Study Tips

[1Parker1]

As many of the college posters on the forum know, it's that time of year again: FINALS~!

I have 5 next week and I can't seem to concentrate on my reading/studying for more than an hours time, without the urge to take a break, eat something, check my email, watch tv, etc.

So, what study tips do you guys have? How do you all (or for those of you out of college, how did you all) cram for exams?

[The sone]

get out of the house. and use headphones. but listen to music you dont know or music with no words. turn it up loud and go...

[1Parker1]

I can't study with music or TV or sound in the background! I need quiet. Which is why I'm holed up in my apartment right now! :(

[midgetonadonkey]

I didn't really study much. I smoked a lot of pot during college and just barely graduated with a 2.3 gpa.

[boutons]

Gets lots of sleep and exercise.

[The sone]

ok then get out of the house and use earplugs. i cant study at home. like you said i am always tempted to check email or watch tv. if i get out then im gonna at least get in three or four good hrs of study time.

[usckk]

1Parker!, I'm not in college yet, but I know the feeling. Last year, I had 6 Advanced placement (AP) classes, which are college courses, so taking the exams at the end of each semester was a big pain in the ass. I'm the epitome of what not to do. I cram the day before the exams. Further, I often get distracted with the internet and end up wasting a lot of time (mainly the Spurs, hehe).

My suggestions, even though I don't follow them, haha.

-Play classical music with a good beat before you study. This will help you concentrate. Futher, there are no lyrics, so you won't unconsciously think about it.

-If you work near a computer or tv, turn them off.

-Be happy and think about the good things that will happen after the exam...either you boyfriend, watching the Spurs on Christmas, etc.

[Brodels]

- Study early in the day. If it's late in the day and you're tired, you're less likely to process and remember what you're going over. And if you get a lot done earlier in the day, you can reward yourself later by doing something fun at the end of day.

- Take breaks. Plan to study for a predetermined amount of time, say, an hour, then take ten or fifteen minutes to go pee, eat some popcorn, check out Spurstalk, etc. It's hard to focus for hours at a time, but if you break up what you're doing, focus won't be as much of an issue.

- Have a plan. You'll get more done if you go into your studying with a plan. Are you going to focus on your notes? Will you read the text? Are you going to review tests and papers? Figure out what will best get you what you need, and focus on that. Make a plan and set some goals before you begin. You'll be able to measure progress that way and it will feel like your accomplishing something. Set milestones.

- If you remember things better by writing them down, make some rough, general outlines. Start with two or three big concepts and keep breaking things down until you know exactly what you're going to have to cover. It doesn't need to be overly complex, and it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes.

- Study in a familiar, comfortable place. If you haven't studied in the library all semester, don't start doing so now.

- Change it up frequently. Don't study for one particular final for a really long time. Study for one for a while, then take on another one.

- Don't get caught up in things that you don't need to spend a lot of time on. When I used to study, I'd sometimes come across something interesting and I would spend time reading something I didn't need to spend a lot of time on. I could easily waste a half hour or more that way.

- When reading texts or documents, read strategically so you can get all of the concepts without reading every single word. Review text to get main points and key information instead of reading everything.

Best of luck.

[usckk]

wow, really good tips!!

[CharlieMac]

Get off the internet and turn off your cell phone.

[TOP-CHERRY]

I have 5 next week
I hope you do really good on all your exams! I have my last one on Monday (which happens to be the hardest).


- Study early in the day. If it's late in the day and you're tired, you're less likely to process and remember what you're going over.
This is a really good point... I can't count all the times I've stayed up really late studying because I didn't do it earlier in the day, and I cannot stop myself from falling asleep every 10 minutes... Then I have to go back and re-read because I can't concentrate.


- Have a plan. You'll get more done if you go into your studying with a plan. Are you going to focus on your notes? Will you read the text? Are you going to review tests and papers? Figure out what will best get you what you need, and focus on that. Make a plan and set some goals before you begin. You'll be able to measure progress that way and it will feel like your accomplishing something. Set milestones.
^This really helps a lot.


- If you remember things better by writing them down, make some rough, general outlines. Start with two or three big concepts and keep breaking things down until you know exactly what you're going to have to cover. It doesn't need to be overly complex, and it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes.
This has always helped me remember things better.



I'll give you another tip I learned from my psychology class... You should study in an environment which emulates the environment you will be in while talking the test. So in other words, it might be better if you sit in a library to study (preferably without coffee, since you're obviously not gonna have coffee at the exam), because it emulates you sitting in the classroom taking the exam, and it will help you retrieve the information you studied at the library (or any other place like it) a lot better. (It's about being in the same psychological state in both environments)

But like Brodels said, if you have never studied in a library, don't start doing it now. Just do it somewhere you feel comfortable in.

:)

[lilmads]

^ That's right Cherry!
I learnt that in psychology, too!
I have 2 finals left to go next weekkk.. I just can't wait to finish.. Good luck 1Parker1!

