Although it is very helpful to be knowledgeable about and practice effective study skills and test taking skills, all the academic skills in the world won't help you if you are practicing other self-defeating behaviors. These behaviors contribute greatly to students' academic problems.

Students practicing self-defeating behaviors. . .

• Don't attend classes regularly
• Don't inform instructor of absences
• If they do miss class, don't go to their professor and ask "Did I miss anything when I was gone?" or "What can I do to make up my work?"
• Don't ask questions - even when confused about something
• Don't make connections with other students in classes - to get missed information, clarify assignments, form study groups, etc.
• Don't ask for help from academic/student services: tutors, counseling, financial aid, career services, student health, advisors, professors, staff members, administrators, department heads, etc.
• Turn in substandard work - aesthetics as well as content
• Don't have an ongoing, regular study schedule
• Don't have enough hours allocated for studying
• Don't buy the textbook, and if they do, don't bring it to class
• If they get bored while reading, they assume it's a boring, badly written, "stupid" book; one they're better off ignoring
• Ridicule anyone who talks about class subjects outside of class
• Don't plan for exams or papers: count on that heady burst of adrenaline to pull them through at the last minute
• Don't read or refer to the syllabus
• Procrastinate (on projects, papers, and assorted other assignments)
• Are perfectionists (project must be perfect - if the student doesn't feel it is, he/she does not hand anything in)
• Work full-time while taking a full-time load of classes
• Cram for exams
• Take classes for which they do not have an appropriate background
• Have poor time management skills/or just do not use time management tools like calendars, planners, etc.
• Don't know their professors' names or how to reach them if a problem comes up
• Allow friends, roommates, etc. to distract them from their studies
• Spend a lot of time worrying and fretting over an upcoming test while at the same time putting off their studies
• Blame the professor, the school, their tutor, and anyone else they can think of for their poor grades
• Don't reflect on their own skills and strategies as learners in relation to course content and demands
• Don't have a goal (big/small, short-term/long-term) that they are working toward, or don't know why they are in school
• Don't pick up returned assignments for feedback
• Don't prepare for upcoming lectures by reading assigned materials prior to class discussion
• Don't keep track of current standing in class
• Don't remain attentive in class--instead they sleep, eat, or gossip
• Show up to class drunk/hungover