Help. I finally know my biggest problem...

[Enso]

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Studying and comprehending science. In any fashion.

It's taken me awhile to realize this but I may be the most ineffective studier this site has seen. I'm a Marketing graduate and used my common sense and social skills to do well throughout college. You don't need to understand chemical reactions to ace "Professional Selling." After taking (and struggling) in Bio I I realize the only way to right this ship is to learn effective study methods from you guys. Eventhough I'm always organized and intend to study I always seem to procrastinate, study the wrong way, and take way too much time doing what feels wrong.

Can you guys please offer me any study tips you've used throughout your pre-dental classes? It seems when I look at a whole textbook of technical information my brain becomes non-functional and retains nothing.

If possible can you guys be specific. On your first day of class did you highlight certain things or focus strictly on powerpoints/formulas for exams? Did you hire a tutor once a week? Did you read each chapter first then make notecards to review? Did you study an hour a day or re-read chapters? How much did you guys rely on the textbook as opposed to what the professor mentioned in class? Looking at some of you describe DAT questions has me quite concerned, but luckily I'm ready to fix this early in the game.

Thanks for your time ladies and fellas. Any help offered is muy bueno.

 

[polarmolar]

I'm probably worse than you bro. But this is what I do: Re-read! It requires time and discipline, but the amount you retain after re-reading something goes up significantly.

Also, change your sleeping habits. I would wake at 6am and sleep early. It has huge effects on your memory. At 6am, and with a good nights rest, I could rock out chapter after chapter.

The other I would suggest is the old fashion notecards. They are time tested lol, so def give them a try, especially for orgo reactions.

 

[Enso]

I'm probably worse than you bro. But this is what I do: Re-read! It requires time and discipline, but the amount you retain after re-reading something goes up significantly.

Also, change your sleeping habits. I would wake at 6am and sleep early. It has huge effects on your memory. At 6am, and with a good nights rest, I could rock out chapter after chapter.

The other I would suggest is the old fashion notecards. They are time tested lol, so def give them a try, especially for orgo reactions.

Whew the last time I saw 6am I was 2 years old 😀

It's worth giving a shot for sure. When did you crash then 10, 11pm?

 

[Fido00]

I'm not sure if this will help, but I'll try to give it a shot.

In science you have to learn minor details as well as the major concepts, and just saying that is a little discouraging. If you are reading, reading, and just trying to memorize, you will probably get pretty frustrated. Here is an old method that is very time consuming, and can be eventually pared down to meet your needs, but it is very effective. SQ3R.

http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm

This outlines this method for studying, as well as some others.

Good Luck. In my class we have several non science majors, so it can be done, and done effectively.

 

[student253]

Studying and comprehending science. In any fashion.

It's taken me awhile to realize this but I may be the most ineffective studier this site has seen. I'm a Marketing graduate and used my common sense and social skills to do well throughout college. You don't need to understand chemical reactions to ace "Professional Selling." After taking (and struggling) in Bio I I realize the only way to right this ship is to learn effective study methods from you guys. Eventhough I'm always organized and intend to study I always seem to procrastinate, study the wrong way, and take way too much time doing what feels wrong.

Can you guys please offer me any study tips you've used throughout your pre-dental classes? It seems when I look at a whole textbook of technical information my brain becomes non-functional and retains nothing.

If possible can you guys be specific. On your first day of class did you highlight certain things or focus strictly on powerpoints/formulas for exams? Did you hire a tutor once a week? Did you read each chapter first then make notecards to review? Did you study an hour a day or re-read chapters? How much did you guys rely on the textbook as opposed to what the professor mentioned in class? Looking at some of you describe DAT questions has me quite concerned, but luckily I'm ready to fix this early in the game.

Thanks for your time ladies and fellas. Any help offered is muy bueno.

You may want to form study groups. My problem in undergrad was procrastination as well. By having a group to report to, there is a sense of accountability. As a social person myself, studying in this environment was fun and made studying/learning fun. You'll pick up study habits from your peers as well and retain a hell of a lot more material by teaching each other.

If you have independent time, go over the material after class. It'll enforce what you already know and you'll quickly find out what you missed. And I agree with the above post, notecards. It doesn't work for some, but does work for many and it has been tried and found effective.

Good Luck,

-student253

 

[vlct0ria]

I've made mostly A's since middle school by making and reviewing flash cards...if the syllabus lists nightly reading assignments, actually do them. You'd be surprised how much easier a class can be when you read ahead and keep up.

 

[Enso]

I'm not sure if this will help, but I'll try to give it a shot.

In science you have to learn minor details as well as the major concepts, and just saying that is a little discouraging. If you are reading, reading, and just trying to memorize, you will probably get pretty frustrated. Here is an old method that is very time consuming, and can be eventually pared down to meet your needs, but it is very effective. SQ3R.

http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm

This outlines this method for studying, as well as some others.

Good Luck. In my class we have several non science majors, so it can be done, and done effectively.

Thanks for that I might try it out. Looks like quite a process though. From what I'm getting this looks like a great regimen so far for me...

- Bed early/up early to review and highlight chapters
- Put study info on note cards
- Form a study group
- Before bed review note cards, re-read chapters

If there's any other strategies you guys have used before shoot away

 

[Isradoc1983]

Hi
so i'll give you my advice which got me a straight 3.6 and 3.8 every semester after my freshman year ( thats cause I didn't know english in my first year 🙂)
So yeah after I got a GPA of 3.0 in my first year by trying to memorize every single thing and read everything they wanted us to read in class I started to think what i am doing wrong. So, forget about the syllabus and the study material that the prof tells you to read before/ after class. You'll never learn anything from these books simply cause they have 2 much info that you don't need to know. What to do? LISTEN and TAKE VERY good NOTES in CLASS. Most of the exam will come from what the prof taught/ emphasized in class. So, if you miss one question that he didn't talk about in class w/e you got the rest 90%+ right. The way to study from your notes is to understand what the hell the prof was talking baout in class. So, BEFORE you start memorizing, go over your notes and see that you understand where is he going with this and make sure that you catch the things he emphasized. Once you understand whats imp and whats the point of the lecture memorization is very easy. Ooh yeah and if you can explain to someone what you just read then you prob know it. So yeah study groups are good but only when you know the stuff yourself. Also, find someone who you know takes good notes and compare your stuff to his.
I can go on and on but if you have any specific questions let me know or PM me.
Ooh yeah and in my opinion flash cards are a waste of time 🙂 its all about efficiency and getting the best results with the least time/ effort.

 

[219122]

I concur with isradoc. My grades went up when I got a laptop (had a desktop before). I type everything the prof emphasizes (including specific examples) and go over my notes to study (I'm a very slow writer but can type very quickly, if you can write quickly then do that). Leave the textbook to explain concepts that are very unclear. I also don't do flash cards because there is just tooooo much information in a full science courseload to be making cards for each class. I don't have that kind of time. Efficient studying is better than studying for long periods of time inefficiently.

 

[TempleDMDKrazd]

two things that really stick out is:

1) pay attention to the professor. what he/she says in class is probably going to be on the exam. what you want to do is print out power points notes and mark "important" slides. don't read your book, unless you have to. i rather use it for reference

2) don't memorize. science is more like 90% conceptualization and 10% memorization. if you try memorizing things it will become harder later on. if you understand the concepts you can build on it because everything in science is related to each other. also, understand the science lingo/terminology it will help a lot!!!

good luck

 

[Enso]

Good to know. I'm definitely going to place emphasis on what the professor says in class. Sometimes however my professors simply fly through powerpoints, not emphasizing much, and blindly state "know everything." I'm hoping that was an isolated incident.

One thing, if there was one book I was told to read from cover to cover it was your Organic Chem text. Is there any truth to that?

 

[219122]

I didn't read it, just did all of the practice problems and I was fine. Organic is really about being able to quickly identify which reaction is happening and what the next step is and that only comes with practice.

 

[Enso]

I didn't read it, just did all of the practice problems and I was fine. Organic is really about being able to quickly identify which reaction is happening and what the next step is and that only comes with practice.

You didn't have to read most (if not all) of the book to know how to do the problems/identify them?

 

[student253]

Not trying to knock on the last few posts, but they're assuming your school and exam format is like there's. Depending the class, you may just want to study old exams, go over lecture, or go over the material listed in the syllabus. Each class and prof is unique and the resulting exams are as well.

I'm sure others have had profs who said that you are responsible for all the material. I have had a prof who just zoomed through the powerpoints and half the test was in the pp, but the other was in the required reading that he did not go over. I guess take everyone's advice with a grain of salt and find what works for you, your school, and professor's style of exams.

Good Luck,

-student253

 

[219122]

You didn't have to read most (if not all) of the book to know how to do the problems/identify them?

No, because I went to class so the concepts were explained there. At my school the prof would lecture the concept, do a practice problem and then move on to the next concept. If you listen in class and take good notes you should be able to figure out how to approach most of the problems. Going to tutorials/TA sessions helped as well. I found that our organic book was soooo detailed that it became confusing and thus was not useful for the course. I only used it for the problems.

 

[Chewy12]

The best studying method is probably a little different for every person. Also, in my experience, different professors emphasize different sources of information for making exams. However, the more classes I've completed the less and less actual reading I do. I find it ineffective (for me) to sit down and read 50 pages...most classes seem to be more focused on what the professor taught in class, so using that time to study notes and power points, then supplement with readings works best for me.

If you'd like to know a little about a professor and his/her exam style before taking the class, check out ratemyprofessors.com. I usually find some pretty helpful information when choosing classes.

 

[ChrisM07]

I know how you feel Enso. After taking all the prerequisites for dental school, I just realized this semester (Junior in college) how to REALLY study efficiently. To bad I didn't realize this earlier...like BEFORE I took the pre-reqs.

What I do (probably has been mentioned before):
-Lecture 1: at the end of the day, review lecture 1
-Lecture 2: at the end of the day, review lecture 1 and 2
-Lecture 3: at the end of the day, review lecture 1, 2, and 3
-repeat.
-By the time you go to take the test, you've seen the material so many times you're not really studying for the test you're just 'reviewing' for it.

I find this helps for each class.

Good luck 🙂

 

[PDizzle]

To all the people that say science(and getting good scores on science tests) is conceptual, and not memorization, come back and talk to me after you've taken your anatomy final. Then, in two years come back when you have taken your NBDE part 1!!!

The amount of info you have to absorb and memorize for the NDBE1 is absolutely mind bottling...(you know, when your thoughts are all jumbled up..like in a bottle).

I dont want to scare you, but you have to be able to straight up memorize stuff, Rainman style! Then puke it up on a piece of paper one day later, drink lots of booze, forget it all, then on Monday start over....its just how it is.

 

[219122]

^^agreed, I memorized more than conceptualized. I don't know what kinds of courses you guys were taking but a lot of mine were straight facts and relationships (anatomy, histology, neuroanatomy, molecular biology etc)

 

[zebrafish]

True that! Yes I am about to puke up the formaldehyde(ok draw the structure, you masters of orgo!) In D school you better be able to memorize like it is no ones buisness! Gross will kick you in the butt! I miss the days of orgo and mechanisms! If you think that it won't be useful your wrong wait till biochem bites you, you'll be thinking is that an acyl ,group or a hydrolysis, condensation ....where the heck are the H+ going? and then you will say to yourself what the heck are you kidding me??? I thought I was done with this. Then the clarity comes, OH Yeah I wanted to become a doctor, a master crafter of teeth! But don't give up we will make it. P=DMD

To all the people that say science(and getting good scores on science tests) is conceptual, and not memorization, come back and talk to me after you've taken your anatomy final. Then, in two years come back when you have taken your NBDE part 1!!!

The amount of info you have to absorb and memorize for the NDBE1 is absolutely mind bottling...(you know, when your thoughts are all jumbled up..like in a bottle).

I dont want to scare you, but you have to be able to straight up memorize stuff, Rainman style! Then puke it up on a piece of paper one day later, drink lots of booze, forget it all, then on Monday start over....its just how it is.

 

[Pghboy18]

Studying and comprehending science. In any fashion.

Eventhough I'm always organized and intend to study I always seem to procrastinate, study the wrong way, and take way too much time doing what feels wrong.

Here is a technique that helped me immensely. As you review information, categorize it as either concept or detail. Don't memorize the concepts -- understand them. Don't understand the details -- just memorize them. This technique is especially important when studying for biology exams, which generally encompass both core processes and a lot of minute details. The key is to stick to the plan - do not try to understand things that you don't need to. It's tempting to try to understand everything, but the reality is that you generally don't have the background to fill in all the blanks, and finding the info is too time consuming. Big ideas get understood, small details get memorized and forgotten.

