Studying for a class before taking it worth it?

[Van Chowder]

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I have a question, I have Gen .Chemistry 1B coming up this summer[ Barely got an 'A' in first semester Gen. Chem ( 6 week course) and Calculus coming up in the fall, are these courses worth studying for ahead of time or should I simply wait until the time of the class comes?

Another question for those of yall that took 2nd semester Gen chem in summer ( 6 weeks) what was your experience like?

Thanks all!

 

[loveoforganic]

It depends on the class probably, but I had a bad freshman year and really wanted to nail sophomore year, so I did some pre-reading for organic, and I feel it helped me a LOT.

 

[mic2377]

I would say it depends on several factors.
1. Are you super burnt out after the school year? NO.

2. Do you anticipate a busy next semester, or more material than you can keep up with? YES.

3. Are other students likely acquainted with the material from prior classes, and have a background that you don't have? YES.

I wish I would have been able to pre-study for courses such as calculus. Virtually all of the students in the class already had AP Calc, and I was at a serious disadvantage competing against them. I had no exposure.

I like learning, and I believe it is good to keep the mind fresh during the off-season!

 

[Mattabet]

It can't hurt to grab the books and page through, but you'll have to accept from the get-go that you're probably not going to be able to teach yourself Calculus in any meaningful way (unless you're Issac Newton, in which case you should have a fine time).

I 'pre-studied' for Orgo a bit. I definitely didn't get most of the information, but being familiar with the book and the progression of the book helped a bit.

So if you've got time on your hands, you can give it a shot. Don't go into it with the expectation that you'll learn more than 10% of the stuff. But it can't hurt to take a peek ahead of time.

 

[redlight]

if you are diligent, it will likely help you once you take the course. but you'll still have to perform during the semester as well, so pre-studying might be a waste of time if you are not careful.

if these fears are coming from just 'barely' acing the first course in the sequence, don't worry about it too much. just keep up with the work and don't get lazy and i think you'll be fine.

 

[ronaldo23]

I have a question, I have Gen .Chemistry 1B coming up this summer[ Barely got an 'A' in first semester Gen. Chem ( 6 week course) and Calculus coming up in the fall, are these courses worth studying for ahead of time or should I simply wait until the time of the class comes?

Another question for those of yall that took 2nd semester Gen chem in summer ( 6 weeks) what was your experience like?

Thanks all!

I wouldn't recommend studying in advance. Just work hard and keep up during the course, as you probably will forget most of what you study in advance anyways. I tried pre-studying after my freshmen year, and then stopped after sophomore year after seeing no benefit. It's kind of like people who study for the MCAT lightly for like 6+ months, when they would probably benefit more from a 3 month period of intense studying.

 

[ThaliaNox]

"Pre-studying" sounds like a waste of time. You cannot know the exact twist your professor is going to throw into the course ahead of time, so pre-studying is spotty, at best. You'd have to study hours and hours to make any kind of difference, and you'd be more efficient after you know exactly what to study. You're far better off taking the time you would have been spending studying and doing something else like volunteering or shadowing, or even just unwinding and enjoying life.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

We used the same books for Chem II and Calc II that we did for the first half of the courses, so I did some pre-studying during the break (read whole chapters and did all of the practice problems) for the first half of the upcoming classes. I crushed that semester.

Also, the summer after Freshman year, I bought an O-chem book from B&N, and I just read about it during my hour or so before work began every day, since I was so worried because of all the horror stories. I had a good foundation going in, but I wasn't using the textbook, nor was I doing practice problems. It helped a little, but not like Chem/Calc.

 

[todipotent]

I agree I think it is a waste of time. Just put in as much time as possible when you are taking the class. The material will be much more relevant and you will know what is going to be on the test. I think the most helpful thing would be reading related journal articles and abstracts before the class, this way it may be easier to tie together loose ends and you will have practical knowledge.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

I agree I think it is a waste of time. Just put in as much time as possible when you are taking the class. The material will be much more relevant and you will know what is going to be on the test. I think the most helpful thing would be reading related journal articles and abstracts before the class, this way it may be easier to tie together loose ends and you will have practical knowledge.

😕

You think that pulling random, high-level journal articles off the internet is more helpful than reading the textbook, before seeing the material?

If I'm taking Bio I, you think I should download the latest copy of Nature and just read the articles, and that would help?

You can't be serious.

 

[plsletmein]

If I'm taking Bio I, you think I should download the latest copy of Nature and just read the articles, and that would help?

😱 that's like trying to teach a toddler to swim by throwing him into the ocean

 

[Chocolate Bear]

😱 that's like trying to teach a toddler to swim by throwing him into the ocean

Or making him dissect a shark to prepare for his first bath.

 

[majahops]

Studying before chemistry gave me a LOT of help before the actual class! A lot!

I have a question, I have Gen .Chemistry 1B coming up this summer[ Barely got an 'A' in first semester Gen. Chem ( 6 week course) and Calculus coming up in the fall, are these courses worth studying for ahead of time or should I simply wait until the time of the class comes?

Another question for those of yall that took 2nd semester Gen chem in summer ( 6 weeks) what was your experience like?

Thanks all!

 

[plsletmein]

I think you would be better served trying to wade through textbooks instead of convoluted, technique-heavy journal articles, but only if absolutely necessary. I never studied for a class before taking it. If you are the type that needs a little more time and push to absorb stuff, try skimming through the textbook. Better yet though, read the corresponding section of the textbooks before class when you are actually enrolled.

The only time I read the textbook was for my humanities classes. For my science courses I was able to get by with the lectures.

 

[Van Chowder]

Thanks everyone for the responses guys! You all should check this site out
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/courses/index.htm

Its awesomeness, its like you are actually taking the class, they have entire semesters of classes on video.👍

 

[loveoforganic]

Oh, one more thing. Stick to the concepts. There's no point memorizing material way beforehand.