Academic Success Centre – Getting support with your studies at St George’s

This blogpost was written by Olga Rodriguez Falcon, Lecturer in Learning Development.

Whether this is your first year at St George’s or you’re now continuing your studies, there are always lots of uncertainties and worries when starting a new academic year. This year particularly so, since you’ll probably need to adapt again to new ways of learning after a long period of mostly online study. Having ambivalent feelings on this, at the same time excited and worried, is very normal. We’re all feeling them, and it definitely helps to know you’re not alone in feeling this way. These are some of the questions that might be going through your head right now:

• Is there anything I need to be doing to make sure I’m on top of things from day one?
• Should I change the way I usually take notes and revise this year?
• Is my academic writing good enough for the type of assignments I’ll have this year?
• How can I know whether I’m on the right track with my studies?

Getting together with your peers to have honest discussions on these questions will make them less daunting, and you might end up going away with some very useful tips. At St George’s, there is also a dedicated team of Learning Developers that can offer you support and advice on how to maximise your learning and explore any study issues.

First, have a look at our Canvas page: Study+. You should be automatically enrolled as a St George’s student. There you will find lots of very useful self-directed resources that will help with your studies. For example, there is a whole section dedicated to ‘Effective Study and Revision’. This section is very popular with students and can offer ideas on how to approach the material differently, so that you understand it and can apply it to different contexts – instead of just remembering it to pass exams. There are also sections on ‘Academic writing’, ‘Referencing’ and other relevant topics to university study. Try to spend some time going through some of them.

Our team also offers one-to-one appointments. During these appointments, you can discuss in confidentiality any issues you’re having with your studies. We can offer support and advice on a variety of topics, including effective study strategies, writing academic assignments and English language help. And the good news is, this year we can offer both in-person and online appointments so we can accommodate the needs of your specific circumstances. You can book an appointment via Study + (Click on ‘Academic Success’) or directly using this link: https://10to8.com/book/sgul/

Finally, if you have a quick enquiry for us that might not require a one-to-one appointment, or you’re not able to find a date and time that suits you, you can contact us directly using this email address: AS@sgul.ac.uk. We check this email regularly and try to respond as soon as possible.

We look forward to meeting you!