The idea of what it means to be successful academically has changed as our society has progressed, and differs from person to person. Common descriptions of this “success” range from a deep knowledge of a given subject, to simply maintaining a 4.00 GPA.
Let us consider the purpose behind why we are all paying thousands of dollars a year for our education: to succeed in our chosen future career. However, even with this in mind, it is difficult to maintain our learning values when we are faced with tons of immediate goals–finishing the homework assignment, acing the test, passing the class, etc. Not to mention the countless other commitments many students often have that can affect academic success, including (but not limited to): internships, jobs, research, clubs, family, and SLEEP.
Here are some common reasons why students–even the best of them–compromise these learning values:
- Feeling overwhelmed or over-committed
- Laziness
- Difficult prioritizing
- Lack of motivation to learn material
- “I’ll just learn it later” mentality
- Workload vs. Abilities
As students, remember that to be academically successful isn’t just a one-time task. It takes work, could be hard, long, and stressful to maintain the work ethic to reach the goals you have for a semester and beyond. But all of the hard work will be worth it. Fresno State has multiple resources to help you reach your goals and a community that wants you to succeed. The first step could be visiting the SupportNet staff or the tutors in the Learning Center!