What has been your best study technique?

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I went to an undergrad where skipping classes was discouraged and really frowned upon. For most of my biology classes, we would have surprise quizzes or clicker questions to make sure we made it to class.

My thesis advisor also raked me over the coals when he saw me re-copying notes one day after class. He told me I should be learning the material, not making my notes look neat. Notes are apparently meant to be messy. I used to re-write my notes all of the time and I feel it helps me a little bit.

I have struggled with learning how to study. I feel doomed at this point because lectures put me to sleep and I am too ADD or tired to just memorize notes. I am slightly more efficient at working through math and chem problems over and over because my hand is physically doing the problem. Same with typing up essays and lab reports. This is why I am not in vet school right now. I am very angry at myself at this point and I am seeking help and advice before I spend more money on more classes. I had thought it was burn out or procrastination, but it is still affecting me even though I am not in school and has gotten worse. I keep wondering if there will ever be a time again where I can pick up my notes and be able to store all of it into my brain again.

Two things I have noticed about myself: if I am truly interested in the subject of the class, I need to spend less time studying. This is why the average of my major is an 85%. If I like the class, I find things said in lecture really stick so I spend less time studying for those classes and more time studying for other ones.

I pulled my highest marks when I had a friend or a group of friends to study with. Either the night before or a few days before, we would vocally read notes to each other, test each other and if one on us was confused about a topic, someone else would talk about it until that person understood it. If none of us understood a concept, one would take the lead and try to figure it out using the text book or Internet and then explain it.

For classes that had really awesome textbooks (books that made you feel like you were reading for pleasure) I would read the assigned chapters before tackling my notes and then refer back to the text if I needed help. A couple of my humanities classes had awesome books along with a few of my biology classes. I pulled my best marks in classes where the book was heavily used and the book was enjoyable to read.

Take advantage of review sessions. If you are struggling with a concept, it is a good time to ask the prof or ask a fellow student for help. It is also a good time to run through concepts with a classmate and make sure you can regurgitate them as well as you think.
 
Notecards! Just giving each new idea, key word, or topic its own card reiterates the material. Then I can just go through the cards and pull out the cards that I need to study further. Works fantastic for me!
 
eschmidt32 said:
Notecards! Just giving each new idea, key word, or topic its own card reiterates the material. Then I can just go through the cards and pull out the cards that I need to study further. Works fantastic for me!
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Are you in professional school? If I made a notecard for every idea, key word, and topic then I would spend all my time making them and not have any time studying them.
 
Jamr0ckin said:
Are you in professional school? If I made a notecard for every idea, key word, and topic then I would spend all my time making them and not have any time studying them.
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Not yet, I'm sure my study habits will change, much like they did when I transitioned into undergrad!! But for ungergraduate studies, it works spectacular for me. I was just throwing it out there for the younger SDN members (high school, freshman, or sophomores) who are still looking for successful undergrad study techniques.
 
Jamr0ckin said:
Are you in professional school? If I made a notecard for every idea, key word, and topic then I would spend all my time making them and not have any time studying them.
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It still can work ok.... my class uses quizlet and we have one big class repository. So one person may throw in cards for cardiopulmonary while another is making them for ophtho while another is making them for .... you get the idea. So you lose the value of "making" the cards (I think just making them is worth something usually), but you get the benefit of having flash cards to study for pretty much every exam.
 
eschmidt32 said:
Not yet, I'm sure my study habits will change, much like they did when I transitioned into undergrad!! But for ungergraduate studies, it works spectacular for me. I was just throwing it out there for the younger SDN members (high school, freshman, or sophomores) who are still looking for successful undergrad study techniques.
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Yeah, if it was the main way you studied, then try it for your first round of tests. But I would suggest making the cards daily, after each lecture...otherwise you really won't have time.

I should try the virtual note cards... But I get nothing from typing so not sure if the act of making them would help me any. 🙂
 
I still think the most useful tool is a fun study buddy who can make studying enjoyable. Being able to quiz each other is so helpful, and it's better than asking someone who isn't familiar with the material to quiz you.
 
