Study Habits?

[PA_dud3]

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Hey All,

Just wondering, how much per night do you guys study/do homework? It seems like I spend most of my time on homework and less on pure studying/reading. Maybe an hour or so a night seems sufficient to me for strictly "studying" and doing stuff like reading the chapter in the textbook for tomorrow's class, etc. When it gets a bit closer to exams and tests I usually do practice exams and review some material, but honestly I don't study a whole heck of a lot. I am wondering if I should change this, but it seems to be working so far for me. For example, my last semester grades were:

Gen Chem 1= A-
Cell and Micro Bio = A
World History = A+
English 110 = A

Do you guys recommend a different approach to studying? Last semester I pretty much just did my homework/assignments as assigned and studied for the occasional test/quiz. I take good notes in class and review them occasionally. I kinda want to change things up for the better just to see if I can do any better this semester. My classes are arguably easier this semester, but I will start taking more difficult classes next fall (Orgo 1, Evolutionary Bio, etc.)

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

Feel free to post your own study habits as well.

Thanks!

Dd3

 

[RTC19]

I too find myself spending more time on homework than actual studying. I think the way college is set up has changed and people are just assigning more homework than they used to.

I read the chapter and attend the lectures before doing the homework. On weekends, I do my actual studying and do practice problems from the previous week and a few older concepts. For example, say we are two weeks into exam 1 material. I will spend around an hour per class on the weekend at a particular time each week reviewing concepts in Biology and doing Chem/Math/Physics practice problems very similar to those that were covered that week and will thus likely be on the exam. I will also spend about an hour reviewing previous exam 1 material. (The spaced practice is good for your retention.)

I try my best to spend the hour before I go to bed doing concept review for Bio...I put my notes into question/answer format and quiz myself.

I look forward to the responses for this thread...I too am looking for ways to make myself more effective.

P.S. Great job on those grades! I am very proud!

 

[deleted883100]

If it works, it works. I was similar to you, I didn’t study a whole lot but managed to learn the material well and do well in my classes. When my classes got harder, I just naturally started studying more.

I would recommend studying as much as you need to study and enjoying your free time before your classes get harder.


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[PA_dud3]

I too find myself spending more time on homework than actual studying. I think the way college is set up has changed and people are just assigning more homework than they used to.

I read the chapter and attend the lectures before doing the homework. On weekends, I do my actual studying and do practice problems from the previous week and a few older concepts. For example, say we are two weeks into exam 1 material. I will spend 2-3 hours on the weekend at a particular time (Friday night/Sat morning) reviewing concepts in Biology and doing Chem/Math/Physics practice problems very similar to those that were covered that week and will thus likely be on the exam. I will also spend about an hour reviewing previous exam 1 material. (The spaced practice is good for your retention.)

I try my best to spend the hour before I go to bed doing concept review for Bio...I put my notes into question/answer format and quiz myself.

I look forward to the responses for this thread...I too am looking for ways to make myself more effective.

P.S. Great job on those grades! I am very proud!

Thank you for the response and the kind words! I think I will try to implement something similar to you. I will also try to do more practice problems for the application based courses like Chemistry and Physics, just to get me ready for things like Organic. Gen Chem 2 doesn't seem like it will be too hard, but I suppose every bit helps!

 

[RTC19]

Thank you for the response and the kind words! I think I will try to implement something similar to you. I will also try to do more practice problems for the application based courses like Chemistry and Physics, just to get me ready for things like Organic. Gen Chem 2 doesn't seem like it will be too hard, but I suppose every bit helps!

Just so you are forewarned, at least at my school Gen Chem II started out really easy and then got very math-based about a month into class onward, which can be rough for some people if math isn't your thing.

 

[dr_kateb]

I wait as long as possible before I even look at the material by myself. For most classes that's 2-3 days before the test. For biochem it was bit longer at 4-6 days before and organic chemistry was the longest at a week or longer. Not particularly great for long term retention but it got the job done.

 

[907914]

I wait as long as possible before I even look at the material by myself. For most classes that's 2-3 days before the test. For biochem it was bit longer at 4-6 days before and organic chemistry was the longest at a week or longer. Not particularly great for long term retention but it got the job done.

I have heard that this will kill you in medical School as it is a marathon, not a race. Idk as I am merely premed, but that warning has definitely changed my undergrad studying. I, luckily, have had no classes with mandatory homework...So I would do book problems as practice. And then while reading the book, I stop and reword what the book said in my own words, then ask myself questions about it. Additionally, prettifying an entire course before you take it...Like, I downloaded DrawItToKnowIt and did all of it over the summer (about 60 hours of stuff) before a quarter of Biochem, Cell boo and anatomy and physiology...I basically already knew 80% of the material and could thus pay more attention to the stuff that was new/I didn’t know.

