Five Before College

Asalaam alaykum!

First of all, I want to congratulate you for taking the step to learn more about how you can study better, not longer.

This is the first move towards reducing your anxiety, managing assignment-related stress, and mastering great strategies that will help you get the results you desire in and outside of school.

With a proper plan under your belt, your work sessions will feel less strained and more productive, leaving you time for extracurriculars and other hobbies you wish to pursue.

I have been a classroom teacher for more than 20 years, and I observed that most students have never really learned how to learn. 

I founded Five Before College to help Muslim high schoolers and their families gain access to top-quality information and advice on applying to college, but also more importantly, to help Muslim students succeed in the classroom, in the dunya, and in the akhira, insha'Allah.

This class will help you do that.

As Muslims, we don't realize the advantage we have when we study. Barakah descends through obedience to Allah, acts of worship that are easy to perform, and making good use of our time: things that we don't always capitalize on.

So I want to start off by sharing five of the secrets I've learned that can help Muslim students succeed beyond anyone's expectations.

Secret #1: Bismillah

The first secret to succeeding in your studies is simple. To be more productive and achieve more in less time, you need to start with the best of intentions and start the rain of Barakah upon your shoulders. 

You often have hours of homework every night, but taking a simple one second step of saying a sincere Bismillah can start you off on the right foot and set you up for success. 

Secret #2: Time & Space Organization

One of the biggest keys to unlocking Barakah in your studies is preparing your study space and allotting appropriate amounts of time to do your work.

It is all about time. 

If you talk to top students around the country, they all have one thing in common: they are hawks when it comes to their study spaces, allocating not just one nest, but several that they can make all their own. 

Secret #3: You Can Enjoy Studying

There are a lot of misconceptions about how to study. There’s a lot of uncertainty, a lot of anxiety, a lot of pressure. 

Some of that is natural.

But a little goes a long way.

The truth is that a lot of the stress and difficulty of studying can be avoided  by remembering one thing.

You are not in control of the results.

We say la ilaha illa Allah all the time, but we forget what this really means. We have to negate everything except Allah and recognize that He is in control of the outcome of our actions.

Of course, we need to put in the effort and hit the books. But, as one of spiritual mentors used to say, "Do your best, and surrender the rest."

This mindset relieves us of the enormous burden when we believe we are responsible for our own success. 

And, believe it or not, it can actually make studying fun again. When we study to learn and understand instead of just to ace the test, we rekindle the childlike joy of learning. 

Yes, you heard that right.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY START TO ENJOY STUDYING!

Secret #4: Manage Stress

The desire to succeed and attend elite universities is greater than ever and students are destroying themselves in search of perfect grades. 

As Muslims, we know that God's decree encompasses everything. When we remember this, and also look to Him for help, studying can actually be a less anxiety-ridden experience.

I always encourage my students to shift their mindset to one where studying is about growth and learning. 

What this class will teach you inshAllah is that you can work less and still achieve the same success or better by having a more informed plan of action for study time and always correcting your niyya. When you merge Islamic wisdom with modern study techniques, the sky is the limit!

Secret #5: Fall in Love with Tech!

ChatGPT is a forbidden word to say in many schools, but it can be one of the best studying tools at your disposal.

As with all study skills, learning to harness AI and best utilize the numerous websites to your advantage is one of the keys to academic success today. It will improve your study time and skills, helping you to gain the ultimate results: exceptional grades in less time. 

AI will help you to succeed, but not in a nefarious way.

My goal is to help you achieve all of these things. 

The Five Before College Barakah Boosted Study Skills class is designed to give you an inside understanding of the studying process. This is a unique chance for students to learn how infusing your academic pursuits with Barakah can lead to not just better grades, but a more fulfilling and balanced approach to education and life. Over six weeks, I'll walk you through strategies to help you organize and master your study sessions.

Here's how the class will go:

Week 1 

An introduction to the course and welcoming Imam Zaid to speak about this life-changing experience as a student in Damascus, Syria. Imam Zaid will expand on his particular study practices as well as those that worked best for him as a student of Deen and elaborate on his teachers' backgrounds and methods.

Week 2

Answer the important question: How do I study less, but achieve more? We'll delve into why Barakah in your time is important and how it can increase your productivity. You'll explore how you currently use your time to study and what can be improved, how to create the proper mindset, and what it means to be a relaxed superstar.

Week 3 

Conquer time management, organization and planning and answer the questions how, what, and where to study? You'll be introduced to a variety of ways to plan your time, organize your space, limit distractions and bring the Sunnah into your study time.

Week 4 

After setting up your study space and understanding how best to use your time, you'll now dive into actual study methods to help you learn in a shorter amount of time. You'll be exposed to a plethora of strategies to choose from, and gain an understanding of how and when to use them. You'll also see the ways that du'a and the Sunnah can play a role in your studying practices as well. 

Week 5 

If anxiety and stress is your Achilles heel, this week will aim to give you a variety of coping mechanisms to limit and insha'Allah climate stress from your school life, from homework overwhelm to test anxiety. You will also be introduced to the value of Muraqabah and the process of using du'a to ease stress and anxiety.

Week 6

Leverage the power of AI by grasping how to successfully prompt on ChatGPT. Acquire knowledge about other tech tools available to assist you in your studies and how to use them effectively as well as in learning of the Qur'an and Deen.

Remember, you don't have to put in long hours of studying to achieve success, leaving little room for extracurriculars or free time to explore your interests.

You can study less, get the grades you desire, and have free time!

You can find out more details below.

Bismillah.