Study Tips

Originally Posted by SN1 I have just finished my fourth semester and am 1 semester away from finishing all of my prerequisites. I have a pretty good GPA so I think I can give you some advice. 1. Always stay on top of your material 2. School is your #1 priority. Period 3. NEVER EVER cram 4. Always study for quizzes. They are easy hundreds and will make your life much easier when test comes. 5. Do everything you can to get an A (Extra credit, etc). 6. Never come to a class expecting it will be an easy A. NEVER. 7. Study at least 4-5 days before the test. I like to read over every materials that are going to be tested and then about 2-3 days before, I would do some intense studying. 8. When you don't understand something, ASK for help. You do NOT want to be behind. (I was struggling in physics in the beginning. I utilized every single help possible whether it is office hours, friends, internet, etc.) 9. I never really used flashcards but if it works for you then do it. 10. Go to EVERY SINGLE CLASS( I have never been late or missed a SINGLE class in my entire undergraduate career). 10. Good luck and don't buy any of those books. Everybody's studying ability and habits are different. You just have to find one that works for you.

11. Get to know your teacher on a personal basis, as in they know who YOU are, I found it most of the times when I do this, the teacher tends to like my enthusiasm in the course and in objective material[lab reports and papers] I always score higher than most of my peers. 12. Another thing I found useful is that, unless you are a morning person or can take notes, do NOT ever take an 8AM or earlier class. The same can be said about late afternoon/night classes for some people. I realized I wasn't a morning person in my second semester, so ended up sleeping like twice in my bio2 class while the other days I barely paid attention, but I ended up BARELY making an A[as in i got a 89.95 and my teacher curved for me which is pure luck]. 13. Also for a side note, www.half.com is your friend for books, its cheaper than most places and guarantee to be cheaper than your school.

14. Go to class, take notes if it helps you, or there is stuff the teacher lectures on that isnt in the book. 15. Review the material the teacher covered in the book, underline everything you find important, then write it down into a notebook. Compile your class notes as well if there are extras and differences in what your teacher says vs. the book, because its your teacher who will ultimately make the test. 16. Now that all of your notes are in one notebook, go over the notes paragraph by paragraph, page by page. By go over, i mean really try and understand the information, memorize vocabulary words (sometimes you have no choice at first) and really understand what those words mean. My test for myself is after every page to recite and recreate what I've learned in my head, and if i cant, then i didnt learn the page well enough. After 3-5 pages, its extremely important to stop and rewrite everything you learned in those pages in another notebook, this notebook should only have what your sure you absolutely know. When you've completely rewritten all your notes here, from memory alone, then you're ready for the test. 18. Now reviewing for the test is simple, you just review the notes in your 'what you know' notebook. After all, you already wrote it down from memory, so you know it. If you're forgetful then review it more often. I've found focusing on the conceptual side of things, really understanding the material, helps in remembering it for a long time. 19. And of course, if there are additional methods of practice such as practice problems in the book or from your teacher, do those as well.

19. About attending: You should attend class for all the reasons people said above, like getting the professor to know you, but ALSO because for YOU to get to know the professor. Especially in classes in the sciences there are always more topics than can be tested on test day, so if you attend class and know your professor, you tend to pick up on what he or she thinks is important in a topic. Teach other students: Mastering concepts is being able to take an idea, and being able to make new examples/different ways to look at it AND still be absolutely right. It means your critically thinking, and its fun if you get a good one. Sometimes you realize you have know idea what your doing on a topic, and can actually learn it yourself. Your study buddies love you too. 20. Picking a study group: I only did this for a few classes, and it was really more for moral support at odd hours of the night, but if you choose a group of friends to study, make sure they are not leeching off of you. I mean that, some friends are simply lazy, great people! but lazy... Having friends who don't get things as fast as you is not a bad thing, because they actually want to learn and are trying, and some day they might be better at a class than you. They will no doubt return the favor. 21. Plan studying by content per day, and NOT studying time per day. Figure out in advance how much material will be in a class for the next exam. Evenly distribute the material (to best of your knowledge at the time), over the period of time before T-day. Give yourself days where your doing other work, so this can be on the back burner, but get the content fixed on days. Hit your goals for content without looking at TIME! The point of this is that instead of using time as benchmark for how much you've studied, you use content. This forces you to be efficient, because if you spend 5hours on a chapter because you spend 3hours on facebook, that sucks for you, cause you still have 2 more chapters you planned to do that night. You learn your lesson, quickly. You have to look at those 3 hours on facebook as the time you could of spent relaxing, its gone now so say goodbye... By committing yourself to a schedule you gain endurance as a student, and its rewarding to get it done. WARNING: You tend to get over ambitious some days, and set unreachable goals, by experience you gain how much you can really accomplish. Its good for learning about where your abilities are, and tracking your improvement as a student. 22. Time saving: Travel time! The hours of your life moving from place to place. Shrink it, with a commuter bike, packing food in the morning or night before, planning your errands. This is more micromanage, but I was getting close to 2 extra hours a day from just packing meals and eating on the go, and planning errands to shorten walking time. Never got a commuter cause my campus sucks for bike thieves, but I regret that now. 23.Lastly about notes. That is completely based on the class. Some classes require you to draw graphs and pics, not happening for most on the computer. I used multiple ways to study because it makes everyday a little different even if your actually doing the same thing. Making things are good learning, but time consuming. Usually a last resort.

