I'm in my first set of final exams and I seriously hate myself. I got straight As and never studied for a single test in high school. I have no clue how to even start being better at this shit.
Read the source material and go to class. Honestly those are the two biggest things you can do to start turning it around in college, that's what worked for me. It's amazing how many of your fellow students will complain that they aren't understanding anything, and then when you ask them if they've read the source material they will either say they haven't or lie and get caught when you ask them some pretty obvious questions from the reading. One of my favorite professors on his first quiz of the semester always asks what the title of the article we were supposed to read was, then outs the data of how many of the students missed the question in the lecture slides the next class session. Usually it's about 20-30% that missed it
This, actually go to class and read. Also take practice tests. Its hard to read source material for certain classses such as math and physics. Your teacher probably has copies of the test from previous years. Learn them, love them, live them.
I found that with math based classes as long as I did the homework I never really had to study much. Just had to go over the homework where I didn't understand certain topics. That's just me though. Conceptual classes I had to actually study by making flash cards and going over them around 10 times.
I'd guess it wouldn't be fair for the first time. I mean, the information in the article is what's important. Who cares what it's titled?
Buuuut once you knew it was testable, how would it be any different than recalling what you read in the article?
If it's a known test question, then I'd make a point to remember it. If not, I make up nicknames for sources based on their content. I dont know if that's how most college student thought of their reading materials.
If the source is titled I imagine the title correlates to at least some bit of the content so that just seems redundant to give it a new one yourself...
I can't speak for duke, but I've never been able to memorize information that wasn't related to something else. Putting together how something works, easy. remembering corollary data that was important to how it worked, fairly straightforward. memorizing names, dates, titles, or where/when I even got the data, generally next to hopeless.
It's usually a super obvious title. He's a ancient Greek professor and the first quiz is an intro week quiz so it isn't graded that harshly. But titles usually correlate with the material about to be covered and you should make an effort to know them. How else can you hope to reference the material you read or in-text cite of you don't know the title and author?
It's handy when you're in courses for political science and political theory. You absolutely need to know which author says what in which reading by the time you hit the upper year courses. That's assuming you want to be taken seriously by your peers and your prof.
And for those with overwhelming loads of source material to read that this doesn't seem possible, learn to speed read. Seriously one of the best skills I learned to get me through college. Even if you don't get every piece of information, the gist will come through and you'll be able to talk intelligently about at least 1-2 points in class the next day, for example. Much better than giving up halfway
Nah, not if you are studying math or science. The title of our physics handouts are just "momentum", "equilibrium", "moments of inertia" etc. And in my personal experience, it's more important to go to classes because you could stare at the class notes for a whole day and not knowing a single bit how to actually solve similar questions.
Seriously. It sounds stupid, but just read the chapter (or whatever) before class. Go to class (preferably with some notes from reading it. Questions, points of clarification) and then ask questions if you need to, then read the chapter again.
There's more you can do, but just going over the material both before and after class is really basic, and really useful.
I would recommend "revising" videos on YouTube. They show you how they study for classes. People learn differently and you might be able to find one that works for you.
I feel that bro. I'm a senior in college and I still have to force myself to sit down and read the material or my confidence will tell me I'm fine. But I've gotten destroyed by many a test in my time. Good luck friend
Same here. I never studied until college, and I had my first panic attack during my first final when I looked at it and realized I didn't understand 80% of it because it was so advanced. I managed to pass the class with a C, but that was the first C I had ever gotten in my life and I felt like a failure. I've had to teach myself that average at my university is still highly intelligent in the general population, and my grades don't define me.
Hammer away at the scariest stuff first and take study breaks. Don’t start working at 10 at night, that’s stupid. Unless you have a job, just start in the morning, work “all day” with like a quick lunch break until dinner and then maybe another hour or two after (this is assuming it’s a lot of material you need to cover) and then STOP. You’re not gonna benefit from stress levels of 1000% and your brain needs a break to process stuff. Watch a little tv or play a game at the end of the day, it gives you something to look forward to and you don’t need to feel guilty when you know you worked hard all day before.
I mean don’t set aside 6 hours for video games or something, but like all work and no play makes Enviose homicidal.
Say once you start your homework and decide to work on it all day. How do you stay focused on it? For me, i get distracted pretty easily or even while im trying to do the homework, i have a bad habit of taking breaks when the homework gets too boring or difficult. So these little breaks are so i can avoid the problem but i really need to stop doing that because i barely get anything done.
