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On any course there is always at least one student who manages to succeed with studies, while others are doomed to fail. My friend Sally was like that. With an agenda of tasks to accomplish at work and a younger brother to look after, she always had good marks at university and even got her First-Class Degree with no troubles at all!

After my astonishment was dispelled, I started wondering how it came that Sally could successfully combine her job, studies and private life. And since I was about to start my own career being yet a university student, I kept a close eye on my friend trying to figure out her success formula. Step by step, I learned her tricks and adopted her studying methods, which were a good start in life.

1. Understand What You Need to Succeed at

The first thing Sally taught me is that getting a degree is not just about learning biology, history, English or whatever. It is all about understanding what you want to succeed * what, in fact, the university wants from you and what you will get in return.

Thus, Sally explained me that if you want to save plenty of time for the things you care about rather than doing unnecessary paper work for the university, you need to have a feel for the education market and sell your inspirations. Consequently, it is important to understand what the lecturer wants from you or what the essay marketer is searching for.

In this respect, Sally saw all lecturers as customers that fall in two broad categories. The first category includes teachers who consider lecturing as an unwelcome interruption to their research work. With them, Sally simply pitched her essays so that her opinions appeared more as evidence that she had read and understood the key contributions to the debate, rather as an attempt to pull down the monuments.

However, it was completely different with other teachers, i.e. the second category of teachers who enjoy teaching and discussing new ideas. To make a favourable impression on them, Sally would present her arguments to show that she had done her reading and understood the key concepts. Moreover, she would try to add something more to the issue rather than rake over familiar ground.

Pretty soon I understood that studying is all about working out what is wanted and then delivering it. This tactic never let me down!

2. Delegate Some Job to Others

Sally was a master of shortcuts. *Why should I bother myself with dull research paper topic I*m not interested in when someone else can do 200 times better than me and for me?* That's what she told me two days before the research paper deadline, when everyone was suffering over their research papers and Sally wasn*t even bothered to have a look at it. The very same day Sally ordered her research paper at one of online custom writing services, received it a day later, skim read it, handed it in and got the desired *pass.* I couldn*t believe it!

Surely, in the course of time I understood how unwise it is to spend so much time on a single research paper just for a tick in a register. Ever since then ordering my university papers became a usual practice for my university years. I simply ordered a research in one of the respectable and proven custom writing services and spared myself of boring and time-consuming research.

With custom writing services, I learned to get both: free time and professionally written, plagiarism-free papers that were tailored to my specific needs.

3. Seek Shortcuts

In all university years there was always a long list of humble books that were to be read. Surely, every book on the reading list was out on long loan from the university library within 5 seconds of the list being issued with no way of getting it. Sally found the way out even here.

Collections of selected readings or journal articles could work miracles; for they are excellent sources that often save the bother of reading the original texts. To get the gist of a novel, we would flick through the book, read the introduction, note any summaries, look at diagrams, skim the index and read any conclusions. This way we plucked out what was needed and made our escape.

4. Condense Your Knowledge

So as Sally's hectic lifestyle didn*t slow down even during an examination session, she worked out the proven way to pass any exam with flying colours even when you don*t have much time on your hands.

First, Sally was revising by discarding subject areas she could not face revising. The option was to compile notes and then condense them onto one or two sheets for each subject area, so that to concentrate on them before the exam. Thus, leading up to the exam, she would concentrate on the condensed notes and rely on the memory to drag out the details behind them when the time came.

Second, no matter how serious and difficult the exam was, Sally never practised writing exams questions, although it was recommended by the teachers. She always stressed the importance of being spontaneous and open-minded. Although, it all seemed a little bit crazy, I tried it once, twice, then one more time, and once again * and to the end of my studies at university.

5. Let Your Hair Down

No matter how difficult it was Sally would never miss a party, or some do. She would always hangout with her friends and share regular shop tours. Her studies or job would never outweigh a date with her boyfriend. Sally would never miss a training session in a gym.

In other words, Sally knew how to relax, let her hair down and get filled with energy, positive thinking and never-ending optimism that would drive her further on.

To cut a long story short, my friend Sally is the example number one of how to strike the right balance between working, studying and enjoying yourself. Simply, be a happy student, take what you do seriously and do your best. And, no matter what you do, don*t forget to appreciate every day of your university studies, for it is one of the greatest periods of your life.