Jamr0ckin said:
Are you in professional school? If I made a notecard for every idea, key word, and topic then I would spend all my time making them and not have any time studying them.
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I loooove my flashcard software, and use it pretty much exclusively to study for any exam. It's called Anki, and you can get a free desktop version (recommended). You can also access it via web through ankiweb, but the web interface is pretty crappy so I wouldn't do it. The software dude really wanted to make it accessible for people, so he doesn't charge anything for the web/desktop versions, and instead charges a pretty big but totally worth it IMO price for the phone app (~$30). It syncs easily between all 3. I know a lot of medical students swear by it too, so I don't think I'm an anomaly. If you do get the phone app though, make sure you are tech savvy or have a tech savvy SO, because it can be a huge pain in the butt to sync to your desktop version.

The great thing about it is that when you're studying the cards, it sticks the cards you've gotten wrong back into the stack and keeps preferentially giving it to you until you tell it you've got it down cold. Pictures, audio, you name it. I personally only use the cram mode, which makes you flush through all the cards in a deck at once, but if you're more disciplined than I am, you can review a subset of your cards daily. When you do that, it will preferentially make a deck of things you need to work on, as well as add in some new ones to the mix. The program is made to enhance learning. What I love about cram mode, is it keeps track of how much time you spend on your cards on average for that deck, so it projects how long it will take you to finish that deck. So when I only have 4 hrs to go through the deck before the exam, it's really easy for me to pace myself accordingly.

Best part of all, you can search all of your cards. So once you make your cards, if you forget something and need to look it up, you can search for a term, and any card that has that term on it will pop up. When studying with other people in the room, and someone asks a question, I can usually find the answer fastest by searching my cards. Great for that last minute before the exam freakout "What are all the diseases for this test that brachycephalics are prone to!?" Things like that aren't always easily searchable otherwise unless you specifically made a list of them.

Another feature I like is that you can make templates so that you can automatically make 2 cards by filling in very few words. So if you wanted to make a set of cards for pathognomonic lesions and the diseases they go with, you can set it so that all you need to do is insert a picture/name of that lesion, and the name of the disease. Then you'll get 1 card that asks "What is the pathognomonic lesion that occurs with ________ disease?" as well as another card that asks "What disease is this _________ lesion pathognomonic for?"

I literally make flashcard decks that include almost every single testable fact, and as seen in my post above, I can get it done even with procrastinating. Once I make my cards, I don't look at any other material. I've used it for well over 50 vet school exams.

I guess it won't help if you're not a flashcard kinda person, but if you are, I think this program is bomb-diggity!

Edit: That is very anti-feminist of me. It can be a tech savvy friend or random stranger. No need to rely on a SO.
 
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Minnerbelle said:
I loooove my flashcard software, and use it pretty much exclusively to study for any exam. It's called Anki, and you can get a free desktop version (recommended). You can also access it via web through ankiweb, but the web interface is pretty crappy so I wouldn't do it. The software dude really wanted to make it accessible for people, so he doesn't charge anything for the web/desktop versions, and instead charges a pretty big but totally worth it IMO price for the phone app (~$30). It syncs easily between all 3. I know a lot of medical students swear by it too, so I don't think I'm an anomaly. If you do get the phone app though, make sure you are tech savvy or have a tech savvy SO, because it can be a huge pain in the butt to sync to your desktop version.

The great thing about it is that when you're studying the cards, it sticks the cards you've gotten wrong back into the stack and keeps preferentially giving it to you until you tell it you've got it down cold. Pictures, audio, you name it. I personally only use the cram mode, which makes you flush through all the cards in a deck at once, but if you're more disciplined than I am, you can review a subset of your cards daily. When you do that, it will preferentially make a deck of things you need to work on, as well as add in some new ones to the mix. The program is made to enhance learning. What I love about cram mode, is it keeps track of how much time you spend on your cards on average for that deck, so it projects how long it will take you to finish that deck. So when I only have 4 hrs to go through the deck before the exam, it's really easy for me to pace myself accordingly.

Best part of all, you can search all of your cards. So once you make your cards, if you forget something and need to look it up, you can search for a term, and any card that has that term on it will pop up. When studying with other people in the room, and someone asks a question, I can usually find the answer fastest by searching my cards. Great for that last minute before the exam freakout "What are all the diseases for this test that brachycephalics are prone to!?" Things like that aren't always easily searchable otherwise unless you specifically made a list of them.

