Academic Issues
Many new students find it difficult to maintain their previous level of academic performance during their first year of college. College courses are not as structured as classes in high school, and much more responsibility is placed on the student to attend class, be an active participant, and do what’s necessary to learn and process the material.

Professors will expect students to think critically about the course material and understand it at a level that goes beyond rote memorization. The bar has been raised to a new level, and it takes some time for students to adjust to the academic rigor of a university like Iowa.

Motivating for success
Students come to Iowa with a range of academic abilities, skills, and habits, and a significant percentage of new students readily admit they did not need to study a great deal in high school to get good grades.

It’s a common feeling among new students that the study strategies that worked for them in high school will work equally as well in college. That is not the case.

• Most students figure out after their first midterm exams that they need to go to every class, take good notes, keep up with the assigned readings, turn assignments in on time, and study regularly and with great intensity if they want to continue to get the kind of grades they got in high school.
• However, it can take some students several semesters (along with being placed on academic probation) to realize they must make some substantial adjustments to their study habits if they want to achieve their goals.

Advice for parents
Here are some things you can do to help:

• Explain that college-level exams and papers require a great deal more preparation and work than what they did in high school. Even kids who didn’t have to study in high school will have to work hard at Iowa to reach their goals.
  • Students need to attend class, stay on top of the reading and assignments, and put in the study time necessary to do their best work.
  • They should approach their first semester with an attitude that they have to work harder than they ever have before, and be open to trying study strategies that they may have not needed in high school.

• Be realistic in your expectations, and be as supportive, patient, and understanding as you can while your student adjusts to the academic expectations of professors and the University itself.

• Show your support by asking periodically about how your student’s studies are going and what your student is learning, but know that there is a fine line between expressing your concern and being overbearing. It may not take too much questioning for your student to tell you to back off, and stop pressuring him or her, even when this was never your intention!

• If necessary, help your student brainstorm ideas for making improvements to the overall study plan. You might suggest talking with the instructor during office hours, forming a study group, and/or working with a tutor at the first sign of anxiety about a course.

• Your student’s academic advisor is excellent resource, especially if your student can’t pinpoint what has to change in his or her study habits.

• Students cannot be passive at a university the size of Iowa. The resources are here, but students have to be assertive and seek out what they need. If students wait for someone to come to them, they are going to miss out on a great deal of what The University of Iowa has to offer.