This article is part of the series: Maximizing your UK study experience

Academic Excellence: An achievable Dream

Academic excellence is a dream of many students, especially when you come abroad to study in a new environment that presents new opportunities and challenges. Having spent so much money in making this life investment, a lot of students desire to come top in their academic pursuit. This dream is achievable and possible. Many students in the past and more have achieved this dream. Attaining academic excellence does not take as much as so many students thought; it is about knowing what to do and doing just that. It does require a significant level of hard work, commitment, determination and enthusiasm, but more importantly there are other things that can help achieve academic excellence without working yourself super hard.

I share below some top tips that have worked for many students especially in the context of international study experience.

Know yourself.

Achieving academic excellence require a reasonable degree of self-awareness. Who are you? What do you want to achieve in life? What are your plans after study? Why are you studying the subject you are studying? Answering these questions allows you to evaluate yourself and know why exactly academic excellence is worth it. This reflection will underpin and motivates your to pursue this dream and get the very best from it. It is often difficult to achieve academic when you are not excited about what you study and you don’t see a future in that subject, you loose interest and working hard to achieve excellence become almost impossible. You must love what you do to do it well.

Determination and Commitment is Key!

When you know yourself and have an interest in what you study, then determination and commitment become the in thing.  Achieving academic excellence requires a great deal of commitment and determination from you.  And interest in what you are studying powers that commitment and determination. It is interest that make you stay late in the library to study when your colleagues are probably at home sleeping.  While determination gives you a reason to pursue academic excellence, commitment drives you to achieve the best grades in your study. These two elements work hand in hand to power you and motivate you to excellence.

Believe in yourself.

Achieving success in anything in life requires that you belief in yourself. Believing in yourself is a prerequisite for achieving academic success. You have to trust that you have the ability and capacity to be what you choose to be. Trusting and believing in yourself is the fuel that powers the vehicle of your success. This principle is evidence in the experiences and history of many successful men of our time. Steve Job, the founder and CEO of Apple Inc. which was recently declared the world’s most valuable company said “You have to trust something, your gut, destiny, life, karma or whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path and that will make all the difference”. Now to more practical tips…

Time Management

Good time management skill is very essential to getting the best in everything you do, and your academic pursuit is not exempted.  In your academic journey, there are several things you will need to do at different times. You will have attend classes, tutorials, private studies, meet friends, families etc. and your ability to effectively manage your time within these commitments is very important to getting the best. Time management will enable you prioritize your engagements. One of the most efficient ways of doing this is to keep a diary/calendar of everyday activities and allocated time slot for each task you have to accomplish. Technology has made this quite an easy task now, with smart phones (which most of us uses anyway) you can effectively manage your time, schedule your daily engagement and make sure you don’t spend more than allocated time on anything, once your calendar beeps, it’s time for the next action, be committed to the time you have allocate for any task and make sure you keep to that time. This helps you get more done.

Adapt to your new environment

Here you are in a different country, with potentially significant difference in teaching styles. It is very important that you adapt to this new style if you must do well in your academic pursuit and one of the easiest ways to do this is to research and seek support when needed. Do not make assumptions; also ask for help and clarifications when you are not sure about things. There are usually varieties of resources in your university library to help you in this regard. It will be also very helpful if you can talk with your tutors where it is practical to do so to get their guidance. If available, you should also talk to other students who studied your course, your faculty or university.

Acquire the right Study Skills

Studying in a different country means a lot of things, the teaching style, expectation from you as students and even your lecturers are different. So it is very important that you investigate the type of study skills that you will need to survive as a student in this new environment. The skills needed for an undergraduate study is quite different from that of postgraduate course for example and it is your responsibility as a students to research what is expected of you and strive to deliver exactly that otherwise you will not be as successful as you might want to be. Engage your colleagues and do not be afraid to seek their help if necessary. In most cases you might need to acquire some advanced computer skills especially in accessing electronic resources for your study, your tutors, department, library etc will be very helpful in supporting you in this regard, ask them and they will be able to signpost you even if they cannot help.

Seek Help

Always be ready to ask for help when you need it, either from your tutors, your colleagues or other university staff. They are all here to support your study experience, but you have to ask.

Plan. Plan. Plan.

Planning is an essential skill for every student, and achieving high academic grades will require that you use this skills a lot. You have to learn to plan and prioritize yourself. When you have a task, for example a coursework, make sure you schedule yourself well in advance, start early and plan how you will do it, waiting for the last minute will never help you. Always take time to plan every detail of your coursework, from initial research, then first drafts, to second draft then final draft. Always make sure you leave enough time to review and review and review your work well in advance before your deadlines. When you give enough room for review, you give you reduce your risk of making mistakes and this helps your final grades.

It is my hope that putting into practice the tips above will help you I significant ways to achieve your best academically while you study in the UK. I am aware that studying here in the UK present everyone with an opportunity to have one of the most rewarding academic experiences possible, but you should always remember that you have a role to play.

See you at the top!

Olalekan Oshunkoya

Vice President, Communications and Engagement Coventry University Students’ Union.

Co- Presenter, Maximizing you UK study experience Seminar Series

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