#study trick

[shhcoffeebreak]

as a junior, i guess i have already acquired some tips and tricks that i could share for those of you who are about to go to college or uni, or if you're a struggling college student.

first, let me just say that i am still struggling hahaha. but i managed to minimize the stress i am experiencing and become more proactive. there are still more to learn so feel free to share your own advices as well.

it's a learning experience. make mistakes, have fun. it's okay if you still haven't figure out your life or your plans. it's okay if you're still undecided with your program. take this time to explore as you're now more free than ever. personally, i was afraid to make mistakes and look dumb. i wanted others to see me as someone who's got it all together. but as each day passes, i stumble upon new things and find my way around life.

reach out to people. make an effort to connect with people and to make friends. you will find people you will vibe with and stick with you until the end. you may also find people that you don’t vibe with, and that’s okay. being in uni really exposed me to a lot of people with different personalities and perspectives in life. it’s so different from high school where you basically know each other and you see each other all the time. this also applies to being close to some of your professors because they could help a lot for your career.

go to class. it’s so easy to skip or cut classes in college since there are also sometimes a maximum number of cuts per class. but i tell you, go to class. you can borrow notes from friends or rely to lectures uploaded by your professor, but it’s still different when you are present in class and hearing first-hand the things that your professor are saying. this ensures that you don’t miss out anything. and attendance really does help get your grades up.

sleep. i know there are a lot of students complaining or saying that you will have no or lesser time of sleep in college. that might be true only if you don’t balance your time properly. learn how to manage the time you have and spread your tasks wisely. do not procrastinate. knowing how heavy the workload is in college, sleep is really important to get all the energy you that you can to accomplish everything.

calm down. if you are an incoming freshman, a sophomore, a junior, or a graduating student, calm down. things may be overwhelming for you but panicking or overthinking things won’t do any good. take things one step at a time. as i said before, this is still a learning process.

that’s it. i have actually more things in mind but that may only apply to me. these are things that i think everyone can relate to or can use. again, there are a lot more to learn. i am not saying that i have mastered being a college a student— i really hope that was the case hahaha. - ace ⭐️

[le-petit-cahier44]

Hey guys, another school tip not related to Studyblr but still important:

So last night I pulled out a bunch of papers and notes and little objects that I have saved- things that were important and significant to me and my best friend. In here were notes that we passed in 8th grade during class, notes we left in each other's lockers, etc. I also have some binders full of memories from junior high and high school, complete with certificates I earned, ticket stubs from dances, notes from teachers, a few grade reports, and a few assignments that I was proud of. If you're in school, whether it be junior high or high school or college (or even elementary school- I know there are a few youngins on tumblr), make a time-capsule type thing for yourself. Super proud of an essay you did really well on? Save it. Passed a funny note with your BFF in class? Save it. Trust me, it is fun to look back on these things. I wish I could say that when you look back on your school days, you're going to remember all the fun times you had with your friends. You might. But if you're like me, you might not look upon your school days too fondly once you graduate- my mentality recently has been "thank goodness I'm done with high school and AP classes and all that homework". You want to remember the good things too. So even if school is stressful and not very fun now, you will have good times in school. And you should give yourself a chance to remember those things. So save a few tokens as a testament to your school-self!

[le-petit-cahier44]

Pardon my French, but...

For French learners: you know how with the passé composé, you can either have -j'ai Or -je suis Before the past participle? Example: -*j'ai* mangé 55 pommes de terre -*je suis* allé(e) à la fête de Gatsby In second year, I was struggling to learn which verbs use "je suis" instead of "j'ai". My teacher taught it using the acronym DR MRS VANDERTRAMPP, but this did not work for me. And after all, if you need to know if the verb is a "je suis" verb quickly, you won't have time to write down the entire acronym and what each letter stands for. French hack? Sing the list of past participles to the tune of the can-can. Descendu(e) Rentré(e) Monté(e) Resté(e) Sorti(e) Venu(e) Arrivé(e) Né(e) Devenu(e) Entré(e) Retourné(e) Tombé(e) Revenu(e) Allé(e) Mort(e) Parti(e) Passé(e).... And it doesn't quite take up the whole tune, so, if you need to fill the rest up: "Et ce sont les participes passé avec je suis." And there you have it! Practice it until you can run through the song quickly in your brain. I taught myself this trick in second year French, and still use it to this day, going into my sixth year. I would post a recording of the tune but I'd sound like <<une vache espagnole>> so sorry XD On a side note: remember that: -if it's a "je suis" verb, you have to reflect the gender/plural: "je suis rentrée" or "nous sommes rentrés", etc. -note: the "je suis" rule doesn't apply if there is a direct object; that means it's transitive, and must be conjugated with avoir: -je suis montée à l'appartement -j'ai monté l'escalier (In the second example, l'escalier is the direct object, and since it's conjugated with avoir, the past participle doesn't reflect gender/plural.) Hope this helps somebody out there!

