Falling into old habits

[oonasna1]

Hey guys

I'm starting to think maybe taking chem and physics while working part time was bad idea. I'm also going to be taking my EMT final in April .I'm retaking pre-reqs after i graduated from my old school. I'm trying to study both but i take hours to cover a single chapter. how can i cover more material without missing important points. I'm doing a postbac program and i don't want to waste anymore time and money. I appreciate all healthy and constructive criticism

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[MrLogan13]

If you're pressed for time then focus only on what you need for your exams.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

Why does it take hours to cover a single chapter?

 

[Just Call Me Doc]

I'm not sure of the specifics of your study methodology but I am inclined to think that you (like many I've seen) are trying to memorize everything in the chapter in one go. For some with eidetic memories that may work, but for many it is usually not the most efficient way to study. The method that works well for me is before a lecture I will skim the chapter(s) that will be covered. Basically I just want to be able to think "hey, I've seen that word somewhere" if it comes up in lecture. Sometime after the lecture I will then do a somewhat more in-depth reading of the chapter. The point isn't to memorize every single word but to just get the majority of the concepts and the terms. Doing problem sets, exercises, labs, etc... will then help to reinforce these concepts and let you know if there are areas you need to brush up on. Finally, before an exam quickly review the chapter one last time. This is mostly just to catch any areas that you might not have as firm of a grasp as you would like. The general pattern each day will be to skim the material for the next lecture and then a more in-depth study of the material from the previous lecture.

How much time you'll save depends on how fast you read versus how long you're spending trying to memorize everything. Studying this way may take as much time as trying to memorize a chapter in one pass, but your recollection and understanding should be MUCH better.

This is just what works for me. If you're already doing something similar then please disregard.