Any tips for studying?

[Kidaco8]

Hello, I'm a sophomore majoring in biology. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for studying for biology tests? I read the textbook and review the notes like crazy, yet I never make an A on the tests. ☺

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[mr.mkitty]

I'll list some things that really helped me.
1) Turn off your phone
2) Buy ear plugs to use while studying (I love this although others may not)
3) Go through your notes and re-write them. However, when you re-write them, actually think about what you are re-writing.. Don't just mindlessly write.
4) Study in advance and don't cram (time management)
Good luck!

 

[deleted407021]

Try and identify the concepts that you're having difficulty understanding, then go to your professor's office hours and/or tutoring.

Does your school have supplemental instruction sessions held by upperclassmen? Mine had them for bio, chem and physics. Look around.

Check out your school's academic success center for some personalized help.

When reviewing your exams and quizzes, analyze both your right and wrong answers. Why did you get that right and how can you ensure to get it right again? What did you do wrong and how must you fix it?

Some of the study methods people use for the MCAT might be very helpful. Take a look around that subforum.

I second the earplug suggestion.

 

[EaglesontheWarpath]

Figure out what works for you, and then stick to it. My memory sucks so I used a ton of notecards and would write everything out what felt like hundreds of times on legal pads. Some people use study guides, but I found they tend to be very passive and not helpful for me. Often studying in a group helps with bio since being able to talk through difficult pathways/topics can help with the short answer/application questions on exams. To me, doing well on biology exams comes down to knowing all the relevant facts (e.g. pathways, proteins, concepts, themes etc.) and being able to apply that knowledge to novel situations.
Also, more applicable to most undergraduate classes, study the material from class. Use the textbook to supplement slides/class, but usually focus on what's presented in class.

 

[DingoPingo]

Have yourself or someone else make up test questions based on previous tests and current material, and try to answer them.

 

[eteshoe]

Explain concepts to your younger siblings (or someone without the base knowledge) in a way that makes sense. Forced me to really understand concepts.

 

[deleted407021]

My best suggestion? Tutor your classmates during study sessions!! Nothing helps retention and content application like explaining it to someone else -- at least not for myself.

 

[P0ke]

Study from the slides and only read the book if you don't understand a concept. The professor will test from the PowerPoint. Once you have a solid bio foundation, learning new concepts becomes more straightforward, and you can just memorize the slides in upper-level bio classes.

 

[GCS-15]

1 Pay attention in class. Seriously. No phone. No talking to friends. Just try to really absorb what the prof is saying.
2. Ask questions - after class. During office hours. Identify your weaknesses and make sure to ask classmates/profs/TAs
3. Podcast, podcast, podcast! It's tough to get everything the first time - for me, I found podcast extremely useful for filling in the details.
4. Review your notes regularly. What I do is try to condense down notes for one week into a page (double sided). That way, you can separate high yield info from the little specifics. I also review them every day. Treat every week like midterm week - don't just wait until the last second to start studying.
5. Practice problems!!!
6. MAJOR KEY ALERT: Use anki flashcards or some other method where you're not just reading your notes over again. You need to be able to quiz yourself and make sure you know the info like the back of your hand.
7. Adapt. You need to be like cell membranes - dynamic. If the first test didn't go so well, change the way you study. Maybe you need to focus on the bigger picture, or simply just put in more time to studying the details.
8. Have fun in class!! Seriously, get into the content. If you enjoy the material (or at least try to enjoy it) you'll actually WANT to study.

 

[efle]

1) Study the high yield stuff. I've had many many classes where the textbook was worthless, and you could fully prepare just from slides and practice exams.
2) Study with others, take turns explaining concepts or problems to each other. This is especially good for Ochem. Buying a big whiteboard was a great investment for me!

 

[JustAnother]

Practice your awesome delegating skills by having someone else take the tests for you.

 

[sleepyturtle]

I'm a bio major too! There's a ton of stuff thrown at you especially when you get to your upper level courses, so it is best to stay on top of your work.

1. Preview lecture material before class! I guarantee this will help a TON. It's much easier to pay attention during lecture if you've come across the terms/concepts already even if its just skimming your textbook for 20-30 min beforehand.
2. If your teacher posts lecture powerpoints, print them out and have them with you in class. Write comments in the margins and highlight/star anything your prof emphasizes.
3. Try to review what you covered in lecture later that evening or before your next class. That way you won't fall behind and have material snowballing on you. Also try to review everything in that unit weekly.
4. If you are stuck, go to office hours! (this will also help you later when it comes time to ask for recommendation letters)
5. When it comes time for an exam, I usually get out a bunch of scratch paper or a whiteboard. See if you can diagram/write out the major points from lecture without having to refer back to your notes. Make sure you make connections between topics!

