How do I become a Curve Destroyer?

[Oncie]

I feel clumsy, inefficient, and inept. I make a big deal out of studying. I'll probably sit for hours staring at physiology slides or a genetics textbook unable to garner much other than a few key points. Even watching YouTube videos, my attention lacks at times as I may zone out or feel the need to repeat the previous seconds of the video with the idea of telling myself I may have missed some good points.

I carry around a whole ton of books and highlighters and pens and pencils like I'm some kind of superhero geek at studying. I've got this schedule on excel that I regularly edit and plan out every stupid daily event to the minute detail like I'm the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

But then I meet guys who take several upper-level chemistry or engineering classes a semester, make a 4.0, and don't say a word about it. There's a computer engineer I play soccer with taking taking 21 credits while somehow working a job and maintains his relationships with his networks. I see guys in the back of the lecture halls who don't write down squat and make perfect scores on the exams. Another in my physiology class has been on his senior slide having gotten into Johns Hopkins, doesn't write anything and instead browses reddit but somehow manages to score a 98 on the exams while I'm stuck in the average pile -- how'd you study I'd ask him, "I just looked over the slides lol" he says sheepishly.

Meanwhile, I'm in the front row trying to copy down every word I hear in 7 different colors, like some silly 8th grade nerd. I meet guys in the library who only carry around a 20 cent notebook and a #2 pencil, but can legitimately focus on their biochem textbooks for several hours straight. They can somehow start studying the previous night before an exam and still make that A.

How do I get into this ice-cold mentality of efficiency, concentration, and dedication to the craft?

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[Aerus]

You need to find a way that works for you. I can't learn while taking notes in class or doing all that "color-coded" outlining either. I prefer a less structured way of learning with maybe a little pressure (ahem procrastination). Maybe you have a different way of learning that suits you better too.

 

[allantois]

If one thing doesn't work, try a different studying method. Make mental notes of what helps you in any way and what doesn't.
I for once found out that it doesn't matter whether I take notes in class or not (I used to meticulously take notes that I never referred to) so now I just give all of my attention to the professor and try to mentally engage with the material (relating new concepts with the old ones) while in class. For many people, studying in groups works well, so you can try that to get a new perspective.

 

[Yoseph101]

Meanwhile, I'm in the front row trying to copy down every word I hear in 7 different colors, like some silly 8th grade nerd. I meet guys in the library who only carry around a 20 cent notebook and a #2 pencil, but can legitimately focus on their biochem textbooks for several hours straight. They can somehow start studying the previous night before an exam and still make that A.

How do I get into this ice-cold mentality of efficiency, concentration, and dedication to the craft?

Lecture is an absolutely horrific way to learn any subject (IMHO): inefficiently conveyed, no feedback, generally no ways to check your understanding. Stop writing everything down. Do you think your professors actually remember anything that they say during class? Most likely (90% of the time, though there are exceptions) they just go back through the slides and write the questions based on that information. Performing at high level usually just means converting the material into a set of questions and testing yourself with it repeatedly, over time.

Also OP, it's okay to admire but don't compare yourself to others, that's just a recipe for constant dissatisfaction.

 

[deleted577188]

I became that 20 cent notebook and Huntington pen guy this year (just finished sophomore year). It works for me because less fancy = more focus. I personally don't highlight or color code because if the lecturer says it, it's all equally important. Also, don't cram BCPM courses. Know what's going on well enough to teach it. If you feel like you scored anything less than a standard deviation above average after you take exams, something you did wasn't efficient or didn't work.

 

[Lord Boko]

Meanwhile, I'm in the front row trying to copy down every word I hear in 7 different colors, like some silly 8th grade nerd. I meet guys in the library who only carry around a 20 cent notebook and a #2 pencil, but can legitimately focus on their biochem textbooks for several hours straight. They can somehow start studying the previous night before an exam and still make that A.

How do I get into this ice-cold mentality of efficiency, concentration, and dedication to the craft?

 

[efle]

Sometimes, no study method or amount of effort will close the gap. Do the best you can and stop comparing yourself to the curve-setters.

 

[625233]

Sometimes, no study method or amount of effort will close the gap. Do the best you can and stop comparing yourself to the curve-setters.

That may be true, but I feel as though once you've accepted that, you set in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy that spills over into everything else.

