Effective ways to study?

[furcalchick]

Don't take too many classes at once. That's the best way to make sure you do well. I learned that one the hard way. Don't forget that lab classes are a whole extra class too, even if it just shows up as one class on your schedule.

In a single semester I took
1) organic chemistry
2) organic chemistry lab
3) physics 1
4) physics 1 lab
5) micro biology
6) micro biology lab

MISTAKE!!!

I didn't really think about the labs as separate classes because 2 of the 3 labs were included as part of their lecture class in the course selection system. So when looking at my course list it appeared like I was only taking 4 classes instead of 6, so it didn't seem like too heavy a course load when I just looked at the list. So it didn't set off the alarm bells in my head that it should've.

I wound up with an A in physics, an A- in micro lecture, a B in micro lab and a B- in organic chem. So not too horrible, but not nearly up to my personal standards. And it really took a lot out of me and it physically messed up my health so that I ended up having to withdraw from the next semester.

If you're smart you'll heed my advice - err on the side of taking too few classes and having to stay in school a bit longer rather than taking too many classes which would result in poor grades, ill health, and might actually make you stay in school longer anyway.

i'm going to have to agree with this one here, although i did take 18 credit semesters with three science courses a couple times during college (and graduated a semester ahead of my peers). one semester, i had a bit of an episode and was in a bit of a panic after getting the dreaded F in an exam (i ended up with a B in this course, and passed all my classes).

but related to that was that i found a new study technique right after that exam, that was to draw the concepts about a week before exam time and put them on a blank sheet, so it would be a bunch of drawings crammed together, explaining different concepts. got an A next exam and worked for me the last year of college.

most of the time, i just review the notes about 2-3 times a week and it just sinks in eventually. my memory is pretty good, so i typically didn't study the 2 hours per hour lecture that was advised (it was probably closer to 1 hour of study for many courses, but i did squeeze in more study time for other courses, i just studied until the concepts sunk in, vary by mileage). for problem solving stuff, i would work out problems in the back of the book for practice.

other times, i would spew out concepts randomly and try to connect concepts that i learned in class to real life (ex. in botany class, i would try to id the parts of the flower, etc, and what they do while just walking across campus and seeing them). at one point, i actually did a rap on concepts, and it was pretty funny when i was trying to help a classmate understand some concepts.

i hardly used flash cards though, i found those mostly a waste of time, expect for right before the exam (1-2 hours before) to brush up on a few things, as i need time to really sink the info in, not whip by it when i'm trying to learn it. these are mostly to see mastery of skill.

 

[Mac One]

I have found the best way to study is start really early and do small sessions at a time. This will mean that you won't be stressed out when your exams come around, which is really important. As other people have mentioned make sure you relax beforehand - don't study - and get to the exam room in plenty of time.
- In saying this I am hardly ever motivated to do this, but when I am it works a treat!

 

[tkepongo]

always try your best to study during the day between classes. i work in an office so i study alot there, go to class, and then the library. i was literally 3 weeks ahead in my political science class. so i had time to get wasted every thursday

 

[swampfox]

Take notes, then when you get home, type them up so you can read them. At least thats what I try to do.

 

[Marble]

I condense my notes to a single page per class per semester. These pages usually look like flow charts and are easier to conjure up in memory during an exam than the pages and pages of material I've taken down during lectures. Since all of my later exams were the sort that ask you to articulate a point of view on a subject, I found it was best to have strong, creative opinions about the literature and a favorite thesis. No matter what sort of questions you get asked, you can usually bend it to a subject that interests you more.

I'm a lot less skilled at dealing with classes where the profs expect a specific answer from their questions. I think I must have come across as a fair smartass when I included personal anecdotes in my definition of the Turing Test, for example.

 

[angelneo]

My college days was a haze, I usually hate memorizing and exams are my ban, I would try to rake in as much credit for my course work or projects. I usually manage a average or B grade for my modules. My best modules are usually those that requires logic and understanding rather than memory. The best way I study is the understand the material because if I rely on my memory, I would be dead.

 

[queshy]

For math, I would just do examples. Calculus is very repetitive...once you can do one integral you can do all of them! It's mostly algebra, anyway. I wouldn't sit down and stare at the formulae...instead I would just do as many examples as possible and eventually I would just know them. The same thing goes for, say, the IR spectra in Orgo.

Biology - reading and writing! I wouldn't take notes in class, I listened instead. Then I would read the textbook (Campbell is a super good book, so clear!). Once I understood the material, I would go through it again, writing everything down. Then again, etc. Reading and writing is the way to go!

For chemistry...just practice I guess (particularly synthesis and mechanisms).

 

[simontarr]

I guess I'm lucky, but I find that I just remember what I read/what I'm told by lecturers. I do try to revise before exams and stuff, but I either know it or I don't. It's weird, don't know how to explain it, I just remember most things I'm told.

The funny thing is, I'm useless at remembering peoples birthdays, and "real life" stuff like that.

 

[furious]

The way I study depends on the subject:

1. Math and Physics:

Do all the problems from every assignment, old tests, old exams, etc. You'll learn about the material while attempting to do the question. You'll end up reading your textbook, but without actually sitting down and reading continuously.


2. Other classes:

Read, highlight, and write everything down on a piece of paper, but try to reword it. Then try to explain it to yourself again later (on paper).

This is similar to my system. Never been much of a student. Get mostly P and C's.