 

[Bergamot]

Studies (of studying) have shown that the best retention occurs with distributed learning and practice testing. All other forms of memorization are flat out ineffective (highlighting, re-reading, summarizing, etc). Basically these other methods are great for organizing the material that you need to test yourself on. Learning styles, e.g. auditory, visual, kinesthetic, are also a joke. Your test grades reflect your mastery of the material, so prepare for the test by testing yourself.

The only way to get better at something is practice, and perfect-practice makes perfect. Bad practice will result in a bad performance. (Musician analogy).

• Eight 1-hour study sessions > One 8-hour study session (Distributed Learning - spread it out, don't cram)

• Create practice tests for material that requires problem solving or reasoning

• Use flashcards for static memorization (for concepts, facts, formulas, the flash card is the test).

Repetition is important for recall because there is a rate at which we forget newly learned information. These world memory champs review material in certain intervals to prevent that information from being forgotten, otherwise they have to relearn it all over again. Some German psychologist's theory (forgot his name ), is that the biggest loss of information occurs within the first two hours. Mentally quiz yourself at 2 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, (or whatever intervals make the most sense for your classes) and this will prevent you from forgetting what you've learned.

Also focus is very important. My favorite is the Pomodoro Technique. Basically you study or work on material for a solid 25 minutes uninterrupted, and then take a 5 minute break. During that break, take your phone off silent, go to the bathroom, whatever, as long as that 5 minutes is spent doing anything other than thinking about or looking at your study material. That = 1 Pomodori. After 4x Pomodori, take a 15-30 minute break, and then repeat the process all over again.

With Pomodoro I can measure how much actual study time I get in, and this helps with time management. Annoying cell phone alerts and other distractions really harm study efforts. This way you can also carve out blocks of the day for study. If you do 2 hours of study per credit hour (x), you really need x * 3/2 hours (assuming you take the 30m break and not the 15m). So 2 hours of perfect study requires 3 hours.

This will allow you to be realistic and plan out your day when juggling studying with ECs, jobs, volunteering, etc.

As for projects and papers, if you're using that allocated amount of daily study time to write or collaborate with classmates, you'll find that the work completes itself. Obviously papers require a little more effort in that you need several drafts and a second pair of eyes to review your work, but these principals and techniques will save you from burning a weekend on a term paper that you should have been chipping away at all semester/quarter.

Others have mentioned math/writing tutor centers and office hours. Use them! Remember that 2 hours of study per credit hour is the minimum recommendation. "Study" = anything you need to do for the class.

Hope that helps @Kidaco8!

P.S. There are plenty of Pomodoro timer apps for Mac, PC, Android, and iOS.
P.P.S. I cannot stress enough how important it is to rid yourself of distractions. That iPhone is your enemy when trying to master class material.

 

[frosted_flake]

I'll list some things that really helped me.
1) Turn off your phone
2) Buy ear plugs to use while studying (I love this although others may not)
3) Go through your notes and re-write them. However, when you re-write them, actually think about what you are re-writing.. Don't just mindlessly write.
4) Study in advance and don't cram (time management)
Good luck!

Best* tips ever for studying bio. It is not hard, you just have to do it!

*Damn autocorrect


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[To be MD]

All these tips are golden.

I would add, for memorization's sake:

1. Draw out EVERYTHING that you can (e.g. the steps of glycolysis or how an operon works... anything that you see a diagram of in a textbook, you should be able to simplify to its basic concepts and draw out).
2. When using notecards, etc., connect whatever concepts you are studying to an IMAGE or a PNEUMONIC. You are hardwired as a primate to not only like bananas but also to be significantly more comfortable with images over written words. And take these words seriously for these types of memory strategies: "The lewder, the better." They'll stick.

Ex:
- Erik Erikson's Psychosocial stages: (Example)
- Intermediates of the Kreb's Cycle: Can I Keep Selling Sex For Money, Officer? (Citrate / Isocitrate / a-Ketoglutarate / Succinyl-Coa / Succinate / Fumarate / Malate / Oxaloacetate)

You don't have to read Moonwalking with Einstein to become an ace at this stuff. You can just use the underlying strategies of using diagrams/pictures for memorization, make sense of them using the principle concepts that you're studying... and voila!! You'll be doing much better.

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

I have untreated ADHD. A pretty girl walking by would throw me and my hormones off.

1) Eliminate your distractions -- I turned off my phone and sat staring at a blank white wall for hours.
2) Be in the mindset of learning and wanting to learn.
3) Utilize your resources (Wiki, google, textbooks, etc) to fill in the voids / weaknesses.
4) Go see your professors and be a friend -- it might get better when they ask for a LOR
5) Be proactive in class. Ask questions and GUN for the A.

Who cares if you ask a dumb question. I did all the time. At the end of the day, who got the A?

