How do you Study?

[avi79]

I know you're all very successful academically, so I'm curious….how do you all study?
Do you like to just read your notes? do you write them out? do you like to walk around while you study? Do you read the textbook? Do you keep up with the studying throughout the course or do you just pop some adderall the night before and pull an all nighter? Do you like to read the text before class? My friends are all kind of lazy and/or terrible students so I'd like to hear from other people aspiring to be doctors.

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[familyaerospace]

For me it depends on the subject. Some classes I just went to lectures. For some classes I preread the book, went to lecture, then studied more. Some required flashcards (I'm looking at you Latin! You too Orgo.) Some I wrote out the notes, then typed them. I very rarely cram, as a matter of fact I think I only did that once and let's just say it did not work out well for me so I never did it again. There are some subjects that I am still looking at and I cannot even tell you how I passed the class unless it was out of pure sympathy (Hi, Elementary Russian!)

Everyone studies different. What might work for one, might not work for another so really this is just giving you ideas.

 

[petyr_baelish]

Read chapter. Write notes.
From memory, rewrite notes as an outline (headers and bullet points). Compare outline to chapter notes and fill in details. Re-read outline and highlight those missing details you added to the outline. Do another outline from memory.

Any details that are missed in the second outline go into a flashcard.

Review flashcards and 2nd outline daily.

Repeat this mantra when you feel drudgery: Studying is not supposed to be easy. It's active. It's work. It's not mindless or rote.

I went from a 2.5 first year to a 3.85 (average) x 3 years using the above strategy. I could have got a 4.0 if I did the above for every science class.

But for philosophy classes, this strategy rarely works due to the essays being a large part of the grade.

 

[sakabato93]

Get drunk, stay up all night, sleep in class, guess on all tests = 3.89 GPA/4.0 for the last 3 semester.

In all seriousness, it all starts with the class. When it comes to science, I'm fairly textbook savvy. I go to lecture and learn the basic concept, write notes, etc. The I go back and I read the textbook to understand the context surrounding the concept. Textbooks usually do a good job of creating relevant connections between concepts, which is critical to fully understanding and learning anything in science.

One thing I like to do for all classes is to type out the notes I write the next day. Lots of research suggests that a good strategy to review your notes within 24 hours. Anytime afterward becomes relearning rather than reviewing (something like you lose 70% of what you learn in class if you don't review the next day).

Also, I'm a foreign language major, so a conservative breakdown for that is like 40% learning 60% practice, practice, practice.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gregor Wiesmann]

I read the book.......I'm always half-asleep in class, so I have no idea what the heck we just talked about. I have to go home and learn it for myself most of the time, except in math class. I don't know why, but for math, I always learn better in the lectures. I guess it's just the way my brain is wired?

 

[Being]

#1 most important thing, and something I see people screwing up all the time: realize when you need help. Recognize when you don't fully understand something, and figure it out. Ask your friends, ask your classmates, get a tutor, whatever. As an older student, I have friends who already are MDs, PhDs, etc, and I don't hesitate to bother them with questions about things if I'm having trouble. I see a lot of my classmates struggle along saying, "I pretty much get this, it will probably become clearer later." Don't do that - if you have a question, figure out the answer or ask someone for help.

On that note, it's much easier to stay ahead than it is to catch up from behind.

Your first pass at the material should be before the lecture that covers it. IE, read the chapter before class - class should be for filling in the gaps and solidifying your understanding, not teaching you from scratch. A lot of things you won't be able to retain the first time you see them, so it really helps if you've seen the stuff before once or twice.

Flashcards are nice. Spaced repetition programs are better. Check out Anki or Supermemo. These are programs that present flashcards to you on a schedule based on how easy/hard you find each particular card, so you waste less time reviewing cards you already know. They're great for keeping material in your head from earlier in the class, and you can continue using them to review for the MCAT further down the road. I do as much of my studying as possible via this method.

 

[Person0715]

Flashcards. And memorization. Luckily, I have a pretty good memory.

