Exam coping strategies

Throughout your school career you have been writing exams, and currently at the university you are again required to sit for exams as they are an important and non-negotiable part of education. Because exams are used as progression guides, it is essential to thoroughly prepare for them.  Let’s look at some exam taking strategies:

•  Revise your work well in advance
• Organise your study material well. Test yourself
• Form study groups
• Finish your preparation at least three days before the exam
• Organise the material you will need for the examination a night before
•  Plan your time, eat healthy and drink a lot of water

Remember that the University offers supportive structures that can help you prepare for exams. Visit the AcademicDevelopment Center and find out more about the Learning Development Unit, this unit assists students with a series of workshops/trainings aimed at maximizing student learning experience and capacity. The Writing Center will assist any student who wants to write better, areas such as structuring an essay, expressing ideas clearly and coherently, and developing self-monitoring skills are focused on. Make use of consultation times with lecturers and tutors .

Some of you might feel stressed or overwhelmed prior your exams, WORRY NOT! PsyCaD assists students with their emotional well-being. Good Luck with your exams, REMEMBER IT’S OK NOT TO KNOW EVERYTHING, some questions are designed to challenge the limits of your knowledge at a grade level above your current grade.

Student societies: It’s not just about making friends…

A student society is a group of students that come together for a particular purpose; these individuals usually share the same interests. The University offers a vast number of extra-curricular activities that exceed what most first years could hope for,  from political societies to religious societies, academic societies and social societies,

The obvious benefit of joining a student society is the impact it will have on your social life. Coming into university as a first year and entering a newly presented environment you may feel alone at first, joining a society is a great way to meet people and feel part of a community.Societies are real advantages in terms of CV boosters as well. The skills you acquire, qualities and knowledge society’s offer may give your future employee the insight that you can successfully adapt to life as a graduate in the workplace. Employers want more than just a “Brainy” they want someone who also knows how to have fun by being part of a society, this may separate you from someone who has the exact same Degree as you when apply for a job. Student societies also provide you with fun; they keep you fit and healthy and increase your socialising.


Mpho a 3^rd year Public Relations student says her curiosity swayed her to venture out and meet new people who shared the same love for PR as she did, through her journey she become a member of (Student’s Public Relations Associations “SPRA”) . “Such societies that the University offers pave the way for students to explore their own unique interests while mounting their potential” she said. “I am now doing my internship and all the voluntary work I did for SPRA contributed incredibly to my CV, the public speaking, organising events, and writing articles really helped."Thabo a law student who usually volunteers at RAG during his spare time explained how this society broadened his experience as a UJ student while helping a good cause.

Usually there is a small joining free for some of these societies but I believe this is irrelevant considering the benefits you are getting in return. University is a place where you meet your life time friends, form relationships and find your inner being. I encourage all of you to join a society and participate in student life activities, TODAY!

Goal Setting is a vital tool to university success...

Setting and achieving goals are overall the most underestimated skills for success in university. When I started my first year in 2010, I came into university with the wrong mind-set (a high school mentality of learning, I wanted to please my parents because I felt like it was an obligation, I wanted to enroll in university because that was the next step that society conforms us to do I guess) this kind of thinking set me right off the bench.  My reasons for coming to university were over shadowed by all the wrong motives. As the year went by, I had no interest in school, and my attention was drifting to all the wrong things. My marks started to deteriorate and failure was becoming a terrifying reality.

That’s when I sat down and asked myself “what am I doing, and how will this benefit and shape my future? “ the red light sent off ringing alarm bells, I didn’t have goals…Motivation comes from 1 source and 1 source only: YOU going after something YOU want.. Although goal-setting may be challenging, it is generally worthwhile. Its intention is to increase efficiency and effectiveness by specifying the desired outcomes.

Much is learned after a journey begins. Resetting of Goals - You must reset your goals after they are achieved if you wish to stay motivated. Goal setting and achieving is a lifelong process for those wishing continuous success. When you do not reset goals, it is normal for feelings of achievement to stop. Stagnation, aimlessness, and frustration often take over as motivation fades. Setting, achieving, and resetting goals can become a habit, and so can experiences of success,  if you choose to do what is necessary to achieve goals and become successful.

This is why there are different degrees of success among people. If you are willing to master the process for setting and achieving goals, you are one of the few who choose to do what it takes to be successful and to make success a habit. Don't underestimate this skill so vital to university success.

The importance of goals:

·         Keeps you focused on what you need to do

·         Stops you from wasting time, money and energy on activities that can prevent you from reaching your goals

·         Helps to motivate you

·         Helps you to keep on working towards your ultimate goals

·         Helps you to know what you need to do or need to know in order to attain your goal.

"Success is an inside job” – Ralph M Ford

goal setting is a

Process .



Attending class: Luxury or necessity?

attending class: Luxury or necessity?





I once spoke to a student at the end of his first year and asked him the question: ”What was the biggest lesson you had learnt about life during the year?”  He replied: “The freedom sir, the freedom.  It will kill you!”.  I thought this response was both funny and profound.  One of the main attributes of university studies is the fact that you are given all the freedom to take your own decisions about what you will and won’t do.  As I am sitting here now one can clearly see one of the effects of this freedom here on campus.  During the first few weeks of class the campus is abuzz and you can barely find a space to sit in most classes.  Now however the attendance (based on people on campus any given day) seems to have dropped by about 40%.  This implies that many students have started using their freedom to decide to not attend class anymore.  I think this is a HUGE mistake.  I know some classes are boring and some others are early in the morning, but if you are not attending all (or at least most) of your classes, you are setting yourself up for failure.  Who do you think will be setting your tests and exams?  The lecturer will be doing so.  If you are not in class, you won’t know what they have emphasised and what they have said is not that important. In other words, you will not know what to study.  Secondly, you have paid a huge amount of money to come and “sit at the feet” of a real expert in their field.  You are wasting that opportunity by not being in class.  I have seen from some research that I have conducted that there is a direct link between class attendance and academic performance.  The link is so simple, it almost seems obvious: Those who attend tend to do better and those who do not tend to do worse.  Please do not believe that you will be different.  My advice would be: ”Do not let your freedom kill you academically!  This starts by attending all of you classes!”

-André van Zyl (PhD)

  Academic Development Centre (ADC) Acting Director