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

No, quite frankly, because most stims just give me the randy desire to watch porn for 10 hours.

The only slight exception is mdpv which I think would be quite good for studying, in controlled quantities.
 
Ahh, finals week!! Hope it all went well.

Personally I wouldn't really recommend all nighters for revision. I pulled a few on my thesis, but revision... if you need to pull an all nighter, chances are you just haven't got time to learn everything you need to, so it just becomes very stressful. Stress works in your favour to a point but with that kind of thing I'd just be too miserable to learn. When I was revising I'd tend to set myself a goal (e.g. "be able to answer these past exam questions") then go with an "as long as it takes" approach.

I'd personally grab a couple of hours of sleep at some point, timing it so I have about 6 hours to cram before the exam. I can't cram much more in than about 4 hours of studying, plus 2 "contingency" hours for when you realise you really don't get it.

For maths I rewrote all of the proofs in plain English, then repeated them enough times to remember all the steps.

For memorising facts, I'm a fan of finding mnemonics and coming up with stupid phrases. I'd have them all written down and read them repeatedly outside exam room... then as soon as exam started, write down on scrap paper the ones that I know I'm likely to forget.
Make it something memorable though. I remember my housemate trying to memorise the 4 conditions for deadlock:
Mutual exclusion
Hold and wait
No preemption
Circular wait
with something like "Mr Happy Penetrates Cunts". Charming, but... why would you remember that??
Mind you, I remembered it with "HP sauce". Yummy stuff. Mutual exclusion and circular wait are obvious. The other two are HP. HP sauce.

I didn't ever try drugs to improve my ability to study/stay awake. Would have done if I'd had the opportunity, but it never presented itself. I don't think it'd work very well for me though.... I hate hate hate it when my brain is 'going too fast' and I'm trying to concentrate. I get that even with too much coffee... so I save the stims for recreation :)
 
Adderall works wonders haha! But I usually just drink LOTS of coffee and try to study a little bit everynight instead of craming the night before, also flashcards seem to make it a little more bearable instead of just reading notes or out of a book.
 
Just break down the problem into smaller problems.

What do you need to study? Your books and notes, food, drink, etc., and a location for all of them.

What interferes with studying? Internet access, other people in the room, noise, etc.

So you need to find a place with all of the former, and none of the latter. You can carry food and drink with you. If other people in the room are distractions, that rules out any crowded public space. If you need your computer, then that rules out any place with wifi.

How about an isolated part of the library, or a quiet building on campus (perhaps an empty classroom), or the public library (you've got one around somewhere)?

As far as studying technique, I've found that I know something once I can explain it to someone who knows nothing about the subject, and when (especially for any science or math) I can apply the concepts to solve problems. So one method might be to read a section of a chapter at a time, and then stop, see if you can explain what you just read, and, after you're able to do so smoothly without looking back to the section for help, move on to the next section. Once you've finished that section, explain BOTH sections, and continue, until you've finished the entire chapter.

Sometimes you may find yourself referring back to the section you just read a lot when you're trying to explain it. Don't worry about that. Just keep making attempts until you can do it without looking.

This is time-consuming, but it really gets you to think about the material; and in doing so, you'll find that you'll remember the material much better.

Other techniques:

Even when you're not studying, try occasionally quizzing yourself. Just ask yourself a question about the material in your course, and see if you can answer.

Look for places to apply what you've learned in everyday life. If you're studying engineering, you'll find them everywhere.

As you go along, your ability to focus and remember will improve. You'll find it gets a little easier over time. And you'll find yourself so familiar with the material that a lot of it will begin to seem like common sense.
 
H said:
As far as studying technique, I've found that I know something once I can explain it to someone who knows nothing about the subject, and when (especially for any science or math) I can apply the concepts to solve problems. So one method might be to read a section of a chapter at a time, and then stop, see if you can explain what you just read, and, after you're able to do so smoothly without looking back to the section for help, move on to the next section. Once you've finished that section, explain BOTH sections, and continue, until you've finished the entire chapter.
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This is really good advice. The part which I made bold is particularly a good strategy. I used to actually rewrite my lecture notes and textbook sections, sometimes, in the way that I think they'd be best conveyed. If I had a section on how to use BB code (for example, like the thread on BL instructing such), to better understand it I would rewrite the page in a way that I think would best be understood.

