A Stash of Tiny Study Tips
Create realistic goals: get ___ grade on next ____
Manageable let down; get back on track
Keep track of grades: focused, know where stand, no surprises
Low risk confidence builders
Take time to relax/give self rewards
Days off, breaks, rewards
All work & no play =/= living
Little organization goes a long way
Keep balance with exercise, clubs, friends
2h/d: friends and exercise
Remember that hard work pays off
Isn’t a breeze to try to get a 4.0 GPA; but it’s possible
You’re smart enough and can achieve it
90% there with these tips, 10% is just pure hard work
Monday-Friday: school mode
If work as hard as should during week, will need weekends to blow off steam
Grades can matter, not everything, but follow through on what needs to be done
Not most important part of college but underperform? You will regret it
GPA cutoffs exist and matter to employers
College is full of distractions and opportunities
Nobody will hold hand and the work will suck but all the prouder of yourself to be
Suck it up, buckle down, get it done
If think need break, probably don’t
Turn off the little voice
Realize not alone in questioning ability
Avoid people who tend to burst bubbles no matter what
Physical triggers to stop
Incentive to get something done when know have something else during the day
Don’t have a gaping abyss of study time
Work has to get done, in the end
Books, examiners, and especially your future self isn’t going to care about your excuses for not doing the work
It will almost be fictional how hard you thought the task was going to be
Just keep going because you simply can’t afford NOT to do anything today, nonzero days
Leeway, don’t give your perfectionism control over your life
Sleep! Think and function, mind & body
CAN sleep if keep up with coursework instead of procrastinating
Will miss out on some fun stuff
Need to stay awake in class
Figure out what need for full speed
1 hour exercise during week
Traditional breakfast not necessary if value extra sleep
Systematic habits: neat, prepared
Look for real world applications
Learning is a process: be patient, don’t expect to master off the bat
Designate study area and study times
Ask a TA to listen to your oral performance
Don’t copy other people’s psets and solutions
Spiral bound notebook, can color code with folders/etc if need be
Lecture notes: front to back
Reading notes: back to front (if fall behind on)
Seminar notes: mixed in with lecture notes, different pen color/labeled
Bullet points for everything
Same NB for one set of class notes, separate notebooks for all classes
Midterm and exam material in it
Mesh sources, study guide
All study material from week/month in one place
Indulge in favorite hobby feeling
Pick professors & classes wisely
Pick classes that interest you so studying doesn’t feel torturous
Prioritize class by how can affect GPA
More credits: more weight
Work enough to get an A in your easy classes: take something good at
Don’t settle, don’t slack off, don’t put in minimal effort to get that B/C. Just put in a tiny bit more effort to ensure A
Will have harder classes and need to counteract
Anything but an A in an elective is kinda mean and an unnecessary hit for your GPA
FIRST DAY/WEEK/HALF OF CLASSES
Get to know teaching style: focus most on, lecture/notes
Pick and follow a specific note taking format
Capture everything on board
Decide productivity system
Agenda: remind meetings, class schedule, important dates/midterms/quizzes/tests, no homework
Always wanted to be prepared
Plot all due dates after class
Penalize if fail to abide by
Study the hardest for the first exam
Hardest/most important test
Pay attention to content and formatLess pressure: just need ___ on final to keep my A
Easy to start high and keep high
Go into crunch mode at the beginning
Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and good food in the finals days before the exam
Get to know professors: go to office hours, care about grades/course/them
Easier ask for help, rec letter
Get to know interests and what they think is important
Figure out their research interests, 60% of their job is research
Get feedback early when not sure what doing
Take comments constructively
Consistent class participation: ask questions, give answers, comment when appropriate
Find a study buddy in each class: don’t have to study with
Somebody can compare notes with, safety net
Pick somebody who attends, participates, and take notes regularly
Participate as fully as can in group activities
Good impression, on human professors
Skipping class =/= option: It’s “cool” to get attendance award
Make all the classes: it’s hard to feel confident when missing key pieces
Get full scope of class, everything will make a lot more sense and save a lot of time in long run
