Study Skills #1
A bit of background first.
I'm 26 and have finally finished with college! I could always go back, but for the foreseeable future I have no exams, and since I have been studying for the last 6 years I'll be taking a break before any more!
I studied an undergraduate degree in maths & statistics for 3 years, and then went on to work full-time as an auditor whilst also completing Chartered accountant professional exams for another 3.5 years. In both degrees, I got top marks. ("First class honours" in my undergrad, "Decile 1" in accounting").
A number of factors added in to me doing so well. For one thing, I could never have done it without support of my family and friends - plus my cat and dog cuddling me helped with stress!! Seriously though, those top marks didn't come naturally! So I plan to share a few tips and tricks over the next few weeks in the hopes of making your study journey a bit easier. (That is, assuming anyone reads this. :) ) I know it's hard, and it's easy to get demotivated. I made every mistake under the sun while I was studying, especially when it came to stress management, so here's hoping I can help someone else skip that part and just get to the good stuff. ^^
Lesson one: Go to the lectures!!
When I started working as an auditor, one of my seniors told me "Go to the lectures. Just have your notes organised and ready for study leave. You won't have time to actually study, because you will be working full time and you will be exhausted - but if you go to the lectures and know what to study/where to start, that's half the battle". This was some of the best advice I have ever received.
Now, what she failed to mention, was that the lectures were either 3 hours long in the evening after work, or 6 hours long at the weekend (sometimes there would be one on Saturday and Sunday too, yikes!). There were a million reasons not to go. Notes were available online, lectures were pre-recorded so I could watch them on my laptop at home, I was wrecked from work, I wanted to see my friends, I woke up at 7am on a Sunday and honestly just couldn't face the thoughts of a 6 hour tax lecture.... You name it! I was constantly dreading the thoughts of going to the lectures.
BUT.
When I did go, I could see the benefits.
1) I wouldn't have to play catch up some other time later on (because it's way more difficult to motivate yourself to go and watch a 6 hour lecture online.. "Oh look a cute cat video! I'll just take a quick 5 minute break...").
2) My notes were printed for each class and scribbled on as the professor explained everything - so all I had to do was stick them in a folder to look at later on. Other times when I didn't attend, I would end up spending hours printing notes of several classes - and then probably wouldn't use them since I had no idea what was in them.
3) I remembered the information better come exam time. You are more likely to remember something you heard rather than something you read. "What was that term again? Ohh he said it was something funny... what day was that? It was the day Dawn dropped all of her pens/highlighters because the table was slanted... Oh! Oh! I got it! Venture capitalist!!". Seriously, you will be so surprised what you remember in an exam.
4) I could ask questions. Some of my lecturers in both my undergrad and in chartered accountants knew me really well, and asking them for help was the best thing I ever did for my exams. Once, a professor rang me for 40 minutes to explain the final year exam structure for accounting, and how best to study for it. I built my whole routine around what he advised me to do. I had 3 months off work for study leave, and if I hadn't taken his advice I honestly don't know where I would have even started.
The biggest con of going to lectures is you miss out on other fun activities - so do make sure to take a break if you need one. Don't be too hard on yourself. ^^ More on stress management later on. Stay tuned!
I promise, going to your lectures will benefit you so much in the long run. :)
