KSU students enjoying the fresh air at the Legacy Gazebo.
Photo Credit: Erin Cater.
Here are five tips ranging from goal setting to sustaining good mental health to ensure that you have a successful spring semester.
Take care of yourself
Arguably, the most important element and the basis for success during college is feeling good within and taking care of yourself, including both mental and physical health. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers 24/7 mental health support for students seeking to manage their emotions, discuss relationship matters, or tackle mental wellness concerns.
The Recreation and Activities Center provides everything from weight rooms to outdoor and indoor pools to a 47-foot rock climbing tower, encouraging students to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Jason Marshall, a freshman, frequents the gym regularly. He says practicing calisthenics helps him feel better overall. “Putting my body through an intense workout [helps] me decompress after a long and exhausting day of schoolwork and relationships, and friends.”
Marshall recommends working out not only as a means to alleviate stress and support a healthy body and mind, but to foster better eating habits and self-discipline.
Time management skills are key
Third-year Sports Management major Jayllr Steward takes time at the beginning of the week to plan ahead. “On Sundays, I get my planner out, and I usually try to put all of the schoolwork I have for the rest of the week in it.”
Apps like Notion, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar are useful digital sites where students can plan out their weeks, but a good, old-fashioned paper planner works just as well.
Develop good study habits
Having good study habits is difficult for some, but there are plenty of resources on campus to assist students. The Writing Center provides one-on-one assistance with writing assignments.
Supplemental Instruction (SI) are weekly study session for specific courses led by previous students who excelled in the class. The best thing about all of these resources is that they’re free to students.
“Definitely the SMART Center,” junior Amareah Wright suggested. “I use that, especially when I have my labs because they can help with basically anything in there.” The KSU Smart Center offers tutoring in a variety of courses, including math, social sciences, engineering, and more.
Senior Destiney Snow, a Marketing and Sales major, recommends using online programs to assist with studying.
“I’m a Quizlet girl. Every single chapter module, I take it straight to Quizlet.” Snow added, “The good thing I can say about our generation [is] having AI. I even put the PowerPoints or modules inside of ChatGPT or Google Gemini [and] have them give me a study sheet for me to study off of.”
In addition to the many study resources KSU provides, there are plenty of places to study around campus. Libraries on both campuses are open from 7:30 AM to 11:00 PM on regular weekdays. There are several study rooms throughout every academic building that house quiet places to review classwork.
When asked about his favorite places to do schoolwork, Steward said, “The best study place is the study room across from the student center. If you like the outdoors, I would say go to the Legacy Gazebo or the Campus Green.”
“I love the Academic Learning Center (ALC), if I’m able to get in there and get in one of those private study rooms. I love studying in there,” Snow said when asked the same question.
Setting academic goals
Hannah Stocks, the Executive Director for Academic Advising and Student Retention at KSU, suggests that students set SMART Goals for themselves. SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Stock also recommends making smaller goals so that they are easier to be consistent with and complete in the end.
“I think goal setting is really, really important. Create goals that are attainable, that you can see closer, and that kind of gets you to that finish line,” Stocks said.
Attend classes
The will to get up in the morning for your 8 am class seems impossible at times, especially after a late night, but for most courses class attendance is a vital part of your final grade.
When asked what impels her to go to class on days when she isn’t motivated to, Snow replied, “Striving to get my degree. I didn’t want to just come to college to have fun. I did want to come and learn more about what I wanted to do.”
Stocks encourages students to frequently attend class not only to get an education but to establish relationships with peers and professors that can be beneficial in the future. She also mentioned the astronomical costs of being a college student. Not going to class would be an irresponsible waste of money.
“It would be like if I bought a really expensive car and then didn’t drive it. You’re spending a lot of financial investment to be here. So, be here.”
