How do you remember things you studied?

[chocostrawberry]

Hi all,

I tend to forget things I studied by almost 50% in a week. Does it happen to you? It's difficult to do practice test when you can't remember some of the concepts and mistakes you did in the previous questions. How do you remember persistently what you study until practice tests and exam day?

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[MD Odyssey]

Hi all,

I tend to forget things I studied by almost 50% in a week. Does it happen to you? It's difficult to do practice test when you can't remember some of the concepts and mistakes you did in the previous questions. How do you remember persistently what you study until practice tests and exam day?

I find that explaining things to others helps me retain the information and concepts a lot better. Also, most of the things I get right today is due to the fact that I got them wrong a long time ago. For example, I'll never forget to label a plot because on my senior quantum mechanics final, I didn't and lost 35% of my grade. That was six years ago, and I still remember.

That's the reason that doing lots of problems is such a good method for learning. The mistakes you make on the practice exams are the mistakes you won't make on the real thing.

 

[kimicurtis]

What the poster said above is true. You may also want to start making flash cards for the topic you review, highlighting things that you get wrong.

 

[Fifty 3rds]

With my brain.

On a less sarcastic note, I find multiple repetitions helps me. And sometimes, depending on the concept/material, drawing it out in a detailed diagram/picture.

After I finish reviewing a section, I try to go back over the details while I'm walking the dog/taking a shower/etc.

Then it's just about glancing over the material at spaced intervals and it starts to stick.

 

[chocostrawberry]

Good comments. It looks like we all are doing the same methods

 

[MedGrl@2022]

Hi all,

I tend to forget things I studied by almost 50% in a week. Does it happen to you? It's difficult to do practice test when you can't remember some of the concepts and mistakes you did in the previous questions. How do you remember persistently what you study until practice tests and exam day?

Maybe you are cramming too fast. I take my time learning things and going over practice problems. I do ALL the EK1001 problems and read several explanations of the same material to make sure that I have it down and can understand it from as many angels as possible. This takes a lot of time but I hope it helps me retain and memorize it.

Best of luck... keep up the good work! 🙂

 

[chocostrawberry]

Maybe you are cramming too fast. I take my time learning things and going over practice problems. I do ALL the EK1001 problems and read several explanations of the same material to make sure that I have it down and can understand it from as many angels as possible. This takes a lot of time but I hope it helps me retain and memorize it.

Best of luck... keep up the good work! 🙂

Hey, thanks for your input. I know...but my brain is unable to figure out at different angles without doing questions and feel bored looking at the same chapters for so long 😛 Yea, you are partially right. Every time I read through and practice, I realize that I did not understand completely. Nevertheless, I still forget some information and patterns though I grasp the concepts. Good luck to you.

 

[yocharlie]

Repetition is what I do, keep going over the concept I always forget, example I always forget the menstration cycle with what goes up and down etc. So I do flashcards and also rewrite everything I know from the top of my head out on a piece of paper without going to the notes. I feel as if when I just read my notes, its not challenging me to know it, its just like oh ya i remember that. So when it comes to practice test, I take it and if there is a concept I forgot, I don't look at the answers yet. I go to my books and review the general concept and then go back and retake the PT blind, until I get a score I like or my goal, I look at the answers and usually I end up getting it correct and then I now remember the concept.

Basically, low score on first round PT, beat myself up and learn the concept, reward of high score on retake, happy dance, and permanently remember it and why I got it wrong before.

 

[manchika]

What works with me is
1. Already said by the first person who replied... Learn from your mistakes and I tend not to forget them at all as well (Once I start thinking how silly the mistake i made was, it leaves a lasting memory mark )

2.I am a more visual person.... More than reading a chapter, listening or viewing a video about a chapter helps me more... Chad videos, Youtube (tons of information on every mcat topic) , Khan academy... Once i watch and come back and read... It makes a mental map of the topic....

 

[Chalupa Batman]

You only retain about 10% from reading. So you should, like everyone else has already stated, utilize other ways to retain information.
in addition to reading text books do problems, watch videos, analyze diagrams or graphics, discuss with others and most importantly try to teach others.

There are a lot of posts on SDN where students are asking questions about certain topics, you should take advantage of this and try to answer their questions.

 

[survivordo]

I found while doing MCAT/Board review that I had to write things down to truly learn them so I would do a set of questions then take notes on all of the right/wrong answers. I would then read and re-read these notes. That way all the information you have learned isn't being lost. Also, I am a big fan of flashcards. You might benefit from a post on my blog (linked in my signature) called "how to succeed through active studying".

Survivor DO

 

[chocostrawberry]

To sum it up from you guys' opinions,
1. Repetition, definitely
2. Flashcards but I use a note book or write by the side of the questions instead
3. Discussion
4. Video, diagram
5. Understand
6. I think we can remember better if we concentrate, but who can persistently concentrate after hours/ even minutes.. of desk-bound