How does a premed go from being a C/B student to an A student?

[Scaredddd]

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It's now or never for me and I've never seen it be done.

Should I just throw myself into my EC's if it's not possible for myself? A kid I know had a 2.7 and got into a really good medical school with amazing EC's.

 

[Ace-Co-A]

How do you study for your classes? How much time per week do you study? Is there any pattern in your academic struggles (for example, do you struggle with math? or, how do you in classes that require a large amount of reading?)

These questions are designed to probe why it is that you struggle. I know people who don't do very well academically and I think distractions are their principal problem.

 

[Scaredddd]

How do you study for your classes? How much time per week do you study? Is there any pattern in your academic struggles (for example, do you struggle with math? or, how do you in classes that require a large amount of reading?)

These questions are designed to probe why it is that you struggle. I know people who don't do very well academically and I think distractions are their principal problem.

Freshman year, I just couldn't seem to find the time. So it made sense why I did average on midterms (cramming) and below average on quizzes (no constant studying).
This year, I put in a lot of time. For my current Biology class, I put in 12 hours, at least, a week (reading and going over lectures).

Yes, I struggle with reading the most. Doing Chemistry wasn't hard, once I did the initial reading (all I had to do from there is go over notes).

 

[Ace-Co-A]

Freshman year, I just couldn't seem to find the time. So it made sense why I did average on midterms (cramming) and below average on quizzes (no constant studying).
This year, I put in a lot of time. For my current Biology class, I put in 12 hours, at least, a week (reading and going over lectures).

Yes, I struggle with reading the most. Doing Chemistry wasn't hard, once I did the initial reading (all I had to do from there is go over notes).

It might sound fundamental, but struggling with reading is a huge problem in the US. Most people most of the time are not very good at reading, so you shouldn't feel discouraged. The best way to get better is to do it a lot. Read everything you can get your hands on.

For your classes, of course, reading the textbooks is the most important way in which you'll learn the material (outside of lecture & use of lecture notes to focus your studying efforts.) When you read a textbook, make sure to do all the problems and go over any concepts that are not clear after reading a chapter.

The best way to do all of this is to throw more time into your studies. Get rid of habits that are holding you back. Don't watch television or play video games, for example. There is a beauty in studying that is not appreciated by many people. If you can get to the point where you'd rather read your biology textbook than watch television, then studying won't be difficult for you -- you'll enjoy it!

These are, of course, just my thoughts. You'll more than likely figure out your own methods for balancing your studies with everything else you've got going on as you progress through college. Enjoy the journey, friend.

 

[Scaredddd]

It might sound fundamental, but struggling with reading is a huge problem in the US. Most people most of the time are not very good at reading, so you shouldn't feel discouraged. The best way to get better is to do it a lot. Read everything you can get your hands on.

For your classes, of course, reading the textbooks is the most important way in which you'll learn the material (outside of lecture & use of lecture notes to focus your studying efforts.) When you read a textbook, make sure to do all the problems and go over any concepts that are not clear after reading a chapter.

The best way to do all of this is to throw more time into your studies. Get rid of habits that are holding you back. Don't watch television or play video games, for example. There is a beauty in studying that is not appreciated by many people. If you can get to the point where you'd rather read your biology textbook than watch television, then studying won't be difficult for you -- you'll enjoy it!

These are, of course, just my thoughts. You'll more than likely figure out your own methods for balancing your studies with everything else you've got going on as you progress through college. Enjoy the journey, friend.

Thank you, do you think the fact that I do my reading so late in the quarter (or late in the week now) has an effect on my learning the material?

 

[calcio1020]

This year, I put in a lot of time. For my current Biology class, I put in 12 hours, at least, a week (reading and going over lectures).

For biology, bring a laptop with pearnote installed. Install anki as well. Record lectures with pearnote and type notes. Then make flash cards on anki with recorded and typed notes. Study flash cards.

 

[Ace-Co-A]

Thank you, do you think the fact that I do my reading so late in the quarter (or late in the week now) has an effect on my learning the material?

