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- Feb 4, 2012
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I agree with those that said understanding the concepts is more important than memorizing every detail. On my first day of O.Chem the professor said those of you that don't just memorize reactions, but understand the chemistry will do best. I didn't know what he was talking about at first, but as the semester went on I focused on chemistry not just this named reaction does A then B then C. By the second semester I was scoring perfect or near perfect stores with minimal studying while other students had color coded notecards with 5000 mechanisms written on them.
I also find that those concepts that the professors usually blow through at the beginning of a chapter/book/semester, those foundational concepts, are the most important part of really "getting it." Spend time understanding the core concepts and building solid foundations, and the "difficult" concepts will come easy.
Finally, I find most people that over-study or take copious amounts of complex notes, are doing what I call "Guilty Studying." They overstudy inefficiently for hours on end so that they feel like they did everything they could when they get the grade. To me if you make more of an effort to understand concepts, you shouldn't need more than a couple of hours to study the material that builds on those concepts. For example, I often take condensed notes at the beginning of a chapter, connecting important concepts to foundational concepts. I then make sure to look at those condensed notes for about 15 minutes each day. Come mid-term or final I am so familiar with all of the concepts by just taking a few minutes each day, I don't need much more than an hour to review.
Also, figure out your learning style. When I'm struggling to get something, I try to find audio on it because I'm an auditory learner. I'll be commuting to work, listening to the audio, when all of the sudden it just clicks.
I also find that those concepts that the professors usually blow through at the beginning of a chapter/book/semester, those foundational concepts, are the most important part of really "getting it." Spend time understanding the core concepts and building solid foundations, and the "difficult" concepts will come easy.
Finally, I find most people that over-study or take copious amounts of complex notes, are doing what I call "Guilty Studying." They overstudy inefficiently for hours on end so that they feel like they did everything they could when they get the grade. To me if you make more of an effort to understand concepts, you shouldn't need more than a couple of hours to study the material that builds on those concepts. For example, I often take condensed notes at the beginning of a chapter, connecting important concepts to foundational concepts. I then make sure to look at those condensed notes for about 15 minutes each day. Come mid-term or final I am so familiar with all of the concepts by just taking a few minutes each day, I don't need much more than an hour to review.
Also, figure out your learning style. When I'm struggling to get something, I try to find audio on it because I'm an auditory learner. I'll be commuting to work, listening to the audio, when all of the sudden it just clicks.