Another feature I like is that you can make templates so that you can automatically make 2 cards by filling in very few words. So if you wanted to make a set of cards for pathognomonic lesions and the diseases they go with, you can set it so that all you need to do is insert a picture/name of that lesion, and the name of the disease. Then you'll get 1 card that asks "What is the pathognomonic lesion that occurs with ________ disease?" as well as another card that asks "What disease is this _________ lesion pathognomonic for?"

I literally make flashcard decks that include almost every single testable fact, and as seen in my post above, I can get it done even with procrastinating. Once I make my cards, I don't look at any other material. I've used it for well over 50 vet school exams.

I guess it won't help if you're not a flashcard kinda person, but if you are, I think this program is bomb-diggity!
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👍 Sounds perfect, Minnerbelle! Thanks so much for sharing! I'll have to check it out.
 
OHHHHHH And I forgotted. EVEN BETTER! You can label your cards within a deck. I tend to label them by lecture, and you can study just specific labels. So if you're iffy on one lecture, you can study just that. And it's really not that big a pain to label these cards. You put a label for the first card, and every subsequent card will have that label until you change it. If you make a mistake and absent-mindedly forget to change it, you can bulk change it later on the organization page that lists all your cards.

Can you tell, I love this app? It's seriously flashcards on steroids.
 
I forgot to mention that I sometimes turn to Youtube for help. Specifically, Freelance Teacher helped me ace organic chemistry. 👍
 
hygebeorht said:
I still think the most useful tool is a fun study buddy who can make studying enjoyable. Being able to quiz each other is so helpful, and it's better than asking someone who isn't familiar with the material to quiz you.
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I could not agree with this more. It may not work for everyone but my friend and I study amazingly together by asking each other questions and discussing. I find that teaching people concepts ensures I truly know what I'm talking about. And the things I have no idea about she either explains to me or we figure it out together. And we have way too much fun studying and making up ridiculous mnemonic devices.
 
Minnerbelle said:
I pretty much do what sov does for 2 days before the exam and the morning of. I don't go to class or read or anything until at least that week before the exam (basically I won't even know what the exam is about). Then 1 week out, I go "crap maybe I should start looking at stuff," but don't get far because I end up prioritizing everything else in my life (research, clinical experience, vet visits, scheduling externships, scholarship apps, tv, SDN, etc...). Three days out I start panicking because I've only looked at 2 lecture hours worth of material (of 25-28 total), and decide to sit down to study. But there's still time left so instead of efficiently studying important points (for test minutia and what's really important for practice), I end up distracted by one or two sentences that don't make sense or contradict each other, and spend hours researching primary literature and crap on something that will NEVER matter. I also go to bed super early to gear up for the marathon that is going to happen in the next 48 hrs.

Two days before exam, I wake up hyperventilating that I still have 22+ lecture hours of stuff to see for the first time, learn, and memorize. Fml. So the cramming begins. I start making my flash cards. By T-30 hrs of exam, I am at 15 hrs of material left. Fml. But I want to sleep so I snooze for another 6 hrs. 24 hrs left, I emerge from my slumber as superwoman. I haul ass from like 8am til 1am and miraculously finish making my whole deck of flash cards (avg of 400 cards though it can be as high as 750). Literally, they are detailed enough that you will not get <95% if you studied just the cards. Then I shout hallelujah, and head for my bed and set my alarm for 4 am. I get the most bizarre dreams during these few hours as my brain tries to synthesize the info. I wake up with a strange sense of calm, shower, and head for school where I spend until exam time going through my flash cards. Usually I'm able to finish going through it once and jot down on a couple pieces of paper things that i MUST memorize (numbers and crap i dunno why they make you memorize, but they do). I spend like 15 min before the exam cramming those in. Then it's game time.

Then I'm spent for the day so I go home and nap for a ridiculously long time. I tell myself that I will be better next time and start studying the next day... But it never happens. I think I secretly like the endorphin rush that comes from knowing that the next 24 hrs will be the difference between flunking out of vet school and glory. My long term retention has been pretty good, so I don't worry too much that I'm just "cramming for the exam and not learning" as a lot of people will insinuate.

I can't wait to finish taking the navle and state boatds so that I can say in done taking exams for the rest of my life.
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Oh my god, this. This is exactly it.
I'm actually so ashamed of this cycle that I've never admitted to anyone that this is how I study.

