Current OD Students! I need help!

[optogirl81]

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Hey fellow OD-students,

My first semester is wrapping up and while I did fine in my classes (Bs and Cs - Passing is a 70), I'm trying to see what "new" study methods I could try out. I've tried flash cards, re-writing notes, etc. but I feel like it takes SOO long to make flashcards (and using internet flashcards don't really help b/c its just typing...).

How did you guys change your study habits from Undergrad to Optometry School? Do you take notes differently? Do you "memorize" things differently? Have you found a more efficient study method? How do you "think like the professor"? How do you understand concepts better?

I'd GREATLY appreciate your help! 😍

Thank you

 

[KHE]

Hey fellow OD-students,

My first semester is wrapping up and while I did fine in my classes (Bs and Cs - Passing is a 70), I'm trying to see what "new" study methods I could try out. I've tried flash cards, re-writing notes, etc. but I feel like it takes SOO long to make flashcards (and using internet flashcards don't really help b/c its just typing...).

How did you guys change your study habits from Undergrad to Optometry School? Do you take notes differently? Do you "memorize" things differently? Have you found a more efficient study method? How do you "think like the professor"? How do you understand concepts better?

I'd GREATLY appreciate your help! 😍

Thank you

I would not try anything "new." You've come this far with the study methods that work well for you. You should know what works and doesn't work for you.

The key with optometry school is that the material is not conceptually hard. It's the volume of material that causes problems for people.

So because of that, you need to do some work every day. Every day. It's like piano lessons. Doing an hour a day is much better than 7 hours one day a week.

That and I strongly believe that the value of attending every class can not be understated. Some people disagree with that but study after study shows that the biggest predictor of success in school is not your GPA, your IQ, what high school you went to, your SAT score, your parents income, your zipcode etc. etc. It is your attendance record.

So GO TO CLASS. Don't rely on notes or transcripts or taped lectures. Go to class. You're paying tens of thousands of dollars to listen to people who are supposed experts in their fields so go and listen to them speak.

 

[hello07]

Just study hard, memorize and understand the tremendous amount of volume at hand. Discipline yourslef from all distractions. Hit the library not in your school but other libraries if you can within your vicinity. With optics, besides memorizing you have to understand the concepts and principles and apply them to questions /problems on exams.

Material might not be extremely difficult but the volume is huge.

When all is said and done, and you pass all your exams in class from year to year and all your boards, and you become state licensed and get a job you'll work make money and live happily ever after. Just one note- there will be times in your professional career when you'll ask yourself you did I choose optometry? I should have been ............? There are 34,000 practicing OD's in the USA and I can assure you at least half of us if not more, ponder what if we could have chosen............? Would I have been better off than optometry?
Your excitement will dissipate years later when you realize the real world of optometry is different than academia and what you are taught. Your perception of our "wonderful" field might change years down the road.
Any how, I wish you blessings on your life journey!

 

[q1we3]

Flash cards didn't work for me because it takes too much time, you can't afford to waste time. The best way is to show up to class and pay attention, focus on understanding what is being said rather than crazy note taking. That is what has worked for me so far. But it does take time to develop good listening skills during boring classes.

 

[Commando303]

That and I strongly believe that the value of attending every class can not be understated. Some people disagree with that but study after study shows that the biggest predictor of success in school is not your GPA, your IQ, what high school you went to, your SAT score, your parents income, your zipcode etc. etc. It is your attendance record.

So GO TO CLASS. Don't rely on notes or transcripts or taped lectures. Go to class. You're paying tens of thousands of dollars to listen to people who are supposed experts in their fields so go and listen to them speak.

I will extremely strongly disagree with this statement. Let's say a study concludes of the ten persons it surveyed, eight loved a new beverage and two couldn't stand it. Odds are, you'll love it, ...which is utterly meaningless to you if you happen to fall into the minority.

Following statistics (not minding that many of them are garbage, especially in the social sciences) might be reasonable if you have no further information about a situation. Here, however, you have the privilege of extra insight — you aren't shooting in the dark. Does going to class help you learn? If it does, why wouldn't you go? Is going a waste of your time? If so, you'd be stupid to show up.

Figure out what suits you, then do that.

 

[KHE]

I will extremely strongly disagree with this statement. Let's say a study concludes of the ten persons it surveyed, eight loved a new beverage and two couldn't stand it. Odds are, you'll love it, ...which is utterly meaningless to you if you happen to fall into the minority.

Following statistics (not minding that many of them are garbage, especially in the social sciences) might be reasonable if you have no further information about a situation. Here, however, you have the privilege of extra insight — you aren't shooting in the dark. Does going to class help you learn? If it does, why wouldn't you go? Is going a waste of your time? If so, you'd be stupid to show up.