 

[sakabato93]

I've never really liked flashcards... except for kanji

 

[Judson]

I just posted this in another thread, but I feel it's relevant. Here is how I've been studying for Orgo this summer:

Here's my weekly routine (we'll see where this gets me tomorrow):

Weekdays:
-Go to lecture
-After lecture read that day's chapter and answer assigned homework problems
-After that attend review session (there are 2-hour long review sessions a few hours after each lecture)
-Go home and do supplemental problems from msu.edu's ochem database / watch khan academy tutorials / make flashcards on quizlet.com
-Repeat

Weekends:
-Go over topics I found more challenging in more detail
-Study flashcards (including the ones from the previous weeks)
-Continue doing supplemental problems / watching tutorial videos
-Take practice exams
-Email TA if necessary

I am determined to get an A in this class. Gen Chem was my arch enemy so I plan to take out it's master, Orgo, to weaken the beast.

 

[Person0715]

I've never really liked flashcards... except for kanji

I love flashcards. I use flashcards for all of my science classes...and kanji as well.

 

[mrh125]

I study a little bit each day. As soon as i'm done with the lecture i'll make flashcards of essential material i need to know and drill till i have a grasp of it then go onto homework and reading the material covered in future lectures.I always try to start working on long and involved stuff the second it's assigned especially essays. If i have any questions I immediately go to professor office hours or email. Rinse and repeat. It's the best way for me. I hate cramming because it require so much mental gymnastics when you can do just as well if you put your mind to it without the added pressure.

 

[avi79]

These are some great ideas guys. It's really interesting to hear how other people like to study.
I generally read the chapter before class, go to class and take notes, then read it over after class and make my own condensed
notes that I can use once the exam comes. It seems to work well, but I find it kind of time consuming. Sometimes I don't even
read the chapter in the textbook because I'm such a slow reader.

 

[jm192]

The biggest thing is to realize that you're tested over what your professor thinks is important.

Because of this, professor's notes>>>>>Book. For most Bio classes, you don't even need the book. Even if they tell you to reaad the book--if it doesn't make their classroom notes, it isn't going to make the test. Over 4 years of college I had several professors assign chapters to read and yada yada. It's just designed to "enhance" the notes. And it's almost always a waste of your time. The only time you NEED to do the assigned reading is in a lit course.

You need a good balance of school and social to avoid burning out. So you need to study efficiently. And that means NOT reading every available source. A book can help clarify a difficult topic. Maybe some books have questions that help you understand things.

But generally speaking--you are tested over notes.

 

[ciestar]

I only ever read the textbook for ONE class for my 4 years of UG. That's only because she took questions from the text.

Otherwise, I went to lecture and took very detailed notes on the ppt slides provided. I closed any gaps while going over it by asking the professor or by then using the text book to figure it out. Several of my classes didn't assign a textbook so I had to ask the professor or find professor google.

Following, I reviewed my notes daily. For physiology, I would literally write/draw out the steps of the female reproduction cycle. I would talk the steps out and then include what hormone affects which system and what types of feedback systems were involved. I definitely went more comprehensive with this but I took my exams with no real issues, fwiw.

Tl;dr: I took detailed lecture notes and basically reviewed them every day while explaining the processes occurring for each topic.

 

[ciestar]

The biggest thing is to realize that you're tested over what your professor thinks is important.

Because of this, professor's notes>>>>>Book. For most Bio classes, you don't even need the book. Even if they tell you to reaad the book--if it doesn't make their classroom notes, it isn't going to make the test. Over 4 years of college I had several professors assign chapters to read and yada yada. It's just designed to "enhance" the notes. And it's almost always a waste of your time. The only time you NEED to do the assigned reading is in a lit course.

You need a good balance of school and social to avoid burning out. So you need to study efficiently. And that means NOT reading every available source. A book can help clarify a difficult topic. Maybe some books have questions that help you understand things.

But generally speaking--you are tested over notes.

