As any parent will testify, sending your child on to further education and putting them through college and university can quickly drain your bank account. This is why a growing number of students are more likely to choose to stay at home and choose an educational establishment that is close enough to commute to, in order to save money.

College From Home: Tips for Getting Great Grades

If this is something you are considering doing, it would be a great idea to try and create a study area somewhere in the house, where they can work on getting the grades they need with the minimum of distractions.

Creating the Right Environment

It seems from research carried out in the past that having the right place to study has almost equal importance with having good study skills.

There is little doubt that the study environment you create is a big influence on how successful you are in being able to successfully learn and retain information and if you decide to study at home, you will actually have greater control over your study environment than if you were in a classroom or a library on campus.

Many of us like to listen to music while we are doing other things and there are plenty of students who enjoying playing their favorite tracks whilst researching, reading and writing.

It is interesting to note that research seems to confirm that carrying out your studies with a pair of headphones on has the effect of decreasing your information retention abilities, whereas background music can be a helpful study aid, so consider this when setting up the study space and keep the headphones away.

We all tend to have different tolerance levels when it comes to how background noise affects our ability to concentrate, so consider setting up your study area based on whether you want almost absolute silence or don’t mind the sound of a noisy kitchen nearby.

Everything You Need

Making sure that you have all the equipment and supplies needed available whenever they are required, is key to a study area that is conducive to learning efficiently.

There is nothing worse than finding out that you have run out of printer ink just when you need to print something important out for example. You can find Brother ink cartridges online or whatever brand you need, at great prices, so make sure you stock up on things like printer supplies, paper and other essentials, so that your workflow is not interrupted.

As well as making sure you always have the supplies you need to hand, it is also important to remember that the study place you create needs to fit the personality and learning style of the student who will be using it.

If you prefer to work quietly and without distractions, a space allocated in the bedroom or in a room that is out of the way in the house would be good. If you thrive on interaction and can cope with a busier atmosphere, then it may work to create a permanent corner in the kitchen or family room.

Setting Goals & Targets

There are pros and cons to studying from home and aside from the financial benefits derived from not having to find accommodation and travelling costs, there are some aspects of the arrangement that you have to be disciplined about, which means setting goals and targets.

Motivation can be a key issue for a number of us in many situations and sometimes when you are faced with a mountain of study work to get through, that can potentially have a negative impact on your motivational levels, due to feeling overwhelmed.

You have a much higher chance of maintaining good motivational levels if you aim to break down your work schedule into manageable sections and then work through your realistic targets one at a time.

Pomodoro Study Technique

Although we are all different in many ways there are some techniques and approaches to study for example, which seem to work for a fair number of us.

One study method that seems to help is called the Pomodoro technique, which is a system based on using a timer so that you work for a total of 25 minutes at a time, take a short break and then start again for another 25 minutes at a time.

It is a discipline that helps you to allocate your workload efficiently into sections that might take the required 25 minutes or less, and gives you a motivational target to work to.

Attending college or university while still living at home can work well, not just financially but educationally, provided that you think about how you set up a study area in order to get the best results.

Author Bio: John Sollars started Stinkyink.com in 2002, a printer cartridge supplier in the UK. He knows a thing or two about printing and he enjoys sharing his ideas and insights online through blogging.