 

[Long Way to Go]

I don't know how exaggerated your writing style was for this, but maybe stopping thinking about study in a mentality that allows you to use words like "ice-cold mentality of efficiency, concentration, and dedication to the craft" or "curve destroyer" might be helpful

 

[Gurby]

Meanwhile, I'm in the front row trying to copy down every word I hear in 7 different colors, like some silly 8th grade nerd.

95% of the time, people who do this are mediocre students. You're spending so much mental energy copying things down, and not enough on trying to actually understand what's going on.

One of my favorite examples of this was during one of my paramedic classes, the teacher wrote something on the board to the effect of, "drowning - suffocation due to being underwater". I remember looking around at all the people furiously copying down notes, and probably 3/4 of the class wrote this down. To me, that showed their brains were not engaged - like, really, did you really need to write that down? Re-examine what your goals are when you take notes.

 

[puglet]

Sometimes, no study method or amount of effort will close the gap. Do the best you can and stop comparing yourself to the curve-setters.

That may be true, but I feel as though once you've accepted that, you set in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy that spills over into everything else.

The point efle was making isn't that the OP should be defeatist. The point is that OP should stop comparing him/herself to the curve-setters and focus on what will make his/her scores rise. Comparing oneself to others isn't going to make anyone happy or set them up for success. There is a reason Theodore Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy."

For example, "Jenny" might get consistent 100's on all of her exams without any studying and I might not be able to do that, but I can still work hard and do my best to make my study habits more efficient. If my scores move from consistent 80's to consistent 90's then that's a pretty big improvement, but if I'm always comparing myself to Jenny then I'm probably going to be unsatisfied with this and potentially undermine my own progress.

People like OP need to compare their current and past efforts to their future efforts in order to figure out what works for them in terms of studying and retaining information. Focus on yourself and make small changes at a time.

 

[Mavs88]

Best advice I can give is to forget what everyone else is doing or making. All that matters is you.

 

[ZedsDed]

This. I've only met one student in my life who fit this description. He is an MD/PhD at an Ivy League

 

[northernlights15]

I envy students with a strong work ethic who can absorb just about anything on a first attempt.

 

[Ad2b]

I've got this schedule on excel that I regularly edit and plan out every stupid daily event to the minute detail like I'm the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

1. The CEO of Goldman Sachs has an administrative assistant that plans his every day life to the nth degree, and then tells him where he should be, at what time, with whom and then preps him by having his files ready to go.

2. That same CEO of GS focuses on strategy and understanding of the meetings he is about to go into whether board or staff levels.

I am not the CEO of GS

So what can you take from this? Too much time spent in detail that does not matter. It is good to have the finer points of your day laid out (I use Excel too as a GUIDE of what I need to get done that day).

However, as point #2 says: focus on understanding and strategy.

I like what someone said above about being able to teach the material - if you can, you know it. If you can't explain it to someone outside of science class, then you need to learn it better.

Last, like everyone else - quit focusing on what everyone else says they are doing and getting good grades. It's not time well spent now and won't be in medical school.

 

[Styrene]

Don't take notes and never use highlighters. These have been proved ineffective.

 

[Lawpy]

The Hopkins guy who just looked over the slides has the best study plan to smash those exams.

Don't take notes and never use highlighters. These have been proved ineffective.

Definitely agree with this.

 

[kraskadva]

Hi. Here's 0.02 from a "curve destroyer".

I feel clumsy, inefficient, and inept. I make a big deal out of studying. I'll probably sit for hours staring at physiology slides or a genetics textbook unable to garner much other than a few key points. Even watching YouTube videos, my attention lacks at times as I may zone out or feel the need to repeat the previous seconds of the video with the idea of telling myself I may have missed some good points.

Do you find yourself completely unable to focus sometimes, while other times you hyperfocus and don't notice time flying by? Have you been tested for ADD/ADHD? Because that's what this sounds like to me (in my non-diagnostic, but ADD-having, opinion).
Contact your schools learning center, they should be able to test you (or send you for testing) for ADD and also for learning styles. If it's not ADD, you may simply not be catering to your particular learning style, and so not absorbing information efficiently.

