MEGA - Studying, Exams, Stress, and coping with them

Rogue Robot said:
flashcards, and jotting down/highlighting important parts from the text, at least for science classes. philosophy, i have no idea as i have never taken one.

which geology course are you taking?
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Word to that!!! I've gotten straight A's the past 2 semesters and my favorite study tips include flashcards!!! I use them for everything that needs to be processed in my brain and regurgated in the future...

I also take notes in class, and then copy the notes after class in the library in a neater and more organized fashion suitable to my personal learning preferences....I need to write stuff down to learn, so after taking notes 2 times and then transferring the information on flashcards, it's impossible for me to not know it!!!
 
I dunno if my advice is the best, but I just read the book a few times for most classes that are memorization and not problem solving. For chemistry, and other courses that involve problem solving, you need to work problems! Also, what worked best for me is to look for previous exams from the prof, and try to get a feel for what is being emphasized so you know what will know more or less what will be on the exams. Use quizzes, homework, etc.. for clues on what will be tested.

I say I am not sure if my advice is the best because I never used flashcards or highlighting, and I always seemed to have abnormal study habits (like being high almost all the time..thankfully I've broken this habit, not good for the lungs!). It worked for me though, I ended with a 3.83 in Zoology Bio-medicine / pre-medicine program, and a minor in German.

Edit: Oh yea, like PAR said, for classes that need it, take notes.
 
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The only way to succeed in general chemistry is to do lots of practice problems. The patterns emerge only after you've done lots of samples.

Biology is straight memorization. I use flash-card-like notes that have giant highlighted areas that focus on certain subjects. Each page usually pertains to a chapter and each section on the page is something very specific. Only write things down that you don't already know. That way when you're cramming and using your sheets, you'll see a bunch of stuff that might not be stuck in your head as well.
 
I read, reread passages, put notes on notecards, take notes by my computer and highlight words that are a little iffy to me, and then do the chapter question/responses that may be in my textbook.

Seems to work well for me.
 
I try to get the most reading done when I'm in the mood. And I also do so in a place where I feel like I can get the most done. ie. in a library or in the bathroom (yes I put the toilet seat down, sit on the toilet and read with the fan on. The fan provides a continuous noise that makes it easy to concentrate... I get shit loads of study done like this.) I do not study in my bedroom, for example, as it becomes tempting to lie down and fall asleep, and I don't study at the computer as it becomes to tempting to do this.

I use lecture notes. Most of the powerpoint slides from my lectures are available for me to download on the university website, so I always go through those.

I write down key pieces of information to help remember them. I also use various associative techniques to remember information. In some of my psyc classes there are a lot of Latin and Greek words which are used to define parts of the brain or the body. So I learn what the Latin and Greek words are and this makes identifying what the words refer to self explanatory. For example, the Somatic Nervous System... what could that be? Well, Soma is greek for body, so it's obviously the nervous system to do with the body, I then remember that the Somatic Nervous System is to do with the voluntary control of the muscles, etc.
 
I find that studying right before I go to bed (on my regular time, sober) almost always make me remember every single thing I studied in the morning. This works especially well for languages.
 
SURVEY, QUESTION, READ, RECITE, REVIEW! or SQ3R

This is the buddha finger of studying techniques, imho.

http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm

Survey! Question! Read! Recite! Review!

Before you read, Survey
the chapter:


*

the title, headings, and subheadings
*

captions under pictures, charts, graphs or maps
*

review questions or teacher-made study guides
*

introductory and concluding paragraphs
*

summary

Question
while you are surveying:


*

Turn the title, headings, and/or subheadings into questions;
*

Read questions at the end of the chapters or after each subheading;
*

Ask yourself, "What did my instructor say about this chapter or subject when it was assigned?"
*

Ask yourself, "What do I already know about this subject?"

Note: If it is helpful to you, write out these questions for consideration. This variation is called SQW3R

When you begin to
Read:


*

Look for answers to the questions you first raised;
*

Answer questions at the beginning or end of chapters or study guides
*

Reread captions under pictures, graphs, etc.
*

Note all the underlined, italicized, bold printed words or phrases
*

Study graphic aids
*

Reduce your speed for difficult passages
*

Stop and reread parts which are not clear
*

Read only a section at a time and recite after each section

Recite
after you've read a section:


*

Orally ask yourself questions about what you have just read
or summarize, in your own words, what you read
*

Take notes from the text but write the information in your own words
*

Underline or highlight important points you've just read
*

Use the method of recitation which best suits your particular learning style but remember, the more senses you use the more likely you are to remember what you read - i.e.,

TRIPLE STRENGTH LEARNING: Seeing, saying, hearing-
QUADRUPLE STRENGTH LEARNING: Seeing , saying , hearing, writing!!!

