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

A lot of my classmates in my Linguistics grad program are about your age...I'm a bit on the younger side for it. I've noticed the older students do better in classes - being out of school they are motivated to do well, since this time they are doing it for themselves, not just because everyone should go to to college. Therefore, you'll probably do way better in this math class than you would have done if you took it right after undergrad it seems...I could be wrong, but this is what I've seen happen repeatedly. Good luck!
 
thank you all for your responses. im encouraged by all of the stories, particularly cyc... id love to hear more.

i know i need to put more effort in to my return to school, pick up some volunteer hours, and tackle the whole scene...

i just feel completely out of touch with current expectations, and am having trouble balancing the immersion into school with keeping up with my current job.

my plan now is to find that suitable math class!!
 
i've been a critical care nurse for 23 yrs and i'm exhausted plus i have rheumatoid arthritis which doesn't help the situation. so at 45 i'm going to have to go back to school cuz i don't know how to do anything but nursing. i've just recently decided to look into genetic counseling and hopefully that will work out well.
-izzy
 
i'm 28, and there are tons of people in my program (law) who are older than I am.
 
I'm close to your age, and I am doing my bachelor after 11years of "off" any school activity. It was indeed very hard, because of the pressure I put on myself to "succeed" but it's not impossible. Maths are my pain too, I am in Informatics and you can imagine the horror sometimes. Also, I came from a high-school with humanitarian specialization and I had to learn what a logarithm is, function analysis, everything.. and not on my mother language. But what I did was explain my situation to the professors and they tried helping me- I have passed very well all my math exams.

But it's doable, stick to it and have in mind WHY you are doing it. Because sometimes it's very difficult and you would want to quit.

It's difficult to be the oldest of the group. I have some teachers who are younger than me 8o, also the kids around are annoying, and they learn faster than you will do, they have plenty of time and resources.

I have two and a half more semesters and I am done with this bachelor =D So I say, go for it, the world belongs to those who don't fear! ;)
 
I went to university as soon as I left school, but on my course there were a number of "mature" students, two of whom became very good friends. One was 31 and the other 40 when we started our course. I think they both faced challenges during their time on the course, especially at the start making the transition from work back to the world of lectures and assignments, I think they didn't find it quite as fulfilling.

However, after a period of adjusting, they settled in and got on with things quite happily. The other students never saw them any differently because of their age, infact I think most had more time for them as they were able to share a lot of life experience the rest of us didn't have. Both graduated with a top class degree and have gone on to better jobs than they had prior to studying, so it definitely worked out for them!
 
i started my undergrad last year at 32. tbh, i've never studied before in my life. =D you'll do fine. :)
 
My fiancee went back to school later in life.

Its a hard adjustment, especially if you've been working for a while. You need to up your self-motivation, focus and dedication. Also, you might feel like you're surrounded by immature people, because many people in colleges/community colleges/tech schools are younger, coming straight from highschool. They've got less life experiences than you, so you'll have to just bear with it.

As for advice in terms of getting into school, maybe take one or two classes in a community college to get yourself going (math classes for example), get good grades, and get to know your prof well there. That way, they can write a stellar letter of recommendation, which is very very very helpful!!!

Good luck!
 
I don't have any stories yet, but I just wanted to say that I'm in the same boat. I've been out of school for 9 years and in the fall I'm going back to get my Master's and subsequently my PhD. I'm looking forward to returning to the classroom after working all these years. Like somebody already said, I feel like I have a lot of "real world" experience that will only motivate me to succeed.

Good luck %)
 
I'm 28, just completed a BA and started my MA. I went back to school after working and saving money for 5 yrs. I did feel a little out of place at first, but it had more to do with the fact that I hadn't studied for years then the fact that I was a little older than most of my classmates. Some of them knew each other since college, so it took me a while to make friends (but I'm super shy anyways).
I feel so good about it now, it's unbelievable, I have a whole sense of purpose, and studying something that is so passionating to me has changed me as a person, in a very good way I believe.
Go for it! I'd say about a third of my classmates are my age or older now.
And I would even say that it was an advantage to be a little older than the others when I started my BA - I was there because I really wanted to be there, not because my parents had pressured me to get a university degree or else. Your source of motivation is simply not the same. Plus, the years you spent out of school are not «lost years»: you learned a helluva a lot of stuff in your personal readings and in daily life in general.
I actually feel excited for you :)
 
Study techniques

I've just finished sitting an industry standard exam and although I think I did well I really believe my study technique leaves a lot to be desired. I basically just re-read a 90 page manual on legislation for the particular area of finance I work in and also split the manual into smaller parts and tried learning each segment well. For the many bullet pointed areas I would memorise then go into another room and then write out to memory.

All considered I probably spent around 50 to 60 hours studying for this and believe there must be a more time efficient way of doing this next time around.

Has anyone got any proven methods they wish to share? Are colleges/university recommending any particuar approaches that work well?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
It really depends on the kind of thing you are study, and the way it's assessed. What kind of exams do your teachers set? Are they multiple choice, short answer, short essay?