 

[Doh Boy Fresh]

during the first class figure out what type of teacher/class you are dealing with. I"ve had some teachers just straight up say everything you need to know you'll learn in class... Truth be told, my fees for books my freshmean year was about $400. Sophmore $100, Junior $35, senior $50... why this decreasing trend? I stopped buying books. I only buy things such as assignment readers which you NEED to turn in an assignment.

Next, I have been able to get straight As w/o books. I haven't even read a school book since freshman year. Moreover, I really don't study that much.

My secret is that I go to class, take good notes, sit up, and listen. Then before the final I memorize word for word all the lectures... as in if I go over a lecture 3 times I make sure I do it efficiently enough that I can list the slides with a little prompting. Also, if there is a study guide, it exists for a reason...answer each question ...for physiology and biochem i've made over 20 page study guides...some times you just NEED to know that much information...then you need to memorize it, and BAM! you can get an A on every test gauranteed! good luck.

 

[makushin]

.

 

[PDizzle]

Don't memorize the concepts -- understand them. Don't understand the details -- just memorize them.

beautifuly said! 😀

 

[sajjy]

during the first class figure out what type of teacher/class you are dealing with. I"ve had some teachers just straight up say everything you need to know you'll learn in class... Truth be told, my fees for books my freshmean year was about $400. Sophmore $100, Junior $35, senior $50... why this decreasing trend? I stopped buying books. I only buy things such as assignment readers which you NEED to turn in an assignment.

Next, I have been able to get straight As w/o books. I haven't even read a school book since freshman year. Moreover, I really don't study that much.

My secret is that I go to class, take good notes, sit up, and listen. Then before the final I memorize word for word all the lectures... as in if I go over a lecture 3 times I make sure I do it efficiently enough that I can list the slides with a little prompting. Also, if there is a study guide, it exists for a reason...answer each question ...for physiology and biochem i've made over 20 page study guides...some times you just NEED to know that much information...then you need to memorize it, and BAM! you can get an A on every test gauranteed! good luck.

yeap, freshman $600, Sophomore $100, Junior $50, Senior $0 so far!!!

 

[Dentgirl09]

i like flashcards, too. Do guys not have the patience to make and use flash cards? They really help speed up the memorization process if you really just have to memorize info....

In terms of understanding.... I never took a book home in high school and was pretty unprepared for my first year in college. Took me my entire freshman year to figure out how to get good grades AND understand what the hell I was talking about. I don't really know how I do it... I just read and take notes as I read. And then sit and think about what I just read to see if I get it. Maybe explain it to myself mentally. And then skim back and pick up details.

Having study buddies helps once you've conquered most the info cuz you can explain stuff back and forth and pick up what hte othermisses. I realized i remember things when it is noted that I got it wrong already... and having a friend to point that out helps. You'll figure it out... you just have to keep trying. I feel your pain.

 

[sobe55]

A lot of those techniques above help me tremendously!

I always find that making studying fun makes me retain the information SO much better. I try to make the material relate to me, for example:

Stats: significance tests- if your patience (p-value) is less than her attitude (alpha) - reject that Ho (null hypothesis)!
OChem: tertiary halides Don't Do SN2.
Bio: Stages for mitosis: P^2MAT (prophase, prometaphase...etc.)

If it rhymes or its funny to me- I'll definitely remember it. 🙂

 

[enfuego]

I'm glad you made this thread because even though I study a lot, I feel like I'm not necessarily very efficient at it. It's very useful to see how everyone else is successful.

Also good to hear there's a lot of memorizing in dental school. I can memorize like there's no tomorrow (the key is to involve as many of your senses as you can), but trying to see the big picture concept is still hard for me, especially in biology. I feel like biology is straight memorization of facts - I'm still trying to figure out what the concepts are.

 

[Isradoc1983]

Yeah memorization to some extent is a must. You can't remember all the urea cycle, but it gets much easier if you understand what you're memorizing. Its funny as I had prof saying that we must read all the material in the syllabus as only 60% will be from the lecture. Of course it was a complete BS and something like 90% + on the exam came straight from the lecture 🙂
I guess there will be no escaping from memorization in gross.

