up at 7 a.m. simply does not exist. I found myself cracking open a book at strange hours of the night — and day — on plenty of occasions. The trick is to schedule you study time when it works for you. For once you don’t have mom and dad barking at you to do your homework, so take advantage!

The Internet is your friend…
If you spend more time messaging your friends on MySpace in a week then the amount of sleep you had last month, you’re going to find the Internet very useful in studying. Just because you have a paper book opened doesn’t mean you have to abstain from a computer. Try using the Internet to clarify problems that your textbook or professor did a poor job of explaining. It saves time and you’ll avoid beating yourself over the head in the search for — potentially — simple answers.

– Vincent Mackey