Study alone or in groups?

[benelswick]

---

Members don't see this ad.

For those on a tight time budget--work, school, etc--and have completed your pre-reqs--Did you find studying in groups effective or not. I've been in pretty good study groups but I've always wondered if they were the most efficent way to study. Any thoughts?

 

[TTSD]

I like to study alone when I'm learning the material. I like to use groups to review and get to know the girls.

 

[NubianPrincess]

I procrastinated wayyy to much to be of any help to a study group.

 

[SwineLake98]

I like to study alone when I'm learning the material. I like to use groups to review and get to know the girls.

Very nice...

Once I feel like I have a good handle on the material, I like a group situation because things start to make even more sense once I start explaining them to other people. I did some group studying for Calc III, Gen Chem, and Organic (which first semester I actually took as a team-learning course that I am now going to TA). I do believe that a P-chem/Biochem/Spec study group will form this year.

 

[Kazema]

I used to do study groups with my friends when we took the same classes.

We never got any work done .

I think study groups are a good idea, but not homework-doing groups. With study groups when there's a difference in comprehension the people who know the topic teach the people who don't, leading to both parties having a better comprehension of the topic. When it's homework it's usually just one or two people finishing a problem and the others copying. Or dropping such unsubtle hints that it may as well be copying. Because with the study groups, the goal is learning the material. With homework groups, it's finishing the homework.

 

[Haybrant]

best to study by yourself at first then work with a group to see if you can explain the material. Working with a group is a good yardstick to tell if you are ahead or behind others in the class/ if you have a good understanding of the subject.

 

[dr.z]

I study alone most of the times. If I do in a group, we often tend to get distracted. I would study with another person who is more familiar with the subject then he/she can help me study more efficiently.

 

[rockstar2525]

Agree with the above, I've found it best to learn the material on my own, then pair up with one or two people to review. A group bigger than three has been distracting for me. I've found that the best way for me to study was to find someone who has the same learning style and learns at the same pace as me. When I've studied with someone who was not my match academically I found it frustrating because one of us was always dragging the other along. For the MCAT I had a great study buddy, he knew the physical science really well, I was good at reasoning and test taking logic. I think we really helped to fill in each others gaps and both kicked a$$ on the test