Introduction
Everybody wants to give students advice because other people apparently know better. But let’s be clear about this, they don’t know better, they are just wasting the pressure time of the student with those tips. So, we have gathered the most useless advice students could get.
The Most Useless Advice Students Get
“You Have To Go To Every Class!”
In every course, there are lectures that you can give yourself. Either because the lecturer is falling asleep, the lecture hardly contributes to your study progress (because it has nothing to do with the upcoming exam), or because you could study much more productively at home.
So, if there is no obligation to attend your lecture, you should carefully consider whether attending is worthwhile for you. I don’t mean that you should look for excuses not to go to the lecture hall, but: evaluate whether attending the lecture will bring you closer to your goals. If not, don’t go.
“Just Do It – You Can’t Plan Your Studies Anyway!”
Many students simply let their studies come to them and are then surprised when they make mistakes, overlook good opportunities or never achieve the performance that is in them.
Not planning your studies is the biggest mistake you can make as a student. Just because the plan isn’t easy and needs to be dynamically adjusted—from time to time—doesn’t mean you shouldn’t worry about your future at all.
You can’t plan and anticipate every detail, and you shouldn’t. But you need a rough strategy for your studies and a common thread that gives you orientation while studying. By the way, you might not know but there are a lot of essay writing services online which could help you out with your writing tasks.
“If You Work Hard, Good Grades Will Come Naturally!”
Successful studies have little to do with talent. The most important guarantors of success are diligence and perseverance. But just because you study hard and deal with your studies regularly does not mean that you will get good grades easily.
What you need is the right approach and a systematic approach that you can use to tackle your tasks and goals step by step. If you structure your student life and think about which learning techniques are right for you, you will study much better than before.
“Your Fellow Students Are Your Competitors!”
I’ve never really been able to understand how tough thoughts of competition can spread among students. Studying isn’t about being better than someone else or having something taken away from you if you don’t get the highest grade.
It’s about you getting a valuable university education, learning many important things, and developing yourself personally. And this is exactly where your fellow students will help you. You are not competitors – you are in the same boat, and you are a team.
“If You Don’t Enjoy Your Studies, Quit Immediately!”
Difficult phases when studying is quite normal: sometimes things go well, sometimes things go badly. Some sections are strenuous and require perseverance and at times everything works like clockwork.
Nevertheless, it is quite normal that you have to struggle with a lack of motivation from time to time and are full of doubts. That’s just part of it. But instead of letting it get you down and giving up, you need to keep going. You mustn’t give up too quickly and let self-appointed experts badmouth your studies.
“You Have To Work Hard For Your Studies Every Day!”
Do you know what is just as important for your success in college as hard work? Breaks. Without breaks and rest, you’ll burn out and never reach your goals.
The most successful students I’ve worked with had one thing in common: They divided their time wisely and deliberately created free time to be lazy or take vacations. You don’t have to work every day for your studies. You only have to work for your studies when it really matters. This should of course be regular – but not in every free minute.
Conclusion
Bad advice lurks everywhere. So, get used to critically questioning the tips and hints that are pouring down on you and remain skeptical.
You should be particularly careful with people who don’t know what’s going on in your studies or who have never seen the inside of a university. But don’t worry: if you reflect on your studies, you’ll quickly develop a feeling for them and be able to separate good and stupid advice more easily.
With a little practice, you can then acquire selective ignorance and simply ignore the worst advice. You can get started with the examples above.