And :laugh: about your crazy pre-test dreams, Minnerbelle! Before our musculoskeletal lab exam, I had a dream that I killed a giant, ostrich-sized turkey and was skinning it so I could study its muscles. It was really bizarre.
 
OwlandPussycat said:
Oh my god, this. This is exactly it.
I'm actually so ashamed of this cycle that I've never admitted to anyone that this is how I study.

And :laugh: about your crazy pre-test dreams, Minnerbelle! Before our musculoskeletal lab exam, I had a dream that I killed a giant, ostrich-sized turkey and was skinning it so I could study its muscles. It was really bizarre.
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The morning before an anatomy test I dreamed that a huge chunk of muscle had been sutured to a whole, living rat and we had to identify the muscle. And that I dropped my answer sheet in a pool of horse-juice and lost all my answers. I was so screwed up in the head from that dream that I was late to the test.
 
Gave up on even pretending that I am going to study at anytime earlier than 24 hours before a test sometime during second year.

Don't regret it.

2nd year was a turd sandwich on moldy bread.

edit: Basically I don't get into that panic-rushed sort of zen I WANT TO LEARN THIS NOW mode until like, 3 hours before an exam. weeellp.
 
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nyanko said:
edit: Basically I don't get into that panic-rushed sort of zen I WANT TO LEARN THIS NOW mode until like, 3 hours before an exam. weeellp.
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:laugh: This is exactly how I am. Then I get angry with myself for not being able to focus so well and to be so efficient earlier. *sigh*
 
dovelover said:
I eventually realized that notecards were the way to go.

Putting my notes on flashcards (and color coding them for easy reference!) allowed me to organize every bit of information into discrete chunks so that I could physically rearrange them into groupings, either by informational category or by how strongly I knew them. Or put them in order, if appropriate. And when it came time to memorize all of the enzyme cascades in biochem, i took a list of all the enzyme and substrate names, cut it up, mixed them around then physically put them all in order (i did it this way because i had multiple choice tests and only had to be able to recognize the name of the enzymes, not memorize them exactly, otherwise i would have just rewritten them from memory repeatedly until I got it...) I also read my notes out loud to myself a lot. It wasn't really about listening to what I said, so much as the act of speaking them aloud organizes the thoughts more clearly in my brain.
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This is exactly what I do, too! Basically what works for me is:
  • typing up an outline by merging content from PowerPoints, lecture notes, textbooks, Khan Academy (cough). This is the most time consuming part for me, but it helps if I do this after every lecture or so.
  • Handwriting the outline onto color-coded notecards about a week before the exam.
  • Study the notecards by mixing them up and trying to recreate the order from the original outline I created.
  • Explain the notecards out loud (no audience necessary!) without looking at the cards.

Most of the time professors will try to organize their classes in such a way that there are clear topics and objectives for the material being covered by each exam. I usually try to think about these topics in relation to each other and to the entire class. Basically I try to figure out what the "story" is, and then try to retell that story as though I'm the professor.

Right now I'm struggling to memorize the names, 3 and 1 letter abbreviations, structures, and pKas for the amino acids. Pure memorization stuff is hard for me because there's no real narrative. Anyone have any tips aside from making flash cards?

Edit: Also I've been using a flash card app called StudyBlue that's pretty nifty. You can get it online and on your phone for free. It's kind of like Quizlet in that you can share cards with other people, study other's cards, or just steal individual cards from other people. All you do is type in the name of the card (like "Lysine") and then all these other people's cards for Lysine pop up with descriptions and pictures. Good for us lazy folks/late crammers.
 
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gumtree said:
Right now I'm struggling to memorize the names, 3 and 1 letter abbreviations, structures, and pKas for the amino acids. Pure memorization stuff is hard for me because there's no real narrative. Anyone have any tips aside from making flash cards?
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Some ideas that helped me or classmates of mine:
Look up a unique fact about each amino acid and use that to give each one a "character"
Come up with mnemonics based on the structures/shapes of each one (e.g. tyrosine has a benzine ring, which when drawn kind of looks like a tire, phenylalanine is alanine with a phenyl group on it, asparagine is shorter that glutamine because a is before g in the alphabet)
For the one-letter codes, write down phrases, your name, short messages, etc., and then "translate" them into amino acids
The pKas are hard, but if you memorize the structures, that should give you a ballpark for each pKa, which might make it easier to memorize.
 
