First I want to say that it may take you some time in order to figure out YOUR PERSONAL best way to be successful in school
It took me about 2 years of my college career to really figure out what worked best for me! Here are my tips:
1) Make sure you are staying balanced outside of school and are managing stress appropriately! Exercise, hang out with friends, get enough sleep, DO NOT PULL ALL NIGHTERS (just totally and completely not worth is), eat healthy, and do things you enjoy! I think this is my best and most important tip! When I started implementing these things into my life school became so so so SO SO SO SO easy!
2) Before I even started school I would look at each syllabus and get an understanding of what to expect from each and every class! I would also use a planner and record all important dates of tests, projects, and assignments (each class would be written in a different color!) ***I recommend using a planner where you can see a month at a time...it helped me to look at a month collectively so I could see the big picture!
3) On the fist day of classes I would seek out a student, if I did not have a friend in the class, and get their email and number! Just in case I needed to find out some information in DESPERATION! On the first day I would also record on a single piece of paper the office hours of each professor and their contact information!
4) Each class has its own challenges therefore your approach to each class is going to be a bit different. IT IS IMPORTANT YOU UNDERSTAND THIS. You can't apply one class method to another class and expect it to work.
5)
UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS RATHER THAN MEMORIZE! If you understand something you never have to cram and memorize lists of crap!
6) Just because you study for hours upon hours does not mean you are entitled to an A or a good grade in a class! It requires much much more than that!
7) CONFIDENCE is KEY! I noticed if I felt confident going into my exams I truly did better! So study for confidence
8) Surround yourself with smarter people than yourself and find other students who are good study-ers! I had three main people I studied with through the entirety of college. We would talk though concepts and repeat things back to one another. If my partner did not completely understand a concept, later in the study session I would make her repeat it back to me again.
9) If you are a visual learner, I highly recommend making flow charts for science concepts! Organize your notes in a way that best serves you!!!!!! If powerpoints don't work, rewrite them in chart format.
10) Reach beyond class resources for help! When I took biochemistry my teacher TOTALLY SUCKED!!!!!! I heard about a grad student biochem teacher who was awesome so I decided to reach out to him.... he had no clue who I was but he ended up doing a tutoring session with me before each exam for free! He was so nice and I never would have gotten that opportunity or that A in biochem if I wouldn't have reached out beyond my comfort zone! THINK OUT OF THE BOX!!!
11) Teach other people things in order to solidify concepts for yourself!
12) Find a good study spot
That's all I have for now! But seriously this is such an individual process! Be patient with yourself
TRIAL AND ERROR!!! I had my methods down so well to where I was working two jobs, was volunteering, was involved in on campus activities, and was taking 22 units of science! It is possible! You will find your way!