[le-petit-cahier44]

Need music to study to?

Listen to movie soundtracks/scores, preferably ones without lyrics. If you're listening to lyrics, it takes your concentration away from what you're doing. I am a bit of a movie score nut, but here are a few of my favorites to listen to while studying: -The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: Harry Gregson-Williams -How To Train Your Dragon, 1+2: John Powell -Any of the Pirates of the Caribbeans- Hans Zimmer -Thor (specifically the first one): Patrick Doyle -Ratatouille: Michael Giacchino So if you're looking for study music, try movie scores! Listen to the soundtracks for some of your favorites. What I love about listening to these is if you finish one, you have an almost infinite variety of other movie scores out there to choose from.

[premedmotivation]

"When taking notes for any class leave a few pages in front of the book for a table of contents for easy to find access when it's time to look things up and study for finals and tests. Also tabs would work well too."

We Heart It.

[premedmotivation]

5 Studying Tricks

While studying Anatomy and Physiology last night I realized the many tricks I do to process, learn and memorize information while I study.

These tricks will help you take in a lot of information, understand it, process it and finally memorize it. You will remember the information you learn using these tricks every time you try to remember it because the memorizing process is very efficient. I know many of you, including myself, tend to forget information when we need it the most, like on tests. Make sure you follow all tricks to study efficiently. 

Step 1: Reduce Content. In my case I had to study a chapter of 54 pages, I looked at it as a very big chapter and so I felt intimidated and already tired (without beginning to study). When you reach a case like this you must trick your brain. Trick it by making your job seem smaller. What I did was the following:

a) I wrote down every section within the chapter on a paper. (Chapter 21 section 1, section 2 and so on)

b) I revised every section to see if any of them were really long. I found section 2 to be 6 pages long so I looked for subtitles within the section and wrote it below the section name.

Example:

Chapter 21 Section 2:

a) Aorta

b) Coronary Arteries

c) Arteries of the Upper Limb

c) When I would finish a subtitle I would use a marker to cross it off the list. When I finished all the subtitles within the section I would then cross off the section.

I did this to give me a sense of advancement and completion. I would trick my brain into thinking "Oh I am almost done, look all I have crossed off already!" This is very efficient do it with all that seems too long. Also focus only on what you are reading, forget what comes next.

Step 2: Repeat Mentally. While reading the content of the subtitle "Aorta" I would read a sentence and right away mentally repeat it without looking at the sentence. This trick would let me know If I am reading properly and understanding what I am reading. If I was unable to do so I would re-read the sentence again to make sure I got it memorized.

Step 3: Recall the Section. Try to recall what the section was all about by giving a small summary of it within your mind. This step will hep you memorize the information even more.

Step 4: Write and Compare. Lets say you have to memorize the functions of the heart. Study them first then write or type what you read, paraphrased, and then compare it with the real text and check if you got the functions correctly. If you did not, review which function you got wrong until you get it correctly. This small exercise will help you identify your weak points within your studying and help you reinforce them as soon as possible.

Step 5: Visualize. You must create a mental image of what you are studying while you study, so that you use more functions of your brain. This will aid in memorization. I would imagine the position of my heart within my body to help me memorize the position correctly.

Use these tricks, don't just read them. You can apply them to anything you are studying, they will help you memorize information the most, but make sure you understand what you are reading before trying to memorize it.

Look up the words on a dictionary or online or ask your teacher to explain it during the next class.

Remember to summarize as much as you can everything you want to memorize, this is a very important step in the process of memorization.