Mandatory class: higher graduating cumulative GPA
Go to class when no one else does/want to show up, reward
Get to know professor, what’s on test, notice, r/s build, material not in reading
Unless optional and super confusing professor
Sit in one of the first rows
Fake interest if you have to
DURING SEMESTER: THINGS TO DO
Take notes! Provided is bare minimum, accessed by students who aren’t attending lecture
Based on lecture and what read –> test; it’ll be worth it
Bored? Doodle instead of going online
Read all assigned–even if need to skim
Seems cumbersome and maybe impossible
Figure out what’s important
Look at the logical progression of the argument/what’s important/what trying to prove
Understand everything that you do read–even if don’t read everything
PIck 2 examples from text per topic
Complete course material on time
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL DAY BEFORE IT IS DUE
Begin as soon as possible
Sometimes it’s just straight up impossible
Library doesn’t just mean = study
Social media in the library is still social media
Read other textbooks, review course material @ another uni/by another professor, google the shit out of it
Do not wait, do throughout semester
Ask for model papers, look at style & structure, thesis, how cite
Look at type of questions (detail level and structure)
If give out paper exams in class: probs won’t repeat questions, focus more on concepts but still learn the questions
Have class notes and psets down cold
Do all the practice problems
Read through notes a few times; rewrite into a revision notebook
Highlight major topics and subtopics
Different highlighter for vocab terms
Overall picture, go from concept to detail
Look at overall context and how specific idea fit into whole course
Ideas, don’t memorize all your notes
Better understand = more able to use and manipulate info and remember it. Understand = manipulation.
Practice drawing labeled structures
Flash cards for memorization
Every school requires some degree of grunt memorization
Say it aloud, write it down
Self-test: severely challenge self, have a running collection of exam questions
Explain difficult concepts to your friends; force yourself to articulate the concept
Never pull an all-nighter
Do not spend every hour studying up to the exam
Don’t wait until night before exam to study
Prep takes time even if reviewed throughout semester
Ask about format–don’t ask the professor to change it for you
Law of College: it will be on the exam if you don’t understand it
Ask professor, internet, textbooks
Jot what want to remember/have fresh
Read through in morning/before exam
Sleep, have test materials
Don’t cram every single spare minute
Go to bathroom before exam
Never miss an exam/lie to get more time
You won’t be any more ready 2-3 days after when supposed to have taken it
Friday morning: go through each syllabus, write down in HW notebook
All hw during weekend; study/reading assignments during week
Divide big tasks into small pieces to help propel self
Standard study schedule: block off lectures, labs, regular commitments
Note the weeks that have assignments and tests that will require extra studying
Don’t oscillate too heavily every day with study times (i.e. don’t study 2-3 hours for weeks and then 10-12 hour days right before an exam)
Eat and sleep to make more extended work periods liveable and enjoyable
Set an amount of time would like to study every day
Avoid vague/zoned out studying –> waste of time
Do a little bit daily but don’t let studying be your whole day
Review notes: 30mins/day, each class from that day
Look at important ideas/vocab
Prioritize new vocab because language is most fundamental and important tool in any subject
Circle abbreviations and make yourself a key somewhere so you don’t forget what the hell that abbreviations meant
Rewrite/reorganize notes if necessary
Format of ideas is just as important as the concepts themselves, esp. when it comes time for exam review
This helps you retain the material so you’ll be ahead next time you walk into class
Chance to ID any knowledge gaps that you can ask about for next class
Skim text before lecture or at least main topic sentences
Jot down anything don’t understand; if lecture doesn’t clarify, ask the professor
After lecture: skim again, outline chapter, make vocab flashcards
Highlight similar class and lecture notes
will definitely be tested on
Review and make study questions
Disconnect from anything irrelevant to study material: help focus and your GPA
Don’t limit studying to the night
Study whenever, wherever between classes
Variety helps focus and motivation
Especially if tired at night and can’t transition between subjects
Try to study for a specific subject right before/after the class
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