I'm sorry, but I don't understand your use of 'quarter' -- are you referring to the quarter system used at your school (as opposed to semesters or trimesters)? If so, yes I do... the first thing you do is expose yourself to the material as it is presented in the textbook. Reading before a lecture helps to solidify content.

 

[knv2u]

It might sound fundamental, but struggling with reading is a huge problem in the US. Most people most of the time are not very good at reading, so you shouldn't feel discouraged. The best way to get better is to do it a lot. Read everything you can get your hands on.

For your classes, of course, reading the textbooks is the most important way in which you'll learn the material (outside of lecture & use of lecture notes to focus your studying efforts.) When you read a textbook, make sure to do all the problems and go over any concepts that are not clear after reading a chapter.

The best way to do all of this is to throw more time into your studies. Get rid of habits that are holding you back. Don't watch television or play video games, for example. There is a beauty in studying that is not appreciated by many people. If you can get to the point where you'd rather read your biology textbook than watch television, then studying won't be difficult for you -- you'll enjoy it!

These are, of course, just my thoughts. You'll more than likely figure out your own methods for balancing your studies with everything else you've got going on as you progress through college. Enjoy the journey, friend.

I agree with all of this, but will add what I just posted to another thread. Cognitive psychologists believe that people learn, at least in part, by relating new and previously unknown information to previous knowledge and experiences. Think of your existing experiences and knowledge base as a cognitive scaffold to attach and connect new ideas. That's why synthesis with your previous course work and other knowledge is important. How does your existing knowledge connect to what you are about to learn? Does it help explain it? For instance, in a physiology course, how does your previous knowledge of chemistry and other biology course work inform your predictions of what will happen in response to a certain new stimuli, etc.? Concept mapping can be helpful. Also, if the topic is completely new and you have nothing to go on, try using analogies to relate obscure, abstract familiar to the more familiar.

 

[Scaredddd]

Thank you, I'll try next quarter for the last time. 🙂

 

[Gauss44]

-Stay a step ahead of the class by reading the chapter before the lecture about it
-Review your notes or rewrite them after class
-Study ahead of time. An extreme, yet effective, method is to take the online free class the summer before your graded class http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/free-stuff/1247592/
-Supplement lectures/textbooks with Chad Videos or online free videos
-Get a tutor when all else fails

 

[knv2u]

-Stay a step ahead of the class by reading the chapter before the lecture about it
-Review your notes or rewrite them after class
-Study ahead of time. An extreme, yet effective, method is to take the online free class the summer before your graded class http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/free-stuff/1247592/
-Supplement lectures/textbooks with Chad Videos or online free videos
-Get a tutor when all else fails

What exactly is a "Chad" video?

 

[nOchemallday]

OP, you'll certainly need to bring your GPA up just to beat the initial screening. What you've described seems to be a classic case in which you need to study smarter, not harder. It sounds like you're on a quarter system (as opposed to semester) so it can be difficult to adjust to a new study technique in 1 term. I'm also a quarter-system student and understand that "midterms" last from week 3 to week 9. Use the first few weeks at the start of this upcoming term to focus on a consistent technique to help you understand and retain all the information.

As others above have posted, recording lectures can be helpful because ultimately your professor is the beacon of knowledge for everything in that class. Supplementary sources can be helpful but your professor will be the one writing the tests/quizzes; work towards knowing every lecture cold and supplement your understanding as necessary. Review software like Anki or even just flashcards (like quizlet) can be helpful in memorizing bulk definitions. In many cases definitions go hand-in-hand with the concepts they are about, so mixing concept and definition review at the same time can help work recall and critical thinking at the same time to master the material.

You absolutely need to take away distractions. 12 hours studying (presumably for 1 class) each week should allow you to master the majority of the material. But realistically a lot of study time is spent on other websites or skipping songs b/c random shuffle all wont play any good songs. If you listen to music, have a specific playlist that gets you in the mood to do work and only associate that playlist with studying/working (be the next Pavlov's Dog). Otherwise download all the material you will need to study and disconnect from the internet. Don't be afraid to take 10min breaks every hour to keep your morale and focus up; brain fatigue will only hurt you. Also, don't forget to drink often while studying and bring snacks if you're going to be studying for a long time!