Figure out what suits you, then do that.

We can agree to disagree then. I will not be convinced that someone can do "just as well" watching videotaped lectures or reading transcripts than they could by actually sitting in class.

But in my humble opinion, it not only matters for learning the material, it matters beyond the classroom because forcing yourself to get up, get dressed and drag your butt down there helps teach discipline as well. There is a certain value in simply showing up.

 

[q1we3]

But in my humble opinion, it not only matters for learning the material, it matters beyond the classroom because forcing yourself to get up, get dressed and drag your butt down there helps teach discipline as well. There is a certain value in simply showing up.

I never went to class in undergrad and got mostly A's but my life was so disorganized and procrastinated a lot. I am trying to change that by showing up to every class and being disciplined which is the most important of growing up.

 

[optogirl81]

I do go to all of my classes except biochemistry (which I cannot stand to be in - they just read slides/notes and don't really answer any questions) and I do better with that on my own.

For other classes, my professors provide notes online or through packets so I've just been filling in notes in the margins/highlighting and such. But some of them talk so fast or assume you know a concept b/c you're an optometry student (I have not had any experience working under an OD/in an office so a lot of the eye-related stuff is completely new to me and I have a hard time grasping these concepts).

I won't be changing my study habits for the rest of this semester, but I was trying to see if people had suggestions on more time-efficient studying because flashcards are too annoying and the study habits I have right now are not getting me the A's and High B's that I would love even with all the studying I do.

The hardest thing for me is when a professor gives you a giant packet of notes and we have 2 weeks to learn it all, along with exams/hw/quizzes in our other classes, then give us an exam on it. I had a hard time memorizing all of the drugs, bacteria, pathways, etc.). I need to learn to be more efficient with my time/studying because I'd rather not be studying for hours on end and still just getting a B/C grade.

 

[QueenieCSS]

I was always a flashcard girl until I got to optometry school. Like you said - it takes so long to make them, but the time I am done the test is tomorrow! I had to give that up and try different ways.

I do recopy notes but I tend to type them up. Mostly because it is faster to me that writing. Then, I go through those again and try to find connections or patterns that can help me remember things. I have a lot of difficulty with straight memorization so I have to fully understand why something happens to memorize it. Then it's less of memorization, and more of putting pieces together.

Also - limiting distractions (like another poster mentioned) is HUGE. I used to study in front of the TV in undergrad. I never had any problems. Now, that is a complete no-go. It's far too distracting and I don't retain the information well.

And when boards rolled around I was always studying on my computer since it was were all my notes were. It made the internet a big distraction. They have programs you can download and basically stop yourself from accessing websites that you decide on. That worked great to keep me off facebook, google chat, etc. You set it for a certain amount of time and you can not turn it off no matter what. That kept me in line way better than anything else I tried. And - I would set it for like an hour, take a 10 minute break and check out some stuff I wanted, then turn it back on again. Worked wonders 🙂

 

[mathcod]

read books. seriously. use your school's library. Some professors usually parallel books, so if you can't follow the professor, read the textbook they recommend in the syllabus. It may be an unpopular suggestion - commonly I hear "I don't have time for it" - but I found it personally to be much faster and more engaging than alternatives.

give it a chance. I live and die by textbooks: table of contents, appendix, captions on pictures, headings and complete sentences. Revised, succinct, and edited, and they include everything you need to know. Never memorize.

 

[love4eyes]

Congrats on finishing the semester. I'll share what helped me:
> I locked myself in my room MORE and memorize by talking OUT LOUD/explaining to myself for hours (Library did not help me much because there are so many distraction such as people going to your cubicle asking questions, people talking loud, etc). Then, the afternoon/night before the exam I would meet up with friends to throw random questions to see where we all stand. From that, you can take notes of what you are lacking and try to cram some more information (during that same period your friends can also help you out by them explaining to you certain concept that you might not get instead of searching for it in your powerpoints/books - saves you time. Also, you can teach others and this will be the test if you really do know the material).
> READ the book to fully grasp certain power points slides.
> Go to CLASS and sit in the front. Even if you are able to take only one concept home, that can save you time.
> I made taking notes fun by buying different COLORED PEN. Help me sub divide the different category I have to memorize in my brain.
>For drugs, make a excel spread sheet - organize them. When memorizing, Identify the DIFFERENCES of each drug rather than memorizing every single detail of all the drug.

Hopefully, you soon find what is best for you. Best Wishes!

 

[optogirl81]

thank you for all of your study tips! I will definitely be trying a lot of these out - hopefully I find what works best for me!

Thanks again!