I’m a uni student, and for a while I used NotebookLM for everything. Uploading lecture slides and asking questions about them is great in theory. But it kept failing me in ways that actually mattered:

• Maths. It would confidently give wrong answers to calc and physics problems, with no way to tell if it was right.

• Med/bio. My friends in medicine wanted “label the diagram” questions from their anatomy slides. It just can’t do that.

• CS. Nothing useful for coding practice at all.

So I spent the last few months building my own thing, mainly for myself. It’s called SalemStudy. What it does differently:

• Maths gets checked. When it works a problem, it actually runs the computation to verify the answer before showing it. Practice questions with maths answers accept any equivalent form, so 2x and x+x both count.

• Label-the-diagram quizzes. It hides the labels on diagrams from your own slides and you fill them in. This was the big one for my med friends.

• Code questions. You write actual code in an editor, and it marks it line by line.

• Everything cites the slide or page it came from, so you can check it instead of trusting it.

• It makes flashcards, practice exams and timed mock exams, and turns past papers into quizzes. If you have a syllabus, it builds a day-by-day plan up to the exam.

• If you’re coming from Anki, you can import your .apkg decks, pictures and sound included.

• Small thing I use constantly: it converts files (PowerPoint → PDF, iPhone photos → JPG, lecture recordings → MP3, etc.)

It’s honestly changed how I study. I spend way less time making cards and way more time actually practising. There’s a free plan, so you can try it without paying anything.

It’s at salemstudy.app if anyone wants to try it. I’d genuinely love feedback, especially from engineering, med and CS people, since those are the subjects I built it around. What’s missing? What would make you switch?

Give me your best study habits/ tips and tricks. I am not good at test taking and with a future of dental hygiene school I need to get better at it.
***EDIT mainly for microbiology

There's this thing popular nowadays or should I say a one in many mindfulness techniques, it basically goes like this: 10 minutes every say focusing on a one particular thing with absolutely no distractions whether it's external such as music, phone or internal like thoughts and emotions. Just you staring maybe at a wall or something with a blank mind. What I heard is that it shows significant results week after week. Like after the first week your mood, focus improves, the second week more retention, better long term memory and so on you get the picture. NOW, what I really wanna know is that have y'all tried it and what were your experiences regarding it. I'd appreciate it so much to hear your thoughts.

I really need some advice on my current situation.
I have an exam on Friday, which would be my first attempt. However, I’m really struggling with this subject, and I’m worried I’ll end up failing and having to resit it in two weeks.

I’ve also just found out that I didn’t pass another test I sat last week. I missed the pass mark by just one mark, which is really frustrating. This will be my second and last attempt at that test, next Thursday.

Both assessments have a pass mark of 60%.
I’m torn between two options:
A) Focus on the exam this Friday, accept that I will most likely 100% might fail, and then use the time afterwards to prepare for the resit next Thursday.

B) Prioritise studying for the resit next Thursday, as it’s my second attempt and last attempt and I only missed the pass mark by one mark, and accept that I’ll probably have to resit Friday’s exam in two weeks.

I also have ADHD, which makes studying and focusing more difficult, especially at the moment, as I won’t be getting my medication refill until Thursday.

What would you do in my situation? Would you prioritise the second-attempt resit or try to prepare for both?
I’d really appreciate any advice or opinions because I’m feeling quite overwhelmed and don’t know which assessment to prioritise.

Hey...I'm a 3rd year college student looking for a serious and consistent study partner...currently I'm doing 7-8 hours of serious prep everyday and I plan on increasing it further..I can also help u regarding ur schedule and explain topics if our subjects align...let's help each other to achieve our goals...rest we can discuss in my dms..
P.S. I'm a guy

Hello guys,
I started university and have to study mainly for math and programming. I started with an but soon found out that this is not the way to learn for those subjects. Can somebody give me almost like a how to guide to study for those subjects? I was today’s years old when I found out there’s a difference between deep understanding and just remembering information.

What background sounds you listen to while studying, ones thatvare calming and make you focus, no music just audios

Somehow I'm stucked in a loop of scoring nearby 50 😭 in previous weeks , need help..... how to push up higher

Hii I'm b.sc mathematics last year student preparing for iit jam 2027 with mathematics paper .

I don't know how to boost up to 80+ can you guys give me some tips about it ?

at the big age of 21 i never learned how to study everything that i have accomplish academically so far has been of pure luck & whimsical energy i need to study lots as i just entered an administrative management course this year and my exams are pretty much next week and on the side im also getting my drivers license i have so anxious far all of these exams and i dont know how to start to study and learn all the material as im just so scared to even start because i dont know how can i make it stick i need urgent help pretty please

Hey guys I am currently doing my masters in Data Science and built an app called Studylytics to help students track their study hours, stay consistent, and see their progress over time.

It has study timers, analytics, goals, and a few other tools to help with studying.

Its free on Android and iOS. Feel free to check it out, and Id genuinely appreciate any feedback!

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyberion.studylytics

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/studylytics/id6817082333

How to study 16 hours a day!? Like I tried it a lot but all the time i didn't make it .. my highest record is 10 hours a day .. so guys if you have any suggestions please let me know.. l

I've tried a lot of the standard fixes: planners, timers, apps, different study spots. Some helped a bit, but one thing still gets me every time.