If you think you're understanding all of the material thoroughly with your current method, it might just be that you are a poor test taker - in which case there are other things that can be done to improve those abilities.

What exactly is a "Chad" video?

A lot of people use Chad's videos as they are studying for the MCAT. Some people find it useful for learning/reviewing concepts. I never used any of them while studying for classes/MCAT, but posted the link in case others are curious.

EDIT: @ Question in the title - By putting in more work and optimizing your habits to reach your potential.

 

[Zelda840]

For me, it really depends on the class and more importantly, the teacher. I know my animal behavior teacher likes to see in-depth answers, so I write literally everything I can think of when I answer her essay questions. I know my biochem teacher tests directly from her powerpoint notes, so I don't bother reading the book for that class. I don't waste any time on low-yield concepts and I keep track of where I'm at point-wise as I go through the semester. I put all of my effort into the class I'm getting the lowest score in. This seems obvious, but I know a lot of people put more time into the classes they enjoy more. For me, time is money. I want the maximum return on my time investment.

 

[orangeman25]

Attending class

 

[Uafl112]

dont just memorize facts. Connect them together to get the overall picture and concepts. This really helped for classes like Cell Bio and orgo

 

[Scaredddd]

Attending class

If only I went to a school where that's all it takes. Of course I attend class, I attend it a few times if lectures are posted haha.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

When you study, don't just read over your notes or read the book. Everything probably makes sense when you read your lecture notes, but when it comes time to regurgitate that information on the test, you might not be able to reproduce it. You have to actively reproduce what you know from memory - constantly test yourself to see what you know and what you don't know, and go back and keep doing it until you get it all down and know it like the back of your hand. Come up with your own "test questions" that you think might be questions that will be on the test, and master those answers. Study with a friend, quizzing each other. Draw out the concepts/processes on a whiteboard, all from memory, don't cheat. Most importantly, whatever you do, study AHEAD of time. It is sooo much better to spread information out over a week or even 3 days than to try and cram it all into one night. Information gets solidified in your brain when you sleep, so if you can study and then sleep multiple nights before a test, the information you studied will be greatly cemented in your brain because of those multiple nights of sleep they have had. These are study methods that have helped me improve my academic performance.

 

[DreamingDoc]

Basically, as everyone else is saying, try to pinpoint your best study habits. Some people learn best by going to class and going over the notes after, and some do better by skipping class and going over the book. Or you might do best with a study group. Explore all your options and go from there.

 

[Scaredddd]

When you study, don't just read over your notes or read the book. Everything probably makes sense when you read your lecture notes, but when it comes time to regurgitate that information on the test, you might not be able to reproduce it. You have to actively reproduce what you know from memory - constantly test yourself to see what you know and what you don't know, and go back and keep doing it until you get it all down and know it like the back of your hand. Come up with your own "test questions" that you think might be questions that will be on the test, and master those answers. Study with a friend, quizzing each other. Draw out the concepts/processes on a whiteboard, all from memory, don't cheat. Most importantly, whatever you do, study AHEAD of time. It is sooo much better to spread information out over a week or even 3 days than to try and cram it all into one night. Information gets solidified in your brain when you sleep, so if you can study and then sleep multiple nights before a test, the information you studied will be greatly cemented in your brain because of those multiple nights of sleep they have had. These are study methods that have helped me improve my academic performance.

Ah definitely excited to try to stay on top of academics, hopefully it helps. 😉

 

[CollegeGirl94]

I'm also on quarter system, you could (if time is an issue) read ahead during spring break. Just to dip your toes a little bit in the subjects you will be taking. Surprisingly, I found out that almost all my friends studied Orgo the summer before they actually took it, competition much?

 

[Goro]

Two suggestions:

develop better time mgt skills
go to your school's learning/education center fro help with the above, and other learning skills.

Don't roll the dice into thinking that ECs can make up for poor grades. That's like winning the Lotto. Someone wins, but is it likley?

It's now or never for me and I've never seen it be done.

Should I just throw myself into my EC's if it's not possible for myself? A kid I know had a 2.7 and got into a really good medical school with amazing EC's.