[TOP-CHERRY]

^ I hope you do well too! :)

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

If you haven't studied in the library all semester, don't start doing so now.

Disagree. You need to get out of the house and comfortable surroundings where you're likely to take a "break" that turns into blowing off a day of studying.

Also, it's been scientifically proven that your brain needs a break every hour. Study for a 50 minute block, then take a 10 min. break.

[Brodels]

Disagree. You need to get out of the house and comfortable surroundings where you're likely to take a "break" that turns into blowing off a day of studying.


So you really think that experimenting with your study habits right before finals is a good idea? I don't think that's the way to go. If you start studying in a place that you haven't studied before, you're opening the door to distraction. Study in familiar places. Do what has worked in the past. Unless what you've been doing hasn't worked, finals is no time to make major changes to your study habits.

[1Parker1]

Wow thanks for all the tips, especially Brodels!

:lol In fact, I'm following one of your tips right now and am "taking a break" to check up on Spurstalk, the Spurs game, etc..!

The thing is though, I'm studying for my HUGE Tax Accounting final and for business classes, it's not so much reading/taking notes or making a outline as it is practicing examples and applying concepts to real terms. God knows why I'm a business major!

One thing I have done in my school career which I have found actually helps, is going to sleep around 10 pm and waking up around 3 or 4 am the day of the test to study. Seriously, it works. Here me out. It's like the last possible second you can study, so you have no choice but to get up and study. Also, you're so dead tired at 3am, that you actually concentrate so much better because you're mind doesn't wander. Hopefully I will cram more tommorow, and then wake up at 4 am Monday morning to study and then take my exam from 8-10 :)

BTW, another question: I HATE coffee/cappachinos and all that crap. So, I usually drink soda to keep me up or whatever. But someone told me to try Red Bull and they say it really helps keep you awake when studying. Anyone know about this or have tried Red Bull?

[1Parker1]

Oh, and any excellent Cheating advice would help also :spin :angel














I'm kidding, I'm kidding! :lol

[Horry For 3!]

I have been doing my review for Government. 50 questions, I have about 5 left to answer then I will study it all but I mostly just read over it outloud to myself I can memorize it pretty easy.

[manu]

pray!!!!.....................a Lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!......it Works!!!!

[Silver21_Black20]

I can't study with music or TV or sound in the background! I need quiet. Which is why I'm holed up in my apartment right now! :(

That's funny...I'm the complete opposite. I have to have the radio playing in the background or else I will get bored.

[TOP-CHERRY]

^Yeah, I can't stand the silence when I'm studying.

[Horry For 3!]

Check the American Government thread please :)

[iminlakerland]

2 finals down 3 to go next week two on tuesday, Management and Managerial Finance...and one on Wednesday for Business Law II...

Grades have been great up until now, i've studied my ass off all semester long, usually my grades have a negative slope from the begining to the end of the semester, i slowly get worse and worse. I made it a point this semester to be pretty consistant... 2 A's and 3 B's...lets see if i can maintain that going into finals...

But the problem im having is i have no ounce of studying left in me...i've been trying to sit here and motivate myself all day lol...eeek!

[1Parker1]

2 finals down 3 to go next week two on tuesday, Management and Managerial Finance...and one on Wednesday for Business Law II...

Grades have been great up until now, i've studied my ass off all semester long, usually my grades have a negative slope from the begining to the end of the semester, i slowly get worse and worse. I made it a point this semester to be pretty consistant... 2 A's and 3 B's...lets see if i can maintain that going into finals...

But the problem im having is i have no ounce of studying left in me...i've been trying to sit here and motivate myself all day lol...eeek!

Ohhhh a fellow business major. How do you study for your Finance exams?

[iminlakerland]

lol...good god i do problems over and over and read concepts, i tweak numbers to see the change. I take very detailed notes in class, so i write down all of the examples he gives in class and turn them into word problems and try to solve them, i refer to my lecture notes, the book is complete trash to me, it confuses me rather than helps me.

[1Parker1]

Yes, I've found that as I move up in college. Textbooks are completely useless. Lecture notes and the teacher's PowerPoint slides are more than enough.

[Brodels]

Where to you all go to school?

[iminlakerland]

Cal State University Northridge http://www.csun.onlinecommunity.com/pages/images2/AthleticsMatadorLogosmall.jpg

[Horry For 3!]

Where to you all go to school?
http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/8207/logo1ug.jpg

[Silver21_Black20]

Where to you all go to school?

I recently graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).


http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/soul/sports/genrel/auto_action/96060.jpeg

[Horry For 3!]

I'm transfering to http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5098/txst04topindextxstate8vj.gif next Fall.

[MannyIsGod]

When I need to buckle down and hit the studying hard, I simply play some loud music (prefereblly in headphones) just to zone out and focus. I don't listen to the music, it just blocks out everything.

Once when my roomates wouldn't stfu I took my books and rode a bus for 2 hours. You have nothing to else to do but read on there.

[Silver21_Black20]

Yes, I've found that as I move up in college. Textