Advice needed for study methods

[mr.applesauce]

How many "passes" through your notes and lecture material does it take for you to be "exam ready" for a B or an A grade? It takes me around 4-5 passes to get a high B or A but I simply don't have enough time to get through that many passes because there's just so much material. I get around 7 hours of sleep and I don't have much of a social life or hobbies because I study all day... yet here I am barely passing or borderline failing. Any advice? If all I needed was three passes through my material I'd be golden.. but I only get C's out of that. I really don't want to start cutting in my sleep because that's one of the few things I look forward to these days.

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[kb1900]

How many "passes" through your notes and lecture material does it take for you to be "exam ready" for a B or an A grade? It takes me around 4-5 passes to get a high B or A but I simply don't have enough time to get through that many passes because there's just so much material. I get around 7 hours of sleep and I don't have much of a social life or hobbies because I study all day... yet here I am barely passing or borderline failing. Any advice? If all I needed was three passes through my material I'd be golden.. but I only get C's out of that. I really don't want to start cutting in my sleep because that's one of the few things I look forward to these days.

Full disclosure: I’m only an ms1 finishing up anatomy histo embryo. I study about 5-6 hours per day and don’t go to lecture. We have about 12 hours of mandatory stuff per week. So in total I’m only actively engaged 45 or so hours in a week.

It takes me about 5 passes as well. And most of my classmates that get As also get in at least 5-6 passes. What helps is being able to sort through info that you definitely need 5 passes thru vs the info you only need 1-3 passes through to get down. Anki is crucial for managing that for me.

Pass 1: preview material + make anki cards
Pass 2: jot down conceptual notes + do anki reviews
Passes 3-5: review anki and hit up my notes for cards I’m getting wrong

 

[mr.applesauce]

It takes me about 5 passes as well. And most of my classmates that get As also get in at least 5-6 passes. What helps is being able to sort through info that you definitely need 5 passes thru vs the info you only need 1-3 passes through to get down. Anki is crucial for managing that for me.

To be honest with you, I need to pass through EVERYTHING 4-5 times. I can't just pick and choose, since most lecture material is condensed enough. It would be different if I took notes from the text book or something.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

To be honest with you, I need to pass through EVERYTHING 4-5 times. I can't just pick and choose, since most lecture material is condensed enough. It would be different if I took notes from the text book or something.

Do you use Anki? I think what he's saying is that Anki really limits his passes because by making cards on information he deems more difficult to 'remember or understand' that in his 2nd and 3rd passes he's simply passing over the material he found easier to grasp all the while he's been cranking out Anki cards. you get it?

 

[mr.applesauce]

Do you use Anki? I think what he's saying is that Anki really limits his passes because by making cards on information he deems more difficult to 'remember or understand' that in his 2nd and 3rd passes he's simply passing over the material he found easier to grasp all the while he's been cranking out Anki cards. you get it?

Yeah I get it...

 

[Jojos]

condense what you need to study to the bare essentials and most important. only with that you should have more capacity to review more. that being said, use anki, or learn how to use the spaced repetition algorithm on your own. By doing this you will probably won't even need many passes over the material since you should be making it to preexam day with the information well established.

also, make sure you understand the material instead of mindlessly memorizing. For what can't be understood or inferred logically try mind palace or mnemonics.

 

[mr.applesauce]

condense what you need to study to the bare essentials and most important. only with that you should have more capacity to review more. that being said, use anki, or learn how to use the spaced repetition algorithm on your own. By doing this you will probably won't even need many passes over the material since you should be making it to preexam day with the information well established.

also, make sure you understand the material instead of mindlessly memorizing. For what can't be understood or inferred logically try mind palace or mnemonics.

I don't know about your professors, but mine test extensively on the non-bare essential information, AKA the small details in the notes.

 

[ConspecificPlasma]

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