I carry around a whole ton of books and highlighters and pens and pencils like I'm some kind of superhero geek at studying. I've got this schedule on excel that I regularly edit and plan out every stupid daily event to the minute detail like I'm the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

This sounds like a waste of time (the scheduling). And a way to sprain your back (the books).
Read the relevant sections of the books the night before, then leave them at home. If you're hearing something in lecture for the second or third time, it'll stick better than if it's your first exposure to the concept.
Stop scheduling every minute and maybe just go with a general agenda for the day and reshuffle as needed. Keep a running to-do list. If you find yourself spacing out on one project, switch to another for a while, so you stay productive overall.
And as for taking notes, print out the PPTs beforehand if they're available to you and take notes on the slides. Use one pen, don't distract yourself with a fist full of colors that you're changing out every 10 seconds instead of paying attention to the class.

But then I meet guys who take several upper-level chemistry or engineering classes a semester, make a 4.0, and don't say a word about it. There's a computer engineer I play soccer with taking taking 21 credits while somehow working a job and maintains his relationships with his networks. I see guys in the back of the lecture halls who don't write down squat and make perfect scores on the exams. Another in my physiology class has been on his senior slide having gotten into Johns Hopkins, doesn't write anything and instead browses reddit but somehow manages to score a 98 on the exams while I'm stuck in the average pile -- how'd you study I'd ask him, "I just looked over the slides lol" he says sheepishly.

Meanwhile, I'm in the front row trying to copy down every word I hear in 7 different colors, like some silly 8th grade nerd. I meet guys in the library who only carry around a 20 cent notebook and a #2 pencil, but can legitimately focus on their biochem textbooks for several hours straight. They can somehow start studying the previous night before an exam and still make that A.

One, stop comparing yourself to others. There will always be someone better and worse than you at something. Just do you.
Two, these people (myself included), whether they realize it or not, are not starting to study the night before the test. They have been studying the entire time. These are the people who do absorb and retain that information from lecture, or just reading the book, and commit it to long-term memory from the get-go. That night-before session? That's just review. If you're an auditory or visual learner (which it sounds like you're not) than lecture is studying.
You need to find out what works for you as a primary method of absorbing info, not worry about what works for other people. Try different methods (flashcards, mad amounts of practice problems, rewriting/condensing your notes, making up silly songs or dirty mnemonics to commit info to memory, etc.) and go see your school's learning center, they can help with this.

How do I get into this ice-cold mentality of efficiency, concentration, and dedication to the craft?

Start by being more self-aware of what gets stuff into your brain, instead of blindly trying to copy what works for others but obviously doesn't help you.
And use your long term memory, don't cram and dump. Science classes build on each other as you move up, so if you're wasting time relearning the same info every semester, then you won't have time to learn the new material.
And if you don't understand something after reading and lecture and googling, then go to office hours or the school's tutoring service. In fact, go regularly, like at least once a week, not just the week before an exam. Ask all the questions, even the ones you think might be dumb. Until you figure out how to do efficient for you, you'll need all the extra help you can get.

 

[efle]

That may be true, but I feel as though once you've accepted that, you set in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy that spills over into everything else.

Depends. If you're giving 100% and falling short of an A, far better to be content with slightly less-than-the-best than to have an identity crisis over it. The trick is to be content with <A and still continue giving 100%.

 

[northernlights15]

4.0 kids, how do you do it?

 

[efle]

4.0 kids, how do you do it?

Answer varies greatly by the class in question. A in Ochem? Have better critical thinking skills than your peers, since everyone will have studied/memorized to the max. Philosophy? Strong writing skills and a discussion with the prof about your ideas before putting them on paper. Psych/socio? Memorize the **** out of everything. And so on

 

[Glandzburg]

Instead of staring at lecture slides and trying to force the info into my brain like that, I like to rewrite the notes in my own words in a concise outline format. Putting it in your own words makes you think about what is actually being said, and physically writing it down helps to make it stick. This strategy has worked beautifully for me, especially with my tendency to procrastinate.

 

[cloudmurder1]

4.0 kids, how do you do it?

We freshman keep it for 2 semrsters then lose it in the future

 

[youmed]

One strategy that I am really glad I figured out before graduating is to never write notes from powerpoint slides onto a paper. I started this transferring of notes early in my college days and I found myself constantly regretting that I wasted so much time transferring what was already on the powerpoint slides onto a notebook or a piece of paper. What I found most useful for me was to do multiple passes through the slides with the time you would spend transferring notes.

 

[northernlights15]

Rewriting notes has been proven effective for many people!

 

[NeuResurgens]

Just reading straight information can get kind of dense and it makes you lose focus. You could try rewriting notes from the dense material, stopping periodically to really think about what you read and then write the important information you need to get from that section.

As far as being a curve destroyer, it's a mix of finding the sweet spot for your study habits and having a natural affinity for the material.