 

[PA_dud3]

I have heard that this will kill you in medical School as it is a marathon, not a race. Idk as I am merely premed, but that warning has definitely changed my undergrad studying. I, luckily, have had no classes with mandatory homework...So I would do book problems as practice. And then while reading the book, I stop and reword what the book said in my own words, then ask myself questions about it. Additionally, prettifying an entire course before you take it...Like, I downloaded DrawItToKnowIt and did all of it over the summer (about 60 hours of stuff) before a quarter of Biochem, Cell boo and anatomy and physiology...I basically already knew 80% of the material and could thus pay more attention to the stuff that was new/I didn’t know.

Drawing stuff out (DNA Replication, Protein Synthesis, etc) really seemed to help me in Bio. Of course, I feel like taking good notes and reviewing before exams helped as well. I just need to learn how to space my studying out into smaller chunks and not the majority before the exam.

I must go to sleep now, though, I have chem lab at 8:00 am tomorrow. 😀

 

[RTC19]

Drawing stuff out (DNA Replication, Protein Synthesis, etc) really seemed to help me in Bio. Of course, I feel like taking good notes and reviewing before exams helped as well. I just need to learn how to space my studying out into smaller chunks and not the majority before the exam.

I must go to sleep now, though, I have chem lab at 8:00 am tomorrow. 😀

Good night! 🙂

 

[907914]

I did actually just read a paper about drawing helping college students (as well as digital art based games and elementary students improving overall attention to just about everything) If you want the best results then draw, I guess!

 

[DoctorSnow]

I did actually just read a paper about drawing helping college students (as well as digital art based games and elementary students improving overall attention to just about everything) If you want the best results then draw, I guess!

I 100% agree. I would use anki and have a sheet of paper next to me to draw out any pathways or terms that I needed to learn. Since I changed to anki, my GPA went from 3.2/3.3 to 3.8+. You gotta learn how you learn best and stick with it!

 

[yogglo]

My college does not really assign homework just tests/quizzes. So I usually spend most of my time studying by rereading chapters, notes, listening to recorded lectures, and doing practice problems. Works for me (3.9xxgpa) idk how it would work for you.

 

[PA_dud3]

My college does not really assign homework just tests/quizzes. So I usually spend most of my time studying by rereading chapters, notes, listening to recorded lectures, and doing practice problems. Works for me (3.9xxgpa) idk how it would work for you.

This is sort of how I would like to do (short of recording lectures, but I feel like my Homework should make up for that). Mainly looking to develop good habits early that wont make me want to kill myself every time I study, lol

 

[j0nsn0w]

I 100% agree. I would use anki and have a sheet of paper next to me to draw out any pathways or terms that I needed to learn. Since I changed to anki, my GPA went from 3.2/3.3 to 3.8+. You gotta learn how you learn best and stick with it!

If you have to use anki in college to memorize I would be nervous

 

[chemdoctor]

Spending time on homework isn't always considered "not studying"

Perhaps practicing an doing the homework, helps you be more familiar with the material and gives you a strong amount of practice to do well? I always noticed that homework helped me thorugh some courses because it was essentially practicing the material so I wouldn't really need to sit down and study if I understood the homework. To each their own.

I think you're doing fine OP. Studying can vary depending on the class though.

 

[PA_dud3]

Spending time on homework isn't always considered "not studying"

Perhaps practicing an doing the homework, helps you be more familiar with the material and gives you a strong amount of practice to do well? I always noticed that homework helped me thorugh some courses because it was essentially practicing the material so I wouldn't really need to sit down and study if I understood the homework. To each their own.

I think you're doing fine OP. Studying can vary depending on the class though.

Yeah, and I don't just blaze through my homework either. If I don't understand something I sit down, review notes, google, etc. until I understand it, which I feel like will help as well. I still plan to up my pure studying time with practice problems and reading, but I will factor in my HW as well.

Thank you for the advice!!

 

[chemdoctor]

Yeah, and I don't just blaze through my homework either. If I don't understand something I sit down, review notes, google, etc. until I understand it, which I feel like will help as well. I still plan to up my pure studying time with practice problems and reading, but I will factor in my HW as well.

Thank you for the advice!!

Yeah same. Doing homework can sometimes be considered studying since you’re actively learning and thinking about those questions and concepts as well as practicing them