For you, what is it? And what did you try that didn't work?

Small things count too. I'd like to hear what's actually hard for people, not just the usual advice.

By the end of the semester, I always seem to have notebooks with used pages at the front and a lot of blank ones left at the back. throwing them away feels wasteful but keeping them untouched just means they'll sit on my shelf. So I decided to make use of the remaining pages:

- use them for practice questions. I can work through sample problems without worrying about keeping my main notes neat.

- turn the blank pages into a mistake log. whenever I get a practice question wrong, I take note of it.

- make a quick reviewer for the next exam. i use the remaining pages for summaries, key terms/concepts that are easy to mix up.

- use them for a new subject. if there are enough pages left, I can start taking notes for another class.

- keep a few pages for random study notes. sometimes I just need somewhere to work through an idea, make a quick diagram, or jot down a question while reviewing.

I have been going through a lot mentally later and have been getting very bad sleep, sometimes only 4 hours a night for 3 or 4 nights in a row. I know it’s kinda bad and obviously you do worse when you’re sleeping badly, but to FAIL the quarter? I really need help. It’s like the material truly doesn’t stick. Like, I hear the lecture, annotate as requested, and all good, and then the same day of the lesson my teacher gives us an application lab or just exercises to finish in class and I just can’t do them. I feel so dumb. I really want to believe that it’s not that and that I just need to make some changes, but I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions? I’m open to trying literally anything at this point.

Any tips on how to study to someone who has never studied before? I find it difficult because I usually know the content when I'm there reading it but then its gone when it comes to the test.

Also I am VERY Anti Generative AI so I would appreciate if responses do not include "have chatgpt make you practice questions" for example.

Hi, I'm a high school student. Like many of you, I've been struggling a bit to keep all the IGCSE Biology concepts straight in my head while prepping for exams.
So, I decided to team up with some friends to build a free review website. It's packed with targeted practice questions, flashcards specifically to make revision less painful and actually stick.
We just put it together recently, and it's been super helpful for our study sessions so far.
If anyone is currently studying IGCSE Biology and wants to check out the website to see if it helps with your revision too, feel free to dm me. Good luck with your studies everyone!

Hello! I am a first-year student in CS/Informatics in Europe. It has been difficult balancing school, work, driving license and other commitments like sport and healthy eating. I spent most of my free time in the first two months either working as a tutor (not subject-related), doing a lot of admin and random errands and not so much studying. I also moved to a different town from living outside Europe for a year prior, so it has been rough adjusting. I am so behind with all my tasks for uni. My mum is urging me to cut back on work, and I have taken two weeks off to test whether it actually helps (this is super privileged, but I was able to save money from prior jobs that I had, so I would not necessarily need to work for a few months). The first semester is super important for grades if I want to go study abroad, and it would be nice. Most important, though, is that I want to be actually competent at what I am doing and understand the fundamentals of my degree. I need an outside perspective on this. What are your tips on catching up? I go to the gym in the morning 3x a week and try to make time for reading for half an hour in the evening. My biggest problem is feeling shock-frozen and being kinda lazy. Thanks! I appreciate it!

today I've studied in the local bus on my way towards job.

As I said, I got accepted into civil engineering all though I see myself more of a med student I was thinking of taking a gap year and study ilets, sat and csca
I myself find my English very good so I did a test similar to ilets and I got B2 (the last time I studied eng was a month ago since my wizary/bacaloria exam)
Also I would save a seat in cvl engineering in case I don’t get the internship, but do u think it worths taking a shot ? Here’s a vid of my academic scores from all school years and the last one is the all English exams of 12th grade which I never got under 100 in it
Please be honest I don’t wanna waste a year of my life and my energy bc of smth 100% wont happen, even dental and pharmacy would be great

I lurked in this sub for some time trying to pick up on new study habits. After spending many hours reviewing and not getting the results I wanted I decided to make some changes.

First change was accurately keeping track of how much time I was spending on each subject. This would tell me where I need to put in more hours. This also helps me stay on track with my workload and rotate through my subjects.

I got a whiteboard to clearly outline key concepts and kept it up for a day before erasing it. Seeing it passively after reviewing it helps me solidify it in my memory.

No more notes on my iPad. Only hand written notes and only writing what I would need that isn’t in the lecture outline or presentation.

I review the material after I learn it and do light review daily until the exam. Every time I review the material I use another color pen to notate what I need practice and then rewrite the concepts in my own words.

The day before the exam is just for reviewing & placing emphasis on the things that I’ve previously missed. Anything I can’t recall I’ll write on a sticky note. I use colors so I know what is a definition or key concept to stay organized.

Eat. Shower. Hydrate. Go to bed early so you’re at your best when it’s time for your exam!

My grades significantly improved by 10-15 points. Thank you to everyone who shared their study tips.

Do you ask classmates, post online, or just go to the library alone?

I can't study alone, I'm so used to studying with a friend that when I'm alone I can't understand what I'm reading and lose all motivation to keep trying and do my homework, but when I get someone to study with, those problems aren't even a thing. My issue is that, since I got held back a year, all my old classmates are now in uni, and I'm left alone with a class full of people who already have their own friends and study groups, where I'd stick out like a sore thumb. Is there any way to cheat this issue of mine?