Your website is fantastic for students who want to excel in college and in medical school, dental school, vet school, or any other academic environment (including high school!). As Director of a university learning center I encounter students every day who are bright and motivated, but who do not know how to study because they've never HAD to study before. Having a specific 12 step plan for mastering material is exactly what these students need. I've seen many students improve their performance from failing to making A's within one or two weeks of implementing a study plan. Your plan is guaranteed to get similar results! Your website is a must for any student who wants to excel in their courses not by memorizing and regurgitating material on the exams, but by learning and mastering concepts. You've made a significant contribution to the academic community!
Saundra Yancy McGuire, Ph.D.,
Director, Center for Academic Success
Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemistry
Louisiana State University
As a first year medical student at Howard University College of Medicine, I found the web site, Dr. Bloch’s 12 Steps for Academic Success immensely helpful. There were several helpful suggestions about how to schedule my study time, and how to prepare for exams. The web site is a practical guide that helped me achieve academic success in my medical school curriculum courses. The web site includes many different aspects of what is required to be successful, and was comprehensive plan that really helped me to improve and focus my study skills. I am certain that my success as a first year medical student was a product of the suggestions and advice offered on the web site. I would recommend that all first year medical students visit the web site, because it is a 12 step study plan that really yields results.
C. Gill
First Year Medical Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Class of 2010
As a PhD student, I found the web site, Dr. Bloch’s 12 Steps for Academic Success quite helpful. I found the step that gives advice how to handle challenges in real life involvement very practical and helpful. The website also gives a clue how to easily read and understand technical journals. I found this step very useful for my PhD work since I have to read many scientific papers. As a result of that step, I can easily screen journals that are relevant to my research and understand them better. I would recommend that all researchers should follow that step on the website to review numerous publications that are important to their areas of interest.
E. Ephraim
Free University of Berlin
Berlin
Dr. Bloch’s 12-Step Program for Academic Success is a “must-read” for college students. Dr. Bloch clearly demonstrates that if students want to take control of their learning, they have to prioritize, get organized, be efficient, and make it an obligation to succeed in school. Each step builds upon the last to create a program that takes discipline, but will undoubtedly make learning more enjoyable because you will feel more in control. Dr. Bloch encourages students and makes them realize that any task is accomplishable. His program is creative yet systematic in order to help students manage a large workload, without becoming overwhelmed. Not only does Dr. Bloch offer advice, he also gives proven strategies that he has used in his own classrooms. He stresses the value of group work but also individual responsibilities. I graduated from college without mastering how to study the most effectively and too often became overwhelmed. I am so grateful that Dr. Bloch has shared his expertise. I will definitely take his techniques with me to medical school. Dr. Bloch’s 12-Step program should be required reading for all college students.
M. Hall
Pre-Med Student
Georgetown University
Class of 2006
I am a third year graduate student at Howard University College of Medicine, I found the web site, Dr. Bloch's 12 Steps for Academic Success to be very helpful in preparing for my qualifying examinations as well as preparing for my proposal defense. The suggestions on how to schedule my study time, and exam preparations are very helpful. The web site is practical and very user friendly and include many different aspects of what is required to be successful. I would recommend the twelve step plan to my fellow classmates and other graduate students. Thank you Dr Bloch.
A. Foster
Third Year PhD Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Class of 2008
The website was recommended to me by a woman who was a former student of Dr. Bloch. As a freshman in engineering, I found it difficult to organize my study. I wasn’t at all used to putting so much time into studying. The 12 step program helped put things in perspective for me. I realized that to be successful in college would not only require a lot more hours spent studying, but that I would have to use my study time wisely if I was to succeed. I didn’t use all of the steps listed in the 12 step plan. I found the steps describing establishing a study schedule, using tables for effective study and setting up a study group were the most beneficial for me. I think this is a great guide for students in any discipline – not just medical students. Thank you, Dr. Bloch
Freshman engineering student
Georgia Tech
As a senior undergraduate student in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences program at Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center, I have put Dr. Bloch's 12 Steps for Academic Success into use in my daily study routine and have found it to yield excellent results. Providing a focused, strategic plan to studying for any class, these steps ensure that no time is wasted and all topics are allotted enough time to be covered. I have found that having a plan leaves little room for procrastination and is actually a main motivator in my study efforts. I have recommended this website to many of my classmates and will continue to do so as we have all seen improvement in our studies. Thank you Dr. Bloch!
D. Bryan
4th year Undergraduate Student
Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center
Class of 2007
Your 12 Step Guide to Academic Success is yet another gift to students from a great teacher whose first concern is for students to learn how to learn. It is a "how to" guide that addresses classic student weaknesses from preparing a study guide to reading technical journals. Appropriately, the 12th Step is a review of "The Big Picture," which reminds students why they are wise to be investing their time and resources in higher education. Those who follow your Guide will find they are so well organized that studying becomes a pleasure. Best yet, the study and organizational skill acquired from your Guide will greatly enhance success in a chosen career.
H. Belton
McLean, VA
Dr. Bloch, a former professor of mine is not selling anything, he is GIVING away vital information to reduce the student's frustration. I have just completed the second year of a very demanding medical curriculum. Fortunately, I followed a number of the 12 steps which contributed to my success in my sophomore year. I have seen a number of sites that provide suggestions for success. However, I find the steps in Dr. Bloch’s study guide to be logical and easy to follow. After studying the guide in detail I guarantee that you will be very successful. My mother always says that when you can pull off something that few other people can, you have something good. Thanks, Dr. Bloch for your 12 steps for academic success.
A. Clark, M.D. Candidate for 2009
Rising 3rd year medical student
Howard University College of Medicine
As a graduate student, there is an expectation that effective study skills are necessary in order to be successful. However, no one shows you how to study, which can be extremely frustrating. I found Dr. Bloch’s 12 Steps for Academic Success website to be a useful tool. It was very user friendly and the information was straight to the point. I was able to go through it---all, in a 15-20 minute seating. Although the website was geared mostly towards science majors, as a law student, I found the information invaluable. The skills taught are transferable to any field of study. I appreciated the tips from "How to Use a Clock to Test Yourself Under Examination Conditions" when preparing for my essay final exams. I have shared the website with my friends and encourage you to use it as well.
D. Jolibois
1st year law school
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
I was first exposed to the 12-Step study plan early in my first year of medical school, I regret not utilizing its profound study techniques. Perhaps like most students, I believed my brute-force, wait-to-the-last-minute undergrad methods will still work. I was emphatically wrong. When I adopted the plan, I was especially attracted to the 4th step, because the scenario presented described me. I revamped my schedule by first grouping my lectures into Auditory, Vision, Oral Cavity etc Then I alternated the time allotted to each block. This method was so effective for me, in terms of keeping my attention and allowing me to effectively cover my material, that I transitioned from an unsatisfactory status to honoring some of my exams! I am still working on my time-management, but with the 4th-step, I never had a dull moment and it works!
N. Egu-Okoronkwo
MS II
Howard University College of Medicine