 

[MoDiddy]

I'll list some things that really helped me.
1) Turn off your phone
2) Buy ear plugs to use while studying (I love this although others may not)
3) Go through your notes and re-write them. However, when you re-write them, actually think about what you are re-writing.. Don't just mindlessly write.
4) Study in advance and don't cram (time management)
Good luck!

Really like the idea of ear plugs. Definitely going to try it!

 

[Kidaco8]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I'll be sure to use them.

 

[bee17]

If you have issues with distractions (like me), start the stopwatch on your phone when you start studying. If you start doing anything other than studying (check Facebook, get a snack, zone out for more than 30 seconds), you have to stop the stopwatch until you start studying again. This exercise will really make you aware of how much of your study time is actually productive. I used to "study" for an entire afternoon/evening, but I wasn't really accomplishing anything. Study smarter, not longer!

 

[DRsmartypants]

You have to make a difference between passive studying and active studying. Passive studying is re-reading, re-writing notes, textbooks whatever. Active is looking at a textbook, thinking about what was said, picking out what is minutiae(which is still important, just not high-yield) vs. what is the main idea. If you have a surface with onenote, I always found it to be a waste of time to take notes from the powerpoint, when you can just important the powerpoint, and actively annotate the slides, clear up misconceptions, and start thigns that the professor said was important. I also think multiple sources is a great way. Now I wouldn't annotate multiple sources, but reading a few other sources(like an MCAT biology book in your case, your textbook, your powerpoint, and maybe something else I'm not thinking of) can be really helpful in both your understanding and your memory. People like to trash memorizing, but ultimately, everything we do is memorization. Whether you are practicing multiple physics, calculus, and chemistry problem, or understanding concepts in biology and memorizing the minutiae. There is memorization in everything, it is a very good skill to hone. For me I am a visual learner, so for things like the Kreb's cycle, glycolysis, glucogenesis, I would go to a big whiteboard on campus, and just draw 'em out, play some music and enjoy figuring out the intracacies. Once you get the main concept down, that is the most important. I like to make what i call "High-yield rough drafts", no more then 1-2 pages. Basically all of the high yield, conceptual stuff for that unit, and then I can go through the textbook and add stuff on it. You can't build a building until you have a foundation. Example, trying to memorize and understand the krebs cycle is stupid if you're trying ot memorize, the order, the enzymes, the products, the ATP yield, the structure of indvidiual products all at once. I did order of products, then the enzymes involved, then I added in H2O, CO2, ATP, G3P, ADP etc., and then I looked ad the structure of isocitrate for example. It takes time, but you can be very effiicient at studying and understanding with the right mindset.

 

[rocklobstr]

Don't read the text book except for clarification and make flashcards of the lecture notes/slides. Flashcards are much better than just reading notes IMO

 

[DRsmartypants]

^To your name, you were accepted to medical school(ergo you haven't attended). In my opinion, just relying on powerpoint notes may get get you through a class in medical school, but will not make you a better clinician in the long run. The people who read the textbooks in medical school(Once again in my experiences) do much better on exams and have been better clinicians(however that could be a result of their work ethic not their extensive basic science knowledge, I doubt the two are independent). I'll agree that in undergrad, often reading textbooks isn't worth it, med school is a different ball game.

 

[rocklobstr]

^To your name, you were accepted to medical school(ergo you haven't attended). In my opinion, just relying on powerpoint notes may get get you through a class in medical school, but will not make you a better clinician in the long run. The people who read the textbooks in medical school(Once again in my experiences) do much better on exams and have been better clinicians(however that could be a result of their work ethic not their extensive basic science knowledge, I doubt the two are independent). I'll agree that in undergrad, often reading textbooks isn't worth it, med school is a different ball game.

I was referring to undergrad only, as OP is an undergraduate student who is trying to score higher on his sophomore biology exams.

 

[matchmeifyoucan]

1 Pay attention in class. Seriously. No phone. No talking to friends. Just try to really absorb what the prof is saying.
2. Ask questions - after class. During office hours. Identify your weaknesses and make sure to ask classmates/profs/TAs
3. Podcast, podcast, podcast! It's tough to get everything the first time - for me, I found podcast extremely useful for filling in the details.
4. Review your notes regularly. What I do is try to condense down notes for one week into a page (double sided). That way, you can separate high yield info from the little specifics. I also review them every day. Treat every week like midterm week - don't just wait until the last second to start studying.
5. Practice problems!!!
6. MAJOR KEY ALERT: Use anki flashcards or some other method where you're not just reading your notes over again. You need to be able to quiz yourself and make sure you know the info like the back of your hand.
7. Adapt. You need to be like cell membranes - dynamic. If the first test didn't go so well, change the way you study. Maybe you need to focus on the bigger picture, or simply just put in more time to studying the details.
8. Have fun in class!! Seriously, get into the content. If you enjoy the material (or at least try to enjoy it) you'll actually WANT to study.

This is all I did for my intro biology class. I scored perfectly (or near-perfectly) every time.