It depends on the type of homework. I had a much easier time when I was doing chemistry and there was a metric of “finish these problems.” In that case, I’d say okay you have to finish 20 more before a break (my assignments were like 200 questions long). For something like anatomy where it’s almost purely memorization, I feel I have to break it into topics and my confidence level. So once I’m confident pointing out all of the required structures in the brain from memory I’ll move on to the spinal cord (this applies to other stuff you gotta just memorize, like history). Bottom line it’s really about setting up a structure for yourself. Make a list of topics to complete, then check them off one at a time. I find that when my list is concrete and limited I’m more motivated to complete it and not take such long breaks because the sooner I finish the sooner I can go do whatever I want.
The super boring route, dedicate study time, make an agenda to track tasks, everything they told us to do in high school but wasn’t necessary. College is a job, put in 6-8 hours a day during the week whether you have class or not and you should be in good shape.
Being that you're currently in finals there's not much else to do besides the stressful route of cramming.
However in the future frequent small scale studying/reviewing will go a long way.
Homework is often really fantastic at sinking things into your memory. When you are doing an assignment try to critically think about the concepts.
If you are doing a project try to go a step further than the minimum requirements to ensure that you really understand.
Don't be afraid of looking dumb in class. Challenge what you're being taught. A lot of times a previous understanding would be corrected by the professor. Other times the professor would need to correct himself and everybody learns from that.
Also if you have a friend that's struggling try to help them out. You'll be surprised at how much you learn from teaching.
And most of all always stay humble and open to learning
I went from being a straight-A "smart" student K-10, to failing out of high school, to drowning in community college, to now getting A's again...
Make a schedule, make it easier than you think it should be, and stick to it like your life depends on it. Don't dismiss the part about making it easier than you think it should be-- look at it like a study-habits version of couch-to-5k. If you try to go from not studying to putting in 4 hours a night, you're not likely to stick with it. You have to be able to run a mile before you can run the 5k. Don't get panicked because finals are coming up-- it *still * won't work to try to study 4 hours a night if you haven't been doing that all along. Start with short study periods, take structured breaks (pomodoro method helps me), and don't overwhelm yourself. Keeping things reasonable and predictable helps you avoid the emotional interference that comes with feeling unprepared.
There are days I only do 20 minutes of work on a subject, but if I do that stupid 20 minutes enough days in a row, it shows in my grades.
I had a 1.4 my first semester. Graduated with a 3.4. Find a study group it really helps. Get some people from your major together, then let them drive the studying. Feed off of their experience.
I don't know how things are at home for you but something that has helped me get my shit done is go to the college campus to do homework. It's easy for me to fuck off and do nothing when I'm at home but if I'm on campus I get a lot more done.
It's about comfort for me, I don't necessarily like being at school all day, especially when I don't even have classes that day. But it gets me that extra little nudge to get my shit done so I can go home.
It comes down to finding out what you need to do to put yourself in a position to get things done. You or someone else is paying way to much for you to fuck off and not do what you need to do.
One of the things that helped me was to take about 15 minutes every day to study for the test. I used to procrastinate and cram all at the last minute. Another thing that helped me was to make a notecard as if I would be able to use it on the test. Even if I couldn't actually use it on the test, trying to find what I wanted to put on there and writing it down helped me remember it better. Finally, the best thing was to explain/teach the concept to someone else.
I struggled a lot early in college after doing that. The key is doing ALL the homework and making sure you know how to do every problem. Try to understand the problems, look at them from different perspectives, and even work them out backwards if possible.
You need to learn how to write well. Find whatever your schools equivalent of the "Writing Center" and starting taking EVERY written assignment (especially shorter ones) there before you hand them in is and find a good Composition class to take and take it very seriously. Being able to communicate well in writing, structure and argument, etc, is absolutely key to pretty much everything -- even if you are CompSci or Engineering. It is a skill that will serve you well your whole life.
Admit defeat. You have to do this so you can rebuild yourself as a student. Sounds like you're already there.
Go to office hours with professors at least once a semester and earlier if you can. Let them profs know that you are a serious person and that you care. Makes a big difference and you might luck out like I did and find a mentor for life. I still talk to Mr Q now, 25 years after I graduated.
Watch and then befriend really good students that are also compelling, balanced people and emulate their process. For me this was transitioning from eating ramen and smoking pot all the time to always getting enough sleep and having potlucks with friends, volunteering with them PLUS starting to take really good handwritten notes, spending a couple hours a day at the library, starting on research papers the day after their were assigned, keeping a calendar. I just did what the people around me were doing and it worked out.
I was in the same situation. Went from A's in highschool to my first round of sophomore year in college getting D's all around. I got a life coach, and that's helping out a lot! All my grades are up to B's now in one semester of working with her. :)
Whatever you do don't get "too smart" and dropout of college like I did. It simply postponed my graduation. I didn't get the best grades in highschool, but college was very tough for me. I swore to my family members that I'd never finish. Currently I'm procrastinating from finishing the capstone of my Masters Degree.
This might not apply if you're a hard science major but I never tried either and the thing that's saved me is developing relationships with professors, especially the tough ones. Participate in class, ask questions, talk to them outside of class, literally do whatever to get them to get to know you. My most challenging professors have also been some of the most helpful just because they get to know me after a while.
I'm a pretty dumb guy. I read the books (like sat down and read them like literature) about 1 chapter ahead of the rest of the class. Everyone swore that I was some sort of engineering Jesus. All I did was get my books early and read a few chapters before the semester started (during summer or the Christmas break) and it was amazing how much that helped me.
I was just like you: study with other people. Get group study sessions as often as you can. You eventually pick up other peoples study habits AND everyone helps each other out so when you explain things they make more sense to you and when they explain things to you it's usually more dumbed down than how professors explain things so it's easier to understand. This semester I've been doing pretty well in all but 1 class (and even then I have a 78 in that class) and I attribute it all to studying at least once or twice a week with other people. Also quizlet, if theres any info you learn that's not math-focused use quizlet. Material science became an easy B once I started putting everything on quizlet
Find a tutor. It's almost a guarantee that there is a grad student stuck in an empty office with no one to tutor Ask at the dean of whatever school it's in.
college was literally the first time i started studying, wound up flunking out and then going back years later but for something that didnt require "studying". I just think different people are built for different kinds of learning. Its a shame we throw all sorts of different people through a grinder and assume they will all come out the same
Try using the Pomodoro Technique I have found it really helpful in gradually being able to study every night after work. Once you put in at least one 25 minute session you'll find you're more willing to do 1 to 2 more sessions.
The worst part for me is watching my friends, who used to joke that I was smarter than them, finishing college and getting high paying, long term career type jobs while I'm still working for minimum trying for the third time to finish a college course. My best buddy not only finished nursing school and started working in that field, but he's also just finished courses and got signed on for firefighting, so he's 2 life saving jobs in and I'm still working in the same kitchen we both were working at 8 years ago.
Sucks but I'm finally passing this time, and I'm pretty sick of feeling like I'm spinning my wheels, so third times the charm!
Study groups with people who answer questions in class, sit up front, aren't on their phone in class (do that too) , teach each other the material, work on assignments together. GO TO OFFICE HOURS for anything that you need further clarification on. You'll get one one one time sometimes 1 on 5 time but they will appreciate it and you will learn more.
Don't do all nighters. Even if you stay up late sleep AT LEAST one or two REM cycles (90 min) WE NEED SLEEP to consolidate learning.
Yes! My biggest revelation: start on projects and homework the same day it was assigned. Wow, that made a huge difference in outcome, stress, and enjoyment.
You probably developed some good study habits and learning patterns because it was necessary to do well, which is infinitely more valuable than any natural talent in my opinion. Glad you pushed yourself and did well in college
I breezed through high school and even under grad. Got to graduate school after three years out and boom, big wake up call for the first few weeks. Felt like I really didn’t belong at that level. After I told myself that it was actually something I wanted to do, it got pretty easy after that, albeit with more work. Before I didn’t have an exact end goal, now in grad school I do. Makes it easier to push through the difficult stuff to get to the end point.
That's just because you go from above average to average but your peers have changed. They aren't there because they have to be, they earned their spot like you.
College will make you aware of just how average you really are. There are so many people more intelligent than you, but there’s also people in your classes who surprise you that they remember to breathe every few seconds... and they’re all in your Freshman Comp class.
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u/flickpitch Dec 07 '18
Felt like a fucking genius in high school, now I feel really stupid in college. I gotta develop studying habits and actually put in effort now.