In doing this, you first will improve your writing and expose skills. But more importantly, it will force you to think about how topics build on each other, what types of questions should be asked about the material, what stuff is hardest to explain, and so on. By writing stuff out that is difficult to understand, often you can teach yourself it this way, and it will come out clearer in the long run.
 
You don't get paid to be a professional student (I'm taking this to mean a medicine or law) in the us? That sucks. Does this meen that most profesionals come from well off backgrounds?

Any how, that asside. I find the best way to keep on top of work is to adopt a strict 10 hour day regime during the week, then use the weekend to finish anything outstanding. If you go to a library, or better yet your department (if they have computers) then you'll be forced to find something to do, even if you don't have anything pressing at the time. That way a lot of the preasure is taken of, as you end up doing things before the deadlines. Otherwise I find it easy to put things off, and then I start to associate work with unrelenting craming periods - which makes me put it off even more.
 
I think he meant "professional student" in the sense that he's just taking random credits semester after semester.

Neverland, what does your course load look like? 80%? 100%?

You can always declare a double-minor, then either upgrade later or apply to a grad program that isn't stringent on course requirements. I know many that just want you to have a piece of paper, and look for other things when deciding admission. Obviously marks count.

Either way, you're opening doors which is a very good thing. I don't think people realize how liberating a University degree is.
 
we pulled a 5 day all nighter on special operations assaulter course. stop whining. :p
 
I have to ditto the 'explaining things to someone' is an excellent way to keep information in the forefront. It beefs up your confidence and gives you some insight into what you don't know well enough. Additionally, the other person inevitably will know things that I don't fully understand allowing them to practice the aforementioned strategy as well. I love studying like this with a partner or two. It's very effective for me.

Small study groups weren't necessary for me in undergrad but they've been immensely helpful in graduate school. I think if I had studied a field I didn't really 'get' in undergrad a study group would be helpful in just the same way as it is for me now.

Edit: Plus, you get the benefit of knowing you helped somebody. :)
 
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I take copious hand notes, in my own words in paragraph form, with diagrams, in every lecture. I never miss a lecture. Then I just read that 40+ pages over twice, before I take an exam, plus a little bit of supplemental material for anything I didn't catch all that well in class.

That and plenty of sleep and exercise, plus a decent stack of nootropics.
 
I personally need a good night sleep, if I don't feel rested I tend to get very frusterated and kind of out of it. Instead of trying to pull an all nighter, next time study a little bit each night so you wont have to worry about staying up all night to study. Flash cards work wonders!! I do them with every test and I think it works great. Try to get some sleep, you want to feel good for the test, not drained and exhausted!
 
pumpkin89 said:
I personally need a good night sleep, if I don't feel rested I tend to get very frusterated and kind of out of it. Instead of trying to pull an all nighter, next time study a little bit each night so you wont have to worry about staying up all night to study. Flash cards work wonders!! I do them with every test and I think it works great. Try to get some sleep, you want to feel good for the test, not drained and exhausted!
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if you want to be on par with everyone else, yes! If you want to take your self up a notch or two, stress is pretty good at doing that.
 
What to do when discouraged about your education?

Maybe it's just because I bombed a fucking trig test I could have sworn I would get an A on earlier this morning, but what the fuck did you guys do whenever you walk out of a classroom thinking "i'm never going to make it in college"

I WANT to make it, obviously, I just get depressed and sometimes angry thinking about shit like this
 
Waaaay way way too many kids in college nowaday.

Srsly, though, why do you WANT to make it in college? Trade school would be a bit easier, less stressful, and you'd actually have a REAL job.
 
because college opens the doors to so many more job choices. my chosen field is computer science, going to trade school is great and all but a degree looks so much more prestigious
 
Binge Artist said:
Waaaay way way too many kids in college nowaday.

Srsly, though, why do you WANT to make it in college? Trade school would be a bit easier, less stressful, and you'd actually have a REAL job.
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Most trades nowadays require 2 years of College, then an apprenticeship which is far from guaranteed. In the end, it's 4 years either way you look at it before you're making any real money.

Pure academics teaches people how to think, so they can make career choices. When you sign up for a trade, you get one choice, your education doesn't scale and it's not recognized outside of 'getting a job'

When you sign up for an education, you're opening several other doors. You become recognized, and you can scale into a professional career.

Aside from that, it takes chops to make it in the classroom. It's not easy, and it is stressful - but that's what separates the choice-makers from the pipe-fitters.

It's all about choices - the icing on the cake of life.

This isn't just a response to Binge. I truly hope this helps you feel a bit less discouraged, kandy.
 
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