 

[puglet]

One strategy that I am really glad I figured out before graduating is to never write notes from powerpoint slides onto a paper. I started this transferring of notes early in my college days and I found myself constantly regretting that I wasted so much time transferring what was already on the powerpoint slides onto a notebook or a piece of paper. What I found most useful for me was to do multiple passes through the slides with the time you would spend transferring notes.

I'm really glad you found what works for you, but OP should also keep in mind that rewriting and rephrasing notes into one's own words is an active learning strategy that many people find do find effective. It's similar to being able to explain a concept to someone and it can be quite helpful for helping people remember things down the line. Talking through lecture notes on can work just as well for someone who is more auditory-inclined.

I think the key to studying effectively is to find active learning methods that work for the individual. Passive learning is what tends to be low-yield for most people and therefore contributes to time spent studying but not effectively learning the material.

Instead of staring at lecture slides and trying to force the info into my brain like that, I like to rewrite the notes in my own words in a concise outline format. Putting it in your own words makes you think about what is actually being said, and physically writing it down helps to make it stick. This strategy has worked beautifully for me, especially with my tendency to procrastinate.

Yes! Passively staring at notes would be the death of me. It's boring and it doesn't help me remember things. I tried it at the beginning of college and it didn't work out well. Lol.

Two, these people (myself included), whether they realize it or not, are not starting to study the night before the test. They have been studying the entire time. These are the people who do absorb and retain that information from lecture, or just reading the book, and commit it to long-term memory from the get-go. That night-before session? That's just review. If you're an auditory or visual learner (which it sounds like you're not) than lecture is studying.

This is 100% on the mark. Everyone has different learning styles and lectures favor people who have an auditory or an audio-visual learning style. Those types of people are able to more effectively pick up the material while listening to the lecture and therefore require less learning time outside of class.

 

[northernlights15]

One thing I'm going to try next is to convince myself I have an enthusiasm for the material. I hear that helps a lot.

 

[Lord Boko]

I heard once that rewriting notes in a foreign language and back to English helps because it forces you to actually actively think about the meaning behind the words. Not sure how true it is but if you're fluent in another language and have the time it may be worth a shot.

 

[jqueb29]

Two, these people (myself included), whether they realize it or not, are not starting to study the night before the test. They have been studying the entire time. These are the people who do absorb and retain that information from lecture, or just reading the book, and commit it to long-term memory from the get-go. That night-before session? That's just review.

Eh I very much have to disagree here. I definitely had a few classes in undergrad where I didn't look at any of the material until pulling an all-nighter the night before and got high A's on the test. I knew a few other people who did the same. Not saying it's a viable method for more than like 3% of students, but it's definitely incorrect to assume there aren't people who do this with great success.

 

[efle]

ITT: people confusing memorization tactics with curve-smashing

 

[NontradCA]

OP, have you tried genetics? I've been able to study about 3 hrs a day or less in medical school while staying in the top quartile of my class just by using my superior intellect.

 

[ZedsDed]

OP, have you tried genetics? I've been able to study about 3 hrs a day or less in medical school while staying in the top quartile of my class just by using my superior intellect.

This is true for many of the top students. I hope you don't say that in real life though; it tends to rub people the wrong way.

 

[Goro]

Go visit your school's learning or education center for help with stuff like this.

I feel clumsy, inefficient, and inept. I make a big deal out of studying. I'll probably sit for hours staring at physiology slides or a genetics textbook unable to garner much other than a few key points. Even watching YouTube videos, my attention lacks at times as I may zone out or feel the need to repeat the previous seconds of the video with the idea of telling myself I may have missed some good points.

I carry around a whole ton of books and highlighters and pens and pencils like I'm some kind of superhero geek at studying. I've got this schedule on excel that I regularly edit and plan out every stupid daily event to the minute detail like I'm the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

But then I meet guys who take several upper-level chemistry or engineering classes a semester, make a 4.0, and don't say a word about it. There's a computer engineer I play soccer with taking taking 21 credits while somehow working a job and maintains his relationships with his networks. I see guys in the back of the lecture halls who don't write down squat and make perfect scores on the exams. Another in my physiology class has been on his senior slide having gotten into Johns Hopkins, doesn't write anything and instead browses reddit but somehow manages to score a 98 on the exams while I'm stuck in the average pile -- how'd you study I'd ask him, "I just looked over the slides lol" he says sheepishly.

Meanwhile, I'm in the front row trying to copy down every word I hear in 7 different colors, like some silly 8th grade nerd. I meet guys in the library who only carry around a 20 cent notebook and a #2 pencil, but can legitimately focus on their biochem textbooks for several hours straight. They can somehow start studying the previous night before an exam and still make that A.

How do I get into this ice-cold mentality of efficiency, concentration, and dedication to the craft?

 

[NontradCA]

This is true for many of the top students. I hope you don't say that in real life though; it tends to rub people the wrong way.

I was joking. You can't change your genetics haha. I actually think that most students have trouble studying efficiently, and don't use their time wisely at all.

There's a lot of information in medical school and the best way to determine how much you know the material is well, by knowing it. I try testing myself when I study. For instance- say I just went over 7 immune diseases. I'll right down the pathophys, tests and treatments for all of them from memory.

Being passive when studying equates to wasting your life away.

 

[MedSchoolSurvivor]

I feel clumsy, inefficient, and inept. I make a big deal out of studying. I'll probably sit for hours staring at physiology slides or a genetics textbook unable to garner much other than a few key points. Even watching YouTube videos, my attention lacks at times as I may zone out or feel the need to repeat the previous seconds of the video with the idea of telling myself I may have missed some good points.

I carry around a whole ton of books and highlighters and pens and pencils like I'm some kind of superhero geek at studying. I've got this schedule on excel that I regularly edit and plan out every stupid daily event to the minute detail like I'm the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

But then I meet guys who take several upper-level chemistry or engineering classes a semester, make a 4.0, and don't say a word about it. There's a computer engineer I play soccer with taking taking 21 credits while somehow working a job and maintains his relationships with his networks. I see guys in the back of the lecture halls who don't write down squat and make perfect scores on the exams. Another in my physiology class has been on his senior slide having gotten into Johns Hopkins, doesn't write anything and instead browses reddit but somehow manages to score a 98 on the exams while I'm stuck in the average pile -- how'd you study I'd ask him, "I just looked over the slides lol" he says sheepishly.

Meanwhile, I'm in the front row trying to copy down every word I hear in 7 different colors, like some silly 8th grade nerd. I meet guys in the library who only carry around a 20 cent notebook and a #2 pencil, but can legitimately focus on their biochem textbooks for several hours straight. They can somehow start studying the previous night before an exam and still make that A.

How do I get into this ice-cold mentality of efficiency, concentration, and dedication to the craft?

I get the feeling that others successes frustrate you, because you feel that you are working much harder than them. First off, I wouldn't take things at face value. You don't know what those other students are doing when they get home. In medical school people often downplay or up-play the amount of studying they do, so it can be hard to know how much someone is actually studying. I wouldn't focus on them. If you want to be more efficient then you should focus on yourself.

Don't let your note taking get in the way of your learning. I would guess that you spend more time and effort copying and coloring your notes than actually learning the information.

Scheduling is good, but within reason. I think what you are doing is great, as scheduling out your studying will help you avoid the inefficiency that is cramming. But if you spend too much time planning it all out, then that is by nature inefficient.

 

[massmocha]

I was joking. You can't change your genetics haha. I actually think that most student have trouble studying efficiently, and don't use their time wisely at all.

There's a lot of information in medical school and the best way to determine how much you know the material is well, by knowing it. I try testing myself when I study. For instance- say I just went over 7 immune diseases. I'll right down the pathophys, tests and treatments for all of them from memory.

Being passive when studying equates to wasting your life away.

When I go through notes I always ask myself what the next line will say. For example if there is a definition i will try to define it myself before reading the definition. If it is a problem, I try to solve it before looking at the answer. I find the ones I get wrong the first time stick with me better. I learn best by doing.

 

[tortelliniboy]

Don't be jealous of raw intellect; it's only a small piece of the puzzle. The ability to work hard and charm people is equally important. Work hard as you need to for the required grades to get into med school while ignoring what everyone else is doing and have fun along the way. Trust me, when you're on call you don't simply go home earlier if you finish your work faster, you have to be there for the whole shift regardless...

 

[resiroth]

I attend lecture and pay attention. Then if applicable I will listen to the lectures at 2x speed. All I've needed to set curves.

As everyone said here you shouldn't ask curve destroyers how to destroy curves. There are some people that can destroy curves even using crappy study techniques.

In fact the people that are destroying curves probably are some of the worst studyers because they haven't necessarily had to think about how best to study.

