Dr. J is Touro California Director of Academic Support Dr. Jill Alban.

Dear Dr. J,

I am already getting behind and I’m worried I’ll never catch up! What do you recommend?

— Behind the Wheel on Mare Island

Dear Behind,

Use your week-ends to catch up and get ahead. You have 48 hours. Even if you give yourself 9 hours of sleep, 2 hours of exercise and time for breaks, you’ll have plenty of time to catch up. The most important thing is to create a study plan. Research on study strategies has demonstrated that good students create a study plan and stick to it. Once you’ve made your schedule-set it in stone. Make a commitment to follow it.

Dear Dr. J,

How many passes should I try to make with new material?

— Passing Out on Passes

Dear Passing Out,

Different students need different numbers of passes in order to understand and to begin building an accurate memory of it.  Some students just need two or three, but many need more. Knowing what you need is essential to efficient learning.

To submit a question related to student success, write it in a comment on this page, or email directly to jill.alban@tu.edu.

Jill Alban is the Director of Academic Support at Touro University California. She earned her Doctorate in Education and has been an educator for more than 30 years. She enjoys the challenge of helping students develop study strategies and improve their grades. On the weekend you can find her romping with her husband and Rose, her labradoodle, in Tilden Park or swimming laps at the Berkeley City Club. She is training to swim the Bosporus. Her dream is to swim from Europe to Asia. She can be reached at jill.alban@tu.edu

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