College learning often involves new information that is counter-intuitive or contrary to what you believed before. This conflict between old and new ideas tends to have one of three consequences. First, there is a tendency to distort the new ideas in such a way as to make them somehow fit with the old ideas. This consequence is that you never really understand the new idea. Alternatively, your mind may simply reject the new idea and you never really learn it at all. Finally, you may succeed in learning the new idea, but it is easily forgotten and your memory reverts to the old idea. None of these consequences is conducive to success in college. Unfortunately, there is no foolproof antidote to the primacy principle. Early learning is extremely resistant to change. But if you are aware of that fact, you can take precautions to minimize its effect. Whenever you realize that something is contrary to what you thought before, make extra effort to see how the ideas are different. Realize that you may not fully understand the new idea yet. Then try to keep the ideas separate. Eventually, as more and more new ideas come along, you will have that "aha" experience of finally getting the point. But you will always have to be ready to recognize your old ideas when they recur.