Review:
an ongoing process.


Day One

*

After you have read and recited the entire chapter,
write questions in the margins for those points you have highlighted or underlined.
*

If you took notes while reciting,
write questions for the notes you have taken in the left hand margins of your notebook.

Day Two

*

Page through the text and/or your notebook to re-acquaint yourself with the important points.
*

Cover the right hand column of your text/note-book and orally ask yourself the questions in the left hand margins.
*

Orally recite or write the answers from memory.
*

Make "flash cards" for those questions which give you difficulty.
*

Develop mnemonic devices for material which need to be memorized.

Days Three, Four and Five

*

Alternate between your flash cards and notes and test yourself (orally or in writing) on the questions you formulated.
*

Make additional flash cards if necessary.

Weekend

Using the text and notebook, make a Table of Contents - list all the topics and sub-topics you need to know from the chapter.
From the Table of Contents, make a Study Sheet/ Spatial Map.
Recite the information orally and in your own words as you put the Study Sheet/Map together.

Now that you have consolidated all the information you need for that chapter, periodically review the Sheet/Map so that at test time you will not have to cram.

Adapted from: Robinson, Francis Pleasant, (1961, 1970) Effective study (4th ed.), Harper & Row, New York, NY.
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I also agree with jamshyd that it is very important to sleep after studying as opposed to staying up all night cramming. This allows your brain to consolidate memory.

I also find writing notes in the recite part helps it stick. From these notes i sometimes prepare memory maps, a diagram linking important concepts. For highest marks you need to show original thinking, sometimes a memory map can help you outline a link between concepts that can satisfy this.
 
studying little bits over long periods of time works well, but if your intentions are to cram, I always take adderall and study my ass off for 12-15 hours.
 
yes, sleep is important and if your not cramming you must sleep 6-8 hours the night before
 
Last semester, during finals week, my good friend Alex and I pulled four all-nighters in the library on campus [snip - Rogue Robot] and studying our asses off.


A's on all my finals.
Him too.
We were the only two in our math class to achieve that.



Hey, it's effective for us :D
 
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use my laptop to actually take notes in class instead of fuck around on bl
 
research has found:

REM sleep is essential for the consolidation of new long-term memories.
Long-term memories are best formed with rich connections to prior concepts. Rote memorization is inefficient.

ebola
 
Engineering degree, coping with stress.

I'm in my third year of university but due to changing engineering degrees (doing computer systems now, basically electronic and electrical with a focus on programming) once and failing a few subjects I'm technically only in 2nd year. Basically everyday I pull my hair out from stress from having 50 things due and struggling to take everything in. I also work ~1 day a week on average doing programming at a engineering company.

At night I spend 3 hours trying to sleep with images of assignments and answers to problems in front of my eyes even though I'm absolutely ruined. I can't relax. I do weights and cardio 3-4x a week which I find a good outlet but some days I just cant hack it and go get high on codeine or other random shitty opiates as this is the only way I actually feel relaxed.

I have some mates that are on HD averages and don't even bat an eyelid, I just don't understand it, how do some people just not get stressed out?

I study a few hours most days but it is never enough as I don't have a particularly good memory. Sometimes I just feel like totally giving up at everything, I guess today I feel like that, I can't imagine I ever would, but I cant help but feel like it sometimes. I already see a psych and have trialled several anti-depressants with no luck (massive side effects for minimal gain) Any tips ?
 
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well, everyone deals with stress differently, and that can certainly affect how you perform be it in the work place or at school. i went to stress management at one point, and it really seemed to help. admittedly, i'm a huge procrastinator, as well, and i learned to manage that as well.

have you looked into any sort of stress management options that your school may offer? most colleges & universities offer some kind of discounted service where you can speak with a counselor and get help mastering study skills and just releasing everyday tension.
 
Rogue Robot said:
have you looked into any sort of stress management options that your school may offer? most colleges & universities offer some kind of discounted service where you can speak with a counselor and get help mastering study skills and just releasing everyday tension.
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I think they do so I might give that a go, cheers.
 