 

[dentalmagnet]

Good to know. I'm definitely going to place emphasis on what the professor says in class. Sometimes however my professors simply fly through powerpoints, not emphasizing much, and blindly state "know everything." I'm hoping that was an isolated incident.

One thing, if there was one book I was told to read from cover to cover it was your Organic Chem text. Is there any truth to that?

I've read my organic book cover to cover (minus chapters not covered in class..like the last three). I think organic is easy now. At first it was hard and now it's second nature. I would tell anyone to read, practice, and memorize when it comes to organic. I don't think there are any "impossible" subjects in undergrad. Not at my school anyways.

 

[Orion7583]

Figure out how YOU learn best....kinesthetic, visual or auditory and stuck with that. If you are an auditory learning record your lectures, and listen to them in the car. I am kinesthetic so I do everything I can to make the material something I can manipulate. I group concepts together, draw pictures ect. Another suggestion; re write your notes after lecture. But, instead of just rewriting them, look up each concept in the book and put information into your own words using a hybrid of lecture notes and the book.

 

[PDizzle]

These are a lot of great ways to get get great scores on tests,..but I fail to see one viable option no one seemed to mention


.......cheating off an asian dude!!!!



hehe,,OK, you know I'm only kidding plus don't give me none of that racist crap cuz it's not racist if it's a compliment!


Pdizz....out!

 

[hoss19]

Figure out how YOU learn best....kinesthetic, visual or auditory and stuck with that. If you are an auditory learning record your lectures, and listen to them in the car. I am kinesthetic so I do everything I can to make the material something I can manipulate. I group concepts together, draw pictures ect. Another suggestion; re write your notes after lecture. But, instead of just rewriting them, look up each concept in the book and put information into your own words using a hybrid of lecture notes and the book.

i agree with the rewriting of notes, especially for ochem. for bio subjects, i rewrite notes on MS word, it really helps and it is easy to organize....plus you can sell them at the end of the semester and make a return on your investment!

 

[Enso]

Excellent guys. Thanks to everyone. This thread is really worth its weight in gold... if it actually weighed something.

A lot of you guys mentioned understanding concepts and memorizing the other stuff. Can you guys give an example of a "concept" that should be understood and maybe an example of something else that should be memorized and discarded?

If I had to guess is it really grasping the bold/highlighted/main titles of a text? Is it knowing WHY meiosis/mitosis occurs instead of just memorizing the stages?

 

[losdientes]

Excellent guys. Thanks to everyone. This thread is really worth its weight in gold... if it actually weighed something.

A lot of you guys mentioned understanding concepts and memorizing the other stuff. Can you guys give an example of a "concept" that should be understood and maybe an example of something else that should be memorized and discarded?

If I had to guess is it really grasping the bold/highlighted/main titles of a text? Is it knowing WHY meiosis/mitosis occurs instead of just memorizing the stages?

Well, think of when they are used. Mitosis is going to result in identical daughter diploid cells. This is useful when your body needs to replace things like tissue cells. Meiosis is going to result in genetically different haploid cells. These haploid cells are gametes and will eventually be fertilized to result in genetic variation. Why would you want more genetic variation? Say there is a mutation in a parent, you can avoid passing it down by receiving two sets of DNA from both parents, allowing random fertilization, crossing over, etc to occur. (This is a very brief summarization).

You'd want to memorize the steps, but also memorize things like sister chromatids, chromosomes, homologous chromosomes, etc. It's important to memorize, but you need to understand in order to answer questions that aren't straight forward. Sometimes a scenario will be given and you have to deduce why it resulted in what it did, or understand what would happen if a step was skipped, nondisjunction occured, etc.

I like to make an outline and then supplement information from my textbook. If you are learning about similar things, such as mitosis and meiosis, try to make a chart next to one another noting the differences and similarities.

The internet is also a great source for understanding. Many websites will have animated videos that take you through a tour. Sometimes it's easier to see it happening, as opposed to just reading about it.

 

[kimnewcom]

go to class.

pay attention to your teacher.

review the material.
(don't have to read the whole text book, but read the part where your teacher's lecture note covers)

and most of all
do whatever your professors tell you to do.

 

[jay47]

go to class.

pay attention to your teacher.

review the material.
(don't have to read the whole text book, but read the part where your teacher's lecture note covers)

and most of all
do whatever your professors tell you to do.

Amen.