This matters because of the kind of learning these kinds of assessment pieces assess. For example, a multiple choice exam can only really assess rote learned material. So if your courses are the kind of courses where you have to just remember a specific set of facts, then you'll need to develop strategies for rote learning. If your courses are the kind that require critical engagement or creativity in dealing with specific situations, then you'll need to study differently.

If you feel like what you need to do is just rote learn, then the best thing to do is firstly to do what you're already doing and read everything in manageable chunks so as to memorise it. Then you need to write. Writing something will help you remember it much better than just reading it. So just sit down, and write out the facts. Think of potential questions you might be asked, and write them. Think of new ways of summarising the material so that you develop categories in your mind to help you get a handle on the information and process it efficiently when faced with an exam situation.

Writing is also important if you're assessed using longer written type exam questions, such as short answer or essay questions. But the writing you do will be different. Once you're familiar with the material, think of positions you can take with regards to it, and write. Write critical pieces about concepts etc. Writing is the most important thing.

Also, can you get access to past exam papers for the course? Unless the course has changed since it was last taught, that will help too. Make sure you ask your teacher if this is going to be useful for you.
 
Well, if you did really well on the exam, then there's something about your method that is working for you. I wouldn't tinker too much!

It sounds like you want a way to learn just as much material, but in a shorter frame of time. There are some obvious techniques, which I'm just going to state out loud for the sake of discussion:

(1) Minimize distractions while you study. Cell-phone off, no email, no internet, in a place where you are focused on studying.

(2) Try to be well-rested, well-fed, well-hydrated, and possibly somewhat caffeinated. Have some snacks with you.

(3) Relate what you learn to your daily life. Think of this as the analogical equivalent to using a new word three times in your day. So for financial regulation, you might try to find analogues in products you handle in ordinary life (e.g. your soda company must disclose certain information on the soda can to you, the prospective purchaser), and you can play a little with the analogy to discern similarities and differences. This will help strengthen newly learned information, and you'll get a form of "study" out of everyday experiences.

(4) I've found that reading material, or at least reviewing material, shortly before going to sleep, and then glancing at it again the next morning, can be extremely useful.

(5) Stay healthy. Moderate exercise, and a good diet, can really help.

(6) Take practice tests (in sections, if the entire test is too long to take regularly).

(7) As you learn material, think about questions that could be asked. Write them out neatly, in question format, with the answer hidden somewhere (on the back of the paper or card). A few days later, review the questions and see how well you answer them.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

Basically the exam answers are short essays - 6 in a 3 hour session.

I do have access to past papers and will try to utilise them in future.

I also like the idea of trying to relate my topic to everyday situations like the soda can. This is a nice approach and I'll try to apply this to.

There's nothing terrible with my technique now it's just that I'm conscious that there must be new fangled way to learn content even more effectively (I'm getting into weightlifting to which perhaps explains this naive view - always new and better routines etc..)

I guess sometimes there no avoiding good old fashioned hard work..
 
monchi said:
i am terrifed. i suck at math.
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Don't be scared, you'll be fine. :) Anyone can learn math, all it takes is consistent study. The human brain is a pattern-recognizing machine; if you teach it patterns, it will learn them-- you can do it by force of will alone if you have to.
 
Note cards are great for two main reasons: 1) Re-writing notes helps you memorize information REALLY well and 2) You are able to quiz yourself as much as you need to which is also a wonderful studying tool.

Note cards = the best way to study absolutely any subject, not just vocabulary (at least for me).

Also, a lot of subjects use books that have mini-quizes at the end of each new section. If this is the case with your books, take each one as they are almost always a good way to review what you have just learned as well as knowing which information may be the most important to remember.
 
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If possible, teach the material to someone else. If you have a willing girlfriend/boyfriend, that might work, or maybe meet with someone from the class and take turns teaching each other. If nothing else, it's valuable to even 'teach' the material (out loud) to a teddy bear or something. Your recall of the material you teach is VERY high.

I seem to remember some quote, I thought by maybe Ben Franklin, that you remember 10% of what you hear, 20% of what you read, 50% of what you write, and 90% of what you teach. I can't find that quote now so maybe it was just something one of my HS teachers said, but I think it's largely true.
 
^that.

summaries are also the only way I learn things. I have personally summarized every single book from my classes this year. I dont' read unless I am sitting in front of my computer taking notes as I go along. Then i take those notes, my text, and my class notes and condense that into a super summary. makes a skeleton summary of that, and a table of contents. My exams are open book, so we can take all that stuff in with use, but I almost never refer to my summaries in there. just having made the summary is enough for me to learn the material cold.
 
Overwhelming anxiety around GPA

I need to have at least a 2.5 to stay in my major. I will be producing a TV show next semester which will REALLY help me in my resume, only problem is i'm failing 2 classes this semster. My overall GPA is 2.8001 and this is my 7th semester.

I have,

F-D-D-A-B

Will this risk danger of lowering it below the line?

My anxiety is causing insomnia and depression, somebody tell it to me straight
 
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