The one thing to remember is not to judge yourself by how much effort others are putting in... some people are just fricken smart and don't need to put in as much to get the same or better outcomes than you do. Other people need to work harder to get the same results, and if that's what you have to do, then you do it.

Engineering is a challenge, but is very worthwhile in the end, so just stick at it... try and find some ways to relax a bit... take some of the stressors out of your life, like drug use, excessive drinking... you already are exercising, which is great! Really helps :)

Maybe try to plan your time a bit better? Do you start assignments when you get them or do you let it all build up so you are stressing more in the couple of days before everything is due? Planning your time/tasks should help immensely.

CB :)
 
I am an engineering student, EE, and time management is HUGE. I study and do HW ~6 hours a day, on top of class and a bartending job at night 3 days a week.

Make a schedule, hour by hour, for the whole week, every week. I make one on Sun. afternoons whilst watching football. Give yourself 6-8 hour of sleep, all your classes, and 6-8 hours of hw a day. Factor in a job, eating, running/working out. etc.

Then, STICK to it, or keep track of when you do stick to it and when you don't. This has worked wonders for me as I am HORRIBLE with my time managment, and my sleeping habits suck (I blame the bartending job, 4pm-4am 3x a week).

Pot helps a lot too. =p Looking forward to a nice fat bowl when I get all my shit done for the day is a great motivator, as well as a nice way to unwind. Or a nice 6-pack or something.
 
Well the funny this is I used to be a horrible procrastinator and put everything off and was very lazy. This semester I've pulled my finger out and done the opposite, planned everything out, trying to do as much study as I can handle before it gets too much.

And yes it has helped, I've suddenly found a lot of the courses easier, however over the last couple of weeks the difficulty has sky rocketed, so even with my time management, Im probably doing on par with when I did shit all. This is what has got to me. Ive spent about 15-20 hours on a programming assignment worth 5% of my grade and only got maybe 10-20% through it, this coupled with my below par grades I find very disheartening.

My drug use is only codeinetea maybe 2-3x a week max and occasionally poppy tea. I haven't touched MDMA or anything like that in 6 months and plan to keep it that way. I guess I just use it as an escape when everything gets too much, but I couldn't imagine completely abstaining from drugs, they are too much of a pleasure even if they have negative side effects. I avoid weed like the plague as I suffer from mild anxiety which flares up if I touch weed or stimulants.

irishcoffee I commend you on your efforts to manage to work hours like that whilst study at the same time. I simply would not make it, I struggle getting up in the morning after a solid 8-10 hours as it is.
 
I'm a biochemistry major at a top university and in both of the available honors programs, and I also have three jobs. Yeah it's hard, but I assure you you can do it if I can. I'm a total procrastinator and I'm also working through some nasty psychological issues (which have thank god been much better until very recently) that really screwed my schooling in the past. You just have to approach it as hard work, treat it as hard work, and GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK when you're done. You sound a lot like me (pardon me if I'm wrong) in that it seems like you're putting more stress on yourself than the work itself is.

If you feel that the coursework is getting difficult, go talk with your professors! They can direct you toward resources to make it easier. Your campus also probably has study habit "classes" and other such things to help you learn how to learn better. I also strongly suggest finding some classmates to do study groups with. Sometimes just being in that more relaxed atmosphere makes things easier, and you'll also have someone right there if you have a question (although most people can make no sense of my code, so hopefully you don't have that problem!!! ;)).

Don't get down on yourself about this - engineering coursework is hard, and I know how programming assignments can be when all of a sudden you just can't get through a segment and you're stuck. It's not like doing textbook problems where you can just skip to the next one. I find that it's best to step back from that kind of stuff for a day or so, and then if you still can't get it, ask for help. My dad is a phenomenal programmer, so I just always ask him for a hint, and I can usually go from there. Find someone who can help you out when you need it, and things will get a lot easier - this may be someone as obvious as your professor.

Good luck! And don't let the stress get to you. If you ever need to bitch and moan for a few minutes (or hours... ;)) or need coding help, let me know! And bluelight is a great resource too! There are some damn brilliant scientists around here.
 
hey man, you gota hang in there. I'm a composite materials engineering major. I'm starting my third year now with the hardest classes yet. Just make sure to talk to your professors when ever you have a problem. Studying in groups helps a lot too.
 
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