Realize that chemistry is a subject that requires your time and your work to do well. Study chemistry every day. Yes, I mean every day. A daily 10 min. review of vocabulary words and main ideas will do wonders.

Believe that you CAN do this! You may need to spend time working at it. A knowledge of chemistry is not innate--you aren't born with it. As with anything new, practice is necessary.

Treat chemistry like a puzzle, a challenge, a game--not a chore. Learning chemistry is like learning to see through new eyes. There is something interesting in every lesson; you may need to learn how to see it that way.

Remember that it is your responsibility to learn, it's not your teacher's job.

Do the assigned reading before class! This way you will be familiar with some of the new terms that may bury you otherwise.

TAKE DAILY NOTES, recording any worked examples or diagrams put on the board or overhead. Get in the habit of writing down questions the teacher asks in class--if the question is asked once, it may well be asked again. Don't write down every word during lectures. Do write down main ideas, but go back and fill in the details. Concept mapping may help. DO write down assignments in a daily planner or assignment book so you have no surprises. Complete journal activities as a review aid.

Review/revise your notes after each class, preferably the same night [before you forget too much!]. IMPORTANT: write down any questions you still have over the material. Either ask these questions of your classmates, ask in class or e-mail the teacher. This helps everybody!

Keep up with all of the reading. Read assigned material before class and skim or read it again after class to fill in the blanks of your notes [hint]. Don't wait until the night before the test to take your FIRST look at the textbook!!!

Begin homework the night it is assigned [if possible]. Chances are much better you'll remember what you are supposed to do at that time than if you waited until the day before the homework is due.
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Be prepared for class. Do the reading and the homework BEFORE the assignment is due! Bring your book, notebook, writing utensil and your brain to class each day!

Make a running list of new vocabulary words and keep it with your notes. If you don't know the words, it will be very hard to grasp the concepts and next to impossible to figure out what the problems are asking.

Identify anything that should be committed to memory and make flash cards [if this works for you]. Practice, practice, practice!

Work lots of problems. Try a few each day. Do as many problems as you can, not just the assigned or suggested problems. [yes, even if they aren't going to be graded!] The more problems you do, the better you will understand the concepts & how to apply them.

When you get stuck [and you will] DON'T PANIC! Review your notes, especially any worked examples copied from class [hint], reread your text, THINK about what you are trying to do and try again. Check your units.

Getting the 'right answer' is not the main point of working chemistry problems. It is more important to focus on concepts and developing thought processes.

If you are REALLY stuck, put down the book and work on something else. Your subconscious mind will continue to work on the problem in the background. Ask for help after carefully reviewing what you did so far. TRY AGAIN LATER!!!

Form a study group. Ask them for suggestions. Ask other members of your team. Try to figure out what you got wrong on a quiz as well as review what you got right.

Check the web. First visit your class website for possible sources. Many good sources have been already selected for your use. There is no one right way to learn chemistry and these alternate visions may be just what you need.

Come in for extra help. Come in for help WAAAAY before a test, so that you have a really good idea what is going on and can get a good understanding of the topic at hand. Don't be embarrassed or afraid to ask for help. We all need help sometimes.

Think about what the problem is describing at the molecular level if necessary. Draw what you think is going on. Chemistry is also a way of thinking--if you don't think "molecularly" it's hard to talk "molecularly"
Thanks to http://web.chem.ucla.edu/~harding/2syl.html for some of these hints