efficient studying

[TheScienceGuy1]

Hey Guys, I need some advide for more efficient studying/test taking. I just got a mark for Biochem 2 (68). I went to every lecture, recorded every class, listen to every lecture, read the book briefly (my prof's tests are based on lectures, so I did not spend much time reading the book).

I felt pretty confident for the exam, but on the exam, the switch on my brain just went OFF. Like, I could not remember the easy stuff, and for the more analytic Q's I could not even think.

Same thing happen to me last year for Physiology, I was geting an A before the exam, I studied for the final, but for some reason I still managed to get only 52% on it and I ended up with a D+ in the course.

To make a long question short, what are you going doing to study and understand the material and how do you approach on taking MC biology tests.

Thank you in advance!!!

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[ihopeigetintods]

Hey

Hey

 

[MAdental]

I think you are stressing too much. You just gota focus and take tests one at a time , u know. You cant think about the outcome and how its gona effect your chances at getting accepted. Relax and forget about having a high GPA. You need to relax buddy. I am in honors Biochem and i know what you mean, Biochem can be **** sometimes.

Good luck

 

[PreDent11]

Hey Guys, I need some advide for more efficient studying/test taking. I just got a mark for Biochem 2 (68). I went to every lecture, recorded every class, listen to every lecture, read the book briefly (my prof's tests are based on lectures, so I did not spend much time reading the book).

I felt pretty confident for the exam, but on the exam, the switch on my brain just went OFF. Like, I could not remember the easy stuff, and for the more analytic Q's I could not even think.

Same thing happen to me last year for Physiology, I was geting an A before the exam, I studied for the final, but for some reason I still managed to get only 52% on it and I ended up with a D+ in the course.

To make a long question short, what are you going doing to study and understand the material and how do you approach on taking MC biology tests.

Thank you in advance!!!

First of all, what are you currently doing to study? Just reading over your notes, or listening to a lecture is probably not enough. You need to come up with some way to quiz yourself to make sure you actually know the material, whether that's with notecards or writing questions for yourself. Put your notes away and see how much you can write about a question or topic from memory. Just make sure you're actively studying...my rule is if I don't have a pen in my hand, I'm not really studying (of course you do have to read over your notes before you can quiz yourself though). This should help with learning the facts, but you still have to make sure that you are able to apply concepts. I usually do this by studying with another person and making sure that I'm able to explain the concept to them.

As for taking a multiple choice biology test, if I don't know the answer right away I eliminate whatever choices I can and then try to make an educated guess. The key to multiple choice tests of any kind is not to spend too much time on any question. The longer you stare at a question and overanalyze it, the more likely you are to second guess yourself and get the question wrong. Go with your first instinct, because most of the time it will be right.

Hope this helps!

 

[TheScienceGuy1]

Thanks for the advices guys and PreDent11 my major is Biology. What I am going to do now, is study/memorize material first. And then spend the rest of the time trying to understand and apply it (instead of just going over my notes all the time). Hopefully this works, if not, my Biology and sciences are just not my thing.

BTW: I can explain stuff verbally or written (like we had 2 short answer questions and I got perfect on all of them). Its just for MC, if I don't know the answer exactly, I just always tend to mess up.

 

[whodat4life]

I agree with PreDent11. Some people learn differently. What I used to do for classes like Biochem and Physio is after I attended each lecture, make notecards so the info didn't all pile up on me at once. I know it's easier said than done, but it will help.

Also, on MC...always go with what your gut tells you. I used to do the same exact thing, and when I relaxed a little I started doing much better on tests. The way I tricked my mind was to say, "I can do this, and you know what, if I dont...the worst thing that can happen is I fail and have to retake the class." You'd be surprised if you knew how many dentists had to go back and take classes like Ochem, Biochem, Physics, etc...each one of us has our thing(s) that keep us down. The key is to NEVER GIVE UP!

What I used to do with MC is go through my whole test and mark the ones I KNEW for a fact I got right the first time around with an X, check, or whatever. Then I would answer all of the short answer like you said. After you've done that, go back through your test and see how many there are that you're not sure about. This will ease your mind sometimes...because we always tend to exaggerate in our minds, the number we've missed.

My overall suggestion for MC, just go with your gut and DO NOT second guess yourself. Also, try to eliminate as many answers as possible, giving you better chances if you do have to guess.

I hope this helps!!! Best of luck to you! Also, say a little prayer sometimes...sometimes things like this are out of our control. People will make fun of me (probably) for saying this, but to each his own. I could have never made it through all of those classes without my strong faith.

 

[iDreamofDent]

make mind maps, the process of studying invented by tony buzan. After you build the structures try and reconstruct them from memory, its just like quizzing yourself. Also if you take notes this way it is much easier to link topics together if they were presented at different times. For example lets say you talk about a topic at the beginning of lecture and it comes up again at the end, with linear note taking these might be separated by a couple pages while with mind mapping they remain together, also its easier to connect related topics.

 

[lululime]

Yeah, multiple choice is tricky sometimes. They don't always test your knowledge about a subject, but rather your reading comprehension. I'm still trying to find a fool-proof strategy to ace tricky multiple choice. But I suppose when I look at my marked exam, I see that I don't interpret the question the way it was meant to be interpreted. So maybe we should read the questions over a few times and figure out which interpretation is the more right one?? Gee, I wish I could give an example from my physiology exam. I will find one and post it tomorrow evening.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hey Guys, I need some advide for more efficient studying/test taking. I just got a mark for Biochem 2 (68). I went to every lecture, recorded every class, listen to every lecture, read the book briefly (my prof's tests are based on lectures, so I did not spend much time reading the book).

I felt pretty confident for the exam, but on the exam, the switch on my brain just went OFF. Like, I could not remember the easy stuff, and for the more analytic Q's I could not even think.

Same thing happen to me last year for Physiology, I was geting an A before the exam, I studied for the final, but for some reason I still managed to get only 52% on it and I ended up with a D+ in the course.

To make a long question short, what are you going doing to study and understand the material and how do you approach on taking MC biology tests.

Thank you in advance!!!

When I took the upper level biochem course... it was very much like that. Exam averages were in the low 50s and there were about 220 of us and mind you, more than 80% of the class was pre-meds (MSU = has 2 medical schools DO and MD).... So the point is, there is alot of tallented kids in these classes, they just aren't exposed to how to study for a heavy class like that

What helped me succeed (I 4.0'd it) was that I learned the material LITTERALLY inside and out. I didn't just memorize all the enzymes and pathways (thats too easy), but I learned why & how these enzymes behaved, at the end of my studying, I would sit down and formulate my own "difficult" type questions and post them to my friends and we would discuss the answers. It was cool cause a small portion of the actual exam were similar to the types of questions I was making. The way I mastered the material was by spending more time with the text book than the power-points..... I thought the power points were too simplified for the amount of knowledge I wanted to build.

Good luck to you, Biochem (esspecially if you have "one of those" professors) is a real toughy