washbucket said:
Some ideas that helped me or classmates of mine:
Look up a unique fact about each amino acid and use that to give each one a "character"
Come up with mnemonics based on the structures/shapes of each one (e.g. tyrosine has a benzine ring, which when drawn kind of looks like a tire, phenylalanine is alanine with a phenyl group on it, asparagine is shorter that glutamine because a is before g in the alphabet)
For the one-letter codes, write down phrases, your name, short messages, etc., and then "translate" them into amino acids
The pKas are hard, but if you memorize the structures, that should give you a ballpark for each pKa, which might make it easier to memorize.
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Awesome tips! I love the tire for tyrosine. Thank you, washbucket!
 
washbucket said:
Some ideas that helped me or classmates of mine:
Look up a unique fact about each amino acid and use that to give each one a "character"
Come up with mnemonics based on the structures/shapes of each one (e.g. tyrosine has a benzine ring, which when drawn kind of looks like a tire, phenylalanine is alanine with a phenyl group on it, asparagine is shorter that glutamine because a is before g in the alphabet)
For the one-letter codes, write down phrases, your name, short messages, etc., and then "translate" them into amino acids
The pKas are hard, but if you memorize the structures, that should give you a ballpark for each pKa, which might make it easier to memorize.
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That's pretty much what I did for parasit... making up a weird way to associate things when there was no obvious way to memorize.
 
Minnerbelle said:
I loooove my flashcard software, and use it pretty much exclusively to study for any exam. It's called Anki, and you can get a free desktop version (recommended). You can also access it via web through ankiweb, but the web interface is pretty crappy so I wouldn't do it. The software dude really wanted to make it accessible for people, so he doesn't charge anything for the web/desktop versions, and instead charges a pretty big but totally worth it IMO price for the phone app (~$30). It syncs easily between all 3. I know a lot of medical students swear by it too, so I don't think I'm an anomaly. If you do get the phone app though, make sure you are tech savvy or have a tech savvy SO, because it can be a huge pain in the butt to sync to your desktop version.

The great thing about it is that when you're studying the cards, it sticks the cards you've gotten wrong back into the stack and keeps preferentially giving it to you until you tell it you've got it down cold. Pictures, audio, you name it. I personally only use the cram mode, which makes you flush through all the cards in a deck at once, but if you're more disciplined than I am, you can review a subset of your cards daily. When you do that, it will preferentially make a deck of things you need to work on, as well as add in some new ones to the mix. The program is made to enhance learning. What I love about cram mode, is it keeps track of how much time you spend on your cards on average for that deck, so it projects how long it will take you to finish that deck. So when I only have 4 hrs to go through the deck before the exam, it's really easy for me to pace myself accordingly.

Best part of all, you can search all of your cards. So once you make your cards, if you forget something and need to look it up, you can search for a term, and any card that has that term on it will pop up. When studying with other people in the room, and someone asks a question, I can usually find the answer fastest by searching my cards. Great for that last minute before the exam freakout "What are all the diseases for this test that brachycephalics are prone to!?" Things like that aren't always easily searchable otherwise unless you specifically made a list of them.

Another feature I like is that you can make templates so that you can automatically make 2 cards by filling in very few words. So if you wanted to make a set of cards for pathognomonic lesions and the diseases they go with, you can set it so that all you need to do is insert a picture/name of that lesion, and the name of the disease. Then you'll get 1 card that asks "What is the pathognomonic lesion that occurs with ________ disease?" as well as another card that asks "What disease is this _________ lesion pathognomonic for?"

I literally make flashcard decks that include almost every single testable fact, and as seen in my post above, I can get it done even with procrastinating. Once I make my cards, I don't look at any other material. I've used it for well over 50 vet school exams.

I guess it won't help if you're not a flashcard kinda person, but if you are, I think this program is bomb-diggity!