24.I find it easy if I know the book itself rather than just diving in. For example, I will Chapter 1's title, its headings, subheadings, and the first sentence for each subsection, draft a list of questions I hope to have answered and then read..... 25.I read the summary at the end of the chapter first, then I read...

26.For chem I made flash cards and did practice problems. I did 10-20, depending on the section, everyday. Before a test, I would do the practice problems I didn't do from each section. As for the flash cards, I would go through them a few days before the test. This method worked for me as I pulled an A in both semesters of general chemistry- just to offer some perspective, avg final grades were a C+/B- for both semesters As for physics, I am basically doing the same thing with some minor adjustments since I'm taking physics 1 and 2 right now over the summer. 28. I think for science and math courses (even biology, though it is not a math heavy science, to some extent) practice problems are the best form of studying. Also, I don't think it helps to do loads of problems the night before the test. It is much better to do some everyday and then do problems from all sections the day before the test so the material stays relatively fresh.

29.maintain your study habits and don't wait until the last week before a midterm to study, 2 hrs per 1 hr of lec each day (2 hrs per 1 hr lec is the mininmum), on days with no class review and preview new material.

30.I make outlines and re-read many times. You learn so much making it. I never cram, always work. If you want, make your days 10-6s and take the evenings off. College is about learning how to study.

31.Actually study. Don't zone our or check facebook. I turn my cell phone OFF for the day except for lunch time. I'm not that important. No one will die if they can't reach me until my study time is over. The biggest mistake I see people make is that they 'study' for three hours but really if you discount the time they were on the phone, on facebook, checking email, etc, they really only studied for an hour - and not even a good solid hour, just a few minutes at a time punctuated by another break. 32.When you study, leave your laptop at home. Turn off your cell phone and put it in the bag. Study for the full time that you wanted. If you want to take a break, go to the bathroom and stretch for a minute. DON'T turn on your phone or your laptop because that five minute break will invariably be 30 minutes if you do.

33.Before each semester I make a spread sheet of when my classes are and when I should study, eat, etc. My friends and I pass these around and sinc up meals and free times. Not something I strictly follow, but it lets you see exactly how much time you have in your day once your obligations are taken care of. 34.Get a planner. When you get your sylabi, write everything in that one planner, even appointments. 35.Go to class, and take notes 36.Find a space that you can call your own that is quiet. My space changed every semester, and NOT ONCE has it been the library. It gets over run during finnals. 37.Go to that study space a few times a week (Sunday is the day of the week EVERYONE studys, so you won't miss much, simular with mondays, tuesdays and wednsedays at my school) and review by subject. If you had a lecture, reading assignment, and lab on photosynesis, review them at the same time. 38.Make flashcard, and make them PRETTY!!!!! Mine are multicolored and covered in pictures and jokes. Otherwise I would NEVER look at them! 39.Keep your note cards in your pockets/bag at all times. There is a surprising amount of waiting in college. Waiting in line for food, for class to start, for a friend to show up,etc. Whip out the cards for a review. When you master a card put is aside for test time. If you do your cards well, the night before the test you should be able to go through them twice, each time eleminating the cards you know as you pass through, focusing on the cards you have the most trouble with. The jokes help with the redundancy, and are welcome additions to study groups.