5 study hacks for CBS students

October 2, 2013  //  By: Amalie Barfod  //  Featured, GUIDE  //  No Comment

Your time as a CBS student should be one of the best in your life. Therefore, you should take a look at this list, which presents you with some of the best CBS study related hacks that I know of. They are little tips that will make your studies a whole lot easier; at least that is the idea. Some of the tips I have learned the hard way, i.e. simply by observing the kind of behavior that seemed to help my fellow students become successful. Others I have learned through my work as a mentor at CBS. I therefore guarantee that they are real tips: not just theoretical ideas.

1. Go to class

Although you might not have realized it, going to class is pivotal for your learning. There are two main reasons why this is:

• The professor is there, which means that you will have immediate access to the one person able to explain whatever course-related issue you might be having.
• If, sadly, and I have had this happening to me, the professor is unable to help you (CBS professors are awesome in this way) you will almost certainly be able to spot that one student in your class who seems to get what you do not understand. Happy coincidence! You should know the name of this person. If you do not, work on that straight away – you can always opt for asking the person next to you for person X’s name. Once you know the name, ask person X for help with your problem. Asking for help is not – and I really can’t stress this enough – embarrassing. Do not be afraid of it. Person X will probably be more than willing to help you (you can always offer something like a cup of coffee or a Star Wars figure in return of the favor) and maybe someday you will be the one who understands something he or she doesn’t. The universe just works in this way.

 2.  Join a CBS organization

Joining an organization provides you with an extraordinary opportunity to meet people that share one of your basic interests, and the feeling of comradeship that springs from spending time with them is just not something you should miss. Now, you might think: “is that your only argument? because joining just any organization that fits my interest will give me that feeling of companionship” and I am happy that you thought of that. I have another argument. What you will also get if you join a CBS organization is the guarantee that the people you meet within the organization are 100% as awesome as you in one other important regard: they study at CBS! This means that you can bond over this too. In other words: these guys will know exactly how disappointing it feels to discover that you will not be able to make it to, for example, a store opening or the newest exhibition on rare Brio trains because you have to sit an exam or do group work.

Note: while CBS has a lot of student organizations there is currently no – official at least – organization dedicated to wooden toys. For a comprehensive list of the organizations currently employed at CBS go to https://e-campus.dk/cybercampus/organisationer—foreninger?p_mbo_id=99&p_id=62298#99:62298

3. Take your grades seriously – but don’t overdo it

While somebody might have told you that your grades are not that important (especially not during your bachelor’s degree) this is a misconception. Your grades clearly matter! You will for instance need a fairly impressive GPA in order to go on exchange in most CBS programs. Also, getting a relevant student job is soooo much easier if you have nice grades. So go to class (aha, a reference to number 1 on the list) and try to pay attention: save Farmville or Candy Crush Saga for the breaks or after class. This way you will hopefully have an easier time once exams come around and you can get a nice grade. That being said, remember to not exhaust yourself. You probably know as well as I do that at CBS, missing one or two classes, not doing an assignment here and there, and skipping some of the readings are not the things that will get you on the fast track to Flunksville.

 4. Find a “secret” study spot

Do yourself the favor of finding your own place to spend your studying hours. Ideally, it should accommodate your study style, so if you like to sit in a quiet place, find such a spot and if you need people nearby chatting in order to really focus, search for that. You can also bring your friends or study group to your spot if that helps you.
The main advantage of having an ideal study place is of course that you get more studying done (in theory, at least). In my experience, some students are under the impression that if they just go to the CBS library they will automatically become super motivated and get all their work done. Unfortunately, it oftentimes does not work out this way. There are a couple of reasons why this is:

Getting a study seat at CBS is a near-impossible task if you want to sit at Solbjerg Plads. If you get a study seat by: a) being there incredibly early or b) being incredibly lucky, in my experience you will most likely run into friends or acquaintances there and talking to them will ruin your studious mindset in no time. Hence, my advice is that you break the illusion and find someplace different to study that is “secret”, i.e. only used by you or those people you know you can study around.

Tip: If you (after countless fruitless attempts of course) just cannot find your own private study place, the library at Dalgas Have could be a last resort. Although you might still run into friends, finding a study seat there is rarely a problem.

5. Learn how to power nap

Let’s face it, sometimes other activities like browsing the Internet, watching another episode of SATC or talking to your friend in another time zone is far more appealing than going to sleep even though you ought to. You regret your late night immediately the next morning when you realize that you’re about to face 2,5 hours of microeconomics on minus 4 hours of sleep and that’s where the power nap comes in. In between classes, find a quiet spot (the desk in front of you might also work) and try to nap for those 10 min. You will wake up feeling so much better.

About the Author : Amalie Barfod

23-year old Amalie is on her 2nd semester of MA Multicultural Communication in Organizations in preparation for becoming a hardcore Head of Corporate Communications in a really successful international organization someday soon.
As a kid, Amalie was convinced that she wanted to become an archaeologist. Her favorite movie was “Landet for Længe Siden” (English: “The Land Before Time”) and she knew the Latin name of almost every dinosaur. However, an internship at the local museum in the 7th grade made her realize that she did not have the patience for rummaging around in the dirt all day without the guarantee of finding something noticeable, and that is why she chose to pursue instead her second (now first) passion: communication.