Edit: That is very anti-feminist of me. It can be a tech savvy friend or random stranger. No need to rely on a SO.
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Thanks for recommending this, Minner! I decided to try it out for my communication exam this week, and so far I've really liked it! Making the cards is super easy. I love the way it reviews the cards, it'll randomize them and if you are uncomfortable with one it will give it to you a few cards down the road. I'm still figuring everything out, but I think I'm going to incorporate this into my usual studying 🙂 it seems like it'll take less time to make the cards, which is a definite bonus. just thought I'd add my opinion to the mix 😀
 
I am a VERY visual learner, so I've recently started trying to color-code things (which seems to really be helping!). Out of curiosity, what do people usually color-code by? I wish I could use a different color for everything, but then that probably wouldn't help and I also don't have that many colors 😛 For my cell bio exam, if something started with a "G" (or was GPI-linked or something), I would use green, etc. But obviously this doesn't always work as I don't have a color for every letter of the alphabet 😳
 
sblove17 said:
I am a VERY visual learner, so I've recently started trying to color-code things (which seems to really be helping!). Out of curiosity, what do people usually color-code by? I wish I could use a different color for everything, but then that probably wouldn't help and I also don't have that many colors 😛 For my cell bio exam, if something started with a "G" (or was GPI-linked or something), I would use green, etc. But obviously this doesn't always work as I don't have a color for every letter of the alphabet 😳
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I color code by random associations (like on the schedule on my wall, chem class is orange and math is yellow. I have no idea why). I think as long as you're associating the color to something in your own mind, it will help you remember.
 
I've been taking night classes due to my work schedule and I've noticed I dream about the material if I force myself to sleep right after class (not too hard since my lab goes til 10). It's a little weird but I swear I'm retaining material more so than ever. Strange considering I'm a morning person but maybe I'm becoming a creature of the night 😛
 
Haha Minner basically summed up my study technique! OMG i cram like nothing else...

but i did want to say, I have just completed my first week on clinical rotations. And I actually know a hell of a lot. Sure, I have been extremely surprised at some of the stuff that has come out of my mouth (really?! when did i learn THAT!) so you might be surprised how much actually sticks 🙂
 
EngrSC said:
I've been taking night classes due to my work schedule and I've noticed I dream about the material if I force myself to sleep right after class (not too hard since my lab goes til 10). It's a little weird but I swear I'm retaining material more so than ever. Strange considering I'm a morning person but maybe I'm becoming a creature of the night 😛
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On the same lines one thing that I do that REALLY helps things stick is go over my notes in bed and not do ANYTHING else before sleeping. I try to only think about that material as I'm falling asleep and I'll end up dreaming about it and it sticks right in there. I read this as a suggestion at one point in an article and tried it and it works wonders.
 
Bumping this thread with a question...

I'm in my last undergrad semester before vet school and I'm having a really hard time staying focused. It doesn't help that my last pre-req is Physics, otherwise known as much least favorite subject. I work full time and go to school at night. I actually have a lot of down time at my job... if the people I work for don't have work for me to do, I can basically do whatever I want. So what I *should* be doing with this time is studying (or at least being productive in other ways) but what I usually end up doing is circling through SDN, reddit, my RSS reader, gmail, facebook, etc. It's not like I can turn off the computer to focus on Physics. It's also quite noisy here and being in a cubicle, I can't adjust the volume at all. I'm one of those people who needs silence to really concentrate. I can't wear noise cancelling head phones or listen to music because I need to answer the phone. So. Does anyone have tips on how I can really utilize this free time efficiently before I leave in a few months? I always feel so dissapointed in myself when I realize that I've "wasted" my day... but at least I'm getting paid to surf the net. :naughty:
 
First, take a speed reading course.... this will give you so much more time to do everything. I read about 1500 words a minute so it allows me to easily read through materials and reread everything 15 minutes before the exam to keep it fresh. Has worked for me my whole life 🙂
 
felinelvr44 said:
Bumping this thread with a question...

I'm in my last undergrad semester before vet school and I'm having a really hard time staying focused. It doesn't help that my last pre-req is Physics, otherwise known as much least favorite subject.
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Just pass it, who cares. It doesn't take that much effort, don't worry about studying or really learning it, you'll forget it by the time you need to recall any of it anyway (there's a few snippets that are vaguely useful to remember but you won't).
 
