The college experience can be described as a roller coaster. College creates lasting
relationships, independence, responsibility, and fun. But not all of college is "peaches
and cream." There is a lot of stress in a student's college career. For example, finding
a job after graduation, exams, stressful relationships, transitioning into college,
and financial setbacks.
There are several solutions to control stress in college. The cheapest solution is
exercise. Exercise in almost any form can be a stress reliever. Exercise increases
your overall health and well-being. But there are also direct benefits to relieve
stress from exercise. For instance, exercise improves your mood; regular exercise
can increase self-confidence and lower mild depression and anxiety. Exercise also
can improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety.
Additionally, exercise is meditation in action; you will leave behind your stress
with exercise because you are focused on your body's movements. Lastly, exercise increases
your endorphins; exercise helps to increase the production of your brain's feel-good
neurotransmitters, called endorphins.
Beginning an exercise program and sticking to one can be difficult. Some things to
consider include, start slow and build up. Build up your fitness level gradually.
Excitement about a new program can lead to overdoing it and possibly injury. The Department
of Health and Human Services recommends a healthy adult getting at least 150 minutes
a week of moderate aerobic activity (e.g. brisk walking, running, cycling). Another
thing to consider is to do what you love; any form of exercise or movement can increase
your fitness level while decreasing your stress. The most important thing is to pick
an exercise that you enjoy. Lastly, make time for it; the number one excuse that keeps
people from exercising is time. Although your schedule may require a morning workout
one day and an evening activity the next, creating time to move every day helps make
your exercise program an ongoing priority.
Whatever you decide, don't think of exercise as just one more thing on your to-do
list. Find an activity you enjoy and make it part of your regular routine. Don't let
stress control you; you control stress.
After a long and relaxing winter break, students returning for the spring semester
may be looking for ways to refresh their study skills for the spring semester. Using
an acronym (which also happens to be a great study tool!) for the word REFRESH, students
can remember some great ways to improve and perfect their study skills:
Read all assigned readings and take notes on the page to refer back to later. While
students may not be quizzed on it immediately, sometimes topics from the text can
appear on the test, even if it was never covered during lecture.
Establish good study habits such as the Study Cycle (see more information here) and other study techniques that can foster deep learning. Study subjects in 50 minute
chunks and alternate courses.
Find a quiet study space. Students should minimize distractions, like Facebook/phone/texting/etc.,
and they shouldn't study in their room. Productivity will depend on the intensity
of focus.
Review the material before each class period. This enables students to recognize areas
or concepts that they are confused about before class, so that they can ask good questions
in class.
Experiment with new and fun ways to study! Students can try color-coding their notes,
highlighting key points, creating flashcards, or even playing quiz-like games with
classmates to test themselves on the material.
Stop procrastination and begin assignments early. All-nighters are not effective study
strategies. Students should break assignments down into small portions that can be
worked on each day leading up to the due date.
Have a way to stay organized. Keep a calendar or planner and reference it often. Students
should write down all assignments from their syllabi at the beginning of the semester
and update as needed. They should also keep one organized binder per class.
These are just a few ways that students can REFRESH their study skills while they
have a fresh start with a new semester. In addition to changes they can make to their
daily habits, Winthrop students can also utilize campus resources to learn even more
study tips and habits. Winthrop offers free services such as the following: Academic
Success Center, Writing Center, Math Tutorial Center, Business Resource Room, and
study groups. Students should never hesitate to ask for help when it comes to academics,
especially when it's free! To learn more about campus resources and study skills,
visit the "Student Resources" tab on the Student Success Center website
Happy New Year! We hope you had a refreshing winter break and that you are energized for the spring semester! We have an exciting year coming up, and we are looking forward to having you dine with us more in 2015 with some great new offerings!
It's a new semester and time for students to choose their meal plans! If residents want to make any changes to their meal plans, they need to go to the Residence Life Office in DiGiorgio Campus Center, room 237. Students will have until the first Friday after classes begin (January 16th) to make any changes to their plans. To help welcome back all of our students, we are offering an incentive along with our meal plans! Add $200 Caf Cash to your plan, and we'll credit your account with an extra $20 (valid until 1/23/2015).
We have a total of six plans commuters may choose from — 2 being created specifically
for commuters. To purchase, your student can log onto their Wingspan account and choose
the meal plan of his or her choice — this will be charged to their student account.
If your student qualifies for financial aid, the cost of his or her meal plan can
be covered by his or her awarded financial aid. If you would like to pay it immediately,
you can go to the Cashiers Office and pay — otherwise it will be placed on your next
bill from the university. For more information, please check our website and click on "Meal Plans." If you have any questions, please feel free to contact
the Dining Services office at 803/323.2119.
Have a great 2015!
The Office of New Student and Family Programs is now on Facebook! Check out our Family Programs page for updates and information about what is going on here at Winthrop!
Monday, January 12
Classes for the spring semester start.
Wednesday, January 14
Last day to Drop/Add a first half of the semester
class
Last day to Drop/Add a first third of the semester
class
Friday, January 16
Last day to Drop/Add a full semester
class.
Last day for 100% tuition adjustment for a full semester class.
Monday, January 19
Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday. No Classes. Offices are closed.
Friday, January 23
Last day for 75% Tuition Adjustment for a full semester class.
Friday, January 30
Last day to S/U or Withdraw from a first third semester
class
Last day for 50% Tuition Adjustment for a full semester class.