Which makes going to class that much more important! But I totally agree, the textbook itself was useless for me.

 

[Gregor Wiesmann]

The biggest thing is to realize that you're tested over what your professor thinks is important.

Because of this, professor's notes>>>>>Book. For most Bio classes, you don't even need the book. Even if they tell you to reaad the book--if it doesn't make their classroom notes, it isn't going to make the test. Over 4 years of college I had several professors assign chapters to read and yada yada. It's just designed to "enhance" the notes. And it's almost always a waste of your time. The only time you NEED to do the assigned reading is in a lit course.

You need a good balance of school and social to avoid burning out. So you need to study efficiently. And that means NOT reading every available source. A book can help clarify a difficult topic. Maybe some books have questions that help you understand things.

But generally speaking--you are tested over notes.

Unless you're in my biology class, where the professor just plays powerpoint slideshows with pictures and diagrams on it and talks about them for an hour. He doesn't supply any supplemental note packets, and never writes on the whiteboard. If he does have handouts, it will just be more blank diagrams that he wants us to go look in the book to fill out. I literally go there and listen to him ramble on about these diagrams, and then I have to go home and read the whole chapter in the book because my notes were like 1/3 of a page for an hour and a half lecture. Oh, and yes, he has tested us on material that he didn't even talk about in class because "there wasn't enough time to cover it". The only reason I even bother to go to class is to be polite; I learn absolutely nothing. In short, I haven't even looked at any notes I've taken this quarter because I don't really have any.......hopefully this won't be the case in future classes.

 

[The Milkman]

Read notes multiple times at night before test day, or a couple days in advance if needed, while listening to music. Go to sleep. Wake up earlier than usual on test day and go over notes one more time.

 

[Aerus]

Show up to class prepared for the material (doing a bit of reading beforehand), actively paying attention/taking diligent notes, and reviewing a bit on the day's material at the end of each day/do relevant practice problems on the day's material. I don't have to study/cram that much for exams this way.

 

[optimistic3]

Depends on the class. For math based classes (calculus, pchem, etc.), then I have to do as many problems as I can and read the book if I get confused. For content based classes (bio, biochem), I prefer to read the book and take notes on every chapter for the course BUT this is extremely time consuming. It is effective in learning the material (for myself) but NOT efficient. I need to find another way to learn it that doesn't take up all my time.

 

[rualai]

This article was pretty interesting on note taking for laptop use vs hand written.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/

Also if you really want to remember something, this is the technique that many of the best memory experts (idk what to call them but they have pro competitions) use. I've also heard of med students using this as well.
http://mnemotechnics.org/wiki/Method_of_Loci

 

[avi79]

It's interesting to see how you you guys study. Maybe I'll try some of these methods next school year.

 

[Kochanie]

Not well, I get super distracted by everything so I'll spend 6 hours in a library, only using 4 of them to actually study. Oh well, trapping myself has gotten me a 100 in Calc 3 so far and way above average for Bio.

 

[Gregor Wiesmann]

I studied way better before I got a SDN account.......now I'm far too focused on giving strangers advice.

 

[mehc012]

This article was pretty interesting on note taking for laptop use vs hand written.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/

Also if you really want to remember something, this is the technique that many of the best memory experts (idk what to call them but they have pro competitions) use. I've also heard of med students using this as well.
http://mnemotechnics.org/wiki/Method_of_Loci

That's funny, because I do far, far better with things I type. My handwritten notes are slow and disorganized...I spend all class organizing them and end up not actively listening because my brain is focused on HOW to write things rather than what's being said.
Any cards I type in Anki vs free-recall wo typing, I remember much better.

 

[nwh170412]

That's funny, because I do far, far better with things I type. My handwritten notes are slow and disorganized...I spend all class organizing them and end up not actively listening because my brain is focused on HOW to write things rather than what's being said.
Any cards I type in Anki vs free-recall wo typing, I remember much better.

YESSSS. I'm exactly the same way.