Review the student's course schedule with him. Fill in a calendar with the days and times she has classes. For instance, if a student has algebra on Tuesdays and Thursdays, French on Wednesdays and English on Mondays and Fridays, put that information on the calendar. Use the full name of the class and when and where it meets. The class schedule is critical in determining how to organize study time for classes.
Identify break times. Because time management is important, explain to the student that it is possible to fit in study time in periods between classes and that he still must study on any days on which he has no classes. If she has a two-hour break between classes, for instance, she should devote that time to study, to work on a research paper or to meet with a study group. Days without classes are ideal for study because they offer long blocks of time for uninterrupted work.
Show the student how to keep his course materials separate from one another. Getting history lecture notes mixed up with biology handouts can cause confusion and wasted time. An effective and efficient solution is for the student to learn how to utilize binder dividers, which separate notes and handouts within a single binder. Show the student another organizational option, which is to keep the information in separate folders according to class, so that the course materials do not get jumbled up.
Set priorities. Create a schedule for when she will study and do homework for each courses. You can designate particular days and specific hours for studying specific classes. For instance, if a student has French on Wednesdays, it is possible she can reserve studying for her French class for the weekend if other courses come up more frequently during the week.
Analyze the course selection that the college student came up with. See if the student is taking too many credits for one semester. Full-time students may take 16 to 18 credits in a semester, but if a student has more than 18 credits worth of classes, you might recommend that he drop a course and save that class for the following semester.