 

[NontradCA]

Here's some motivation for you. This may help.

 

[PleaseCallMeDoc]

Talk to upperclassmen and see what worked for them with each specific class

Don't do that highlighting stuff if it doesn't help. Negative correlation with grades 9/10 times (published in Nature)

 

[kraskadva]

Eh I very much have to disagree here. I definitely had a few classes in undergrad where I didn't look at any of the material until pulling an all-nighter the night before and got high A's on the test. I knew a few other people who did the same. Not saying it's a viable method for more than like 3% of students, but it's definitely incorrect to assume there aren't people who do this with great success.

I'm not entirely sure what you're disagreeing with.
If you showed up to the classes and are a audio/visual learner, then I would count that as studying. Or you just had some exceptionally easy classes.
The percentage of people who can learn, let's say, orgo in a one night cram session and get an A is so vanishingly small as to be irrelevant. If that's you, then great, lucky you, but that doesn't help the OP figure out what works for him.

 

[Styrene]

For chemistry/math/physics/etc: never did a single thing except solve as many practice problems as possible. No notes or anything.

For bio courses: make anki cards with conceptual questions related to material covered on ppt and go through them while typing out responses as if taking a test. This method is tweaked in accordance with first test experience.

Doing this, I consistently score in the 95%ile or greater on every test in every course at the most competitive campus of a public university system (certainly not top tier). The same for the MCAT: no notes, no highlighting, no videos, no gimmicks. Just review of the least dense resource and then as many practice problems/exams as possible.

Keep in mind that I never had any study skills before I started college. I never opened a book in high school. If I can do well in school, anyone can. It's all about the studying method. As mentioned, highlighting etc. (what I was taught to do in early schooling) is absolutely useless for studying.

 

[altblue]

This. I've only met one student in my life who fit this description. He is an MD/PhD at an Ivy League

And then there's this fellow (pun unintended), http://www.pdsoros.org/current_fellows/index.cfm/yr/2008#hwang

OP, make sure some kind of mental disorder like depression or ADHD or even health issue isn't interfering with your study habits (it's best to have this in check), and discuss with your professors/TAs/tutor how to study for those classes. Or find a friend who's doing well in your classes in a similar major to help break it down for you if that's a bit much.

We only have the context of your posts, and don't know the school you're at or what you're classes are like, so we really can only help so much.

 

[deleted577188]

The more I think about it lol, "curve destroyer" sounds like a pornographic name of reference lol.

 

[ridethecliche]

Sounds like OP is trying to remember everything instead of trying to figure out how things fit together.

 

[Lawpy]

And then there's this fellow (pun unintended), http://www.pdsoros.org/current_fellows/index.cfm/yr/2008#hwang

Oh yeah.

 

[Ad2b]

Oh yeah.

Seriously. Mind blown. Who has those kind of credentials?!?!

 

[ski89]

95% of the time, people who do this are mediocre students. You're spending so much mental energy copying things down, and not enough on trying to actually understand what's going on.

One of my favorite examples of this was during one of my paramedic classes, the teacher wrote something on the board to the effect of, "drowning - suffocation due to being underwater". I remember looking around at all the people furiously copying down notes, and probably 3/4 of the class wrote this down. To me, that showed their brains were not engaged - like, really, did you really need to write that down? Re-examine what your goals are when you take notes.

@Oncie

There is a lot of truth to this so I would like to expand on it.

Gurby's example was a bit extreme (though I 100% believe it's true), but the point is very important. In order to maximize your study time, you must maximize your time focusing on concepts you don't understand and minimize your time on concepts you do understand. For example, as you are going through the lecture slides for an exam, the first thing you should do is identify the slides that are totally foreign to you. Once you have mastered the concepts on these slides you can move on to slides that you know slightly better but not perfectly. You don't necessarily need to even do more than glance at a few of the slides if you already have a pretty good grasp on the concepts. Your time might be better spend on concepts that you have already studies once or twice but still don't quite understand.

tl;dr ... Always identify your biggest weakness in the set of material you need to know and study that. You don't always need to go through all the tested material.

 

[dextertrip]

If you find it hard to pay attention another way that can help is to take notes a little differently. Instead of writing what you hear, try composing a test. As the professor says something that would make a good test question, write it down along with the correct answer. It will keep your mind engaged and as you get more practice and a familiarity with the professor will find that you're beginning to predict actual test questions