Trematode said:
My thesis advisor also raked me over the coals when he saw me re-copying notes one day after class. He told me I should be learning the material, not making my notes look neat. Notes are apparently meant to be messy. I used to re-write my notes all of the time and I feel it helps me a little bit.
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Your advisor would have HATED the way I study. I would always re-write my own condensed notes based on the lectures and powerpoint presentations. I fould it extremely helpful because I could a) organize things to my liking, b) use my own words, and c) condense what could be pages and pages of powerpoint notes into a much smaller study sheet.

Plus, I could have fun.

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Well, apparently my study method is to spend twenty minutes reading this thread and not actually studying.

I found rewriting my notes took too long in vet school. Now I take notes on our printed notes and color code everything. I used to do flash cards on Study Blue, but I never had the time to go over them again. Plus I was making THOUSANDS of flash cards each semester. It was nice to be able to read them on my phone and laptop tho.

I might try this speed reading thing, because I am a SUPER SLOW reader. Any recommendations for online courses or programs I could buy and do in my own time?
 
MollyGilroy said:
First, take a speed reading course.... this will give you so much more time to do everything. I read about 1500 words a minute so it allows me to easily read through materials and reread everything 15 minutes before the exam to keep it fresh. Has worked for me my whole life 🙂
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:wow: how is that even possible?!
 
WhtsThFrequency said:
Your advisor would have HATED the way I study. I would always re-write my own condensed notes based on the lectures and powerpoint presentations. I fould it extremely helpful because I could a) organize things to my liking, b) use my own words, and c) condense what could be pages and pages of powerpoint notes into a much smaller study sheet.

Plus, I could have fun.

180542_10100124210073873_6428861_n.jpg
Click to expand...


:roflcopter::claps:🤣
 
I just wanna say thanks to all of you other non perfect, crammers in vet school out there. I just finished studying for a parasit quiz tomorrow that I've had time to study for since Monday, but of course put off until oh, around 3 pm today. (To be fair to myself, I have been sickly yesterday and today, but that really wouldn't have changed anything)
I mean, it's only like 3-4 weeks of lecture material that I've never once looked at before, although I have gone to class.
I am kinda tired of the first year overeager attitude of lots of my classmates. I'd have note cards for every freaking class made immediately after lecture too, if I also stayed in the library until 9 pm every night. Alas, I have a life to get home to. I really hope the ennui sets in soon for everyone else as it has for me. I mean, I still want to be in vet school, but I don't have to love it.

Re the original post: I have to study by re-writing my notes or writing notes as I read a chapter if I want to actually understand the material. It sucks and takes a lot of time. Last semester I had to sacrifice a class or 2 that didn't get the deep understanding, hand written notes treatment, due to the time factor, and I did worse in them than I could have. It's a matter of picking your battles I guess.
 
Last edited:
felinelvr44 said:
Bumping this thread with a question...

I'm in my last undergrad semester before vet school and I'm having a really hard time staying focused. It doesn't help that my last pre-req is Physics, otherwise known as much least favorite subject. I work full time and go to school at night. I actually have a lot of down time at my job... if the people I work for don't have work for me to do, I can basically do whatever I want. So what I *should* be doing with this time is studying (or at least being productive in other ways) but what I usually end up doing is circling through SDN, reddit, my RSS reader, gmail, facebook, etc. It's not like I can turn off the computer to focus on Physics. It's also quite noisy here and being in a cubicle, I can't adjust the volume at all. I'm one of those people who needs silence to really concentrate. I can't wear noise cancelling head phones or listen to music because I need to answer the phone. So. Does anyone have tips on how I can really utilize this free time efficiently before I leave in a few months? I always feel so dissapointed in myself when I realize that I've "wasted" my day... but at least I'm getting paid to surf the net. :naughty:
Click to expand...

I can't concentrate in a noisy environment either. Even the library is too noisy. One thing I have found that I am able to do, however, is make notecards. If I'm synthesising information from my notes, from PPs, etc., I find I don't need to concentrate as hard as I would if I were actively trying to memorise. Then I go through the notecards when I have the time/accessibility to a quiet environment, even if that environment is the shower. 😛 Perhaps you could devote some of your time to making and re-making notecards (I agree with whomever said re-writing the material is helpful) and then when you do have down time, whether that's in the morning, on a bathroom break, on lunch, etc., you could go through them and really focus on studying the material? I haven't taken Physics yet, so I don't know how notecards would work for you for the material, but notecards have been my main study method throughout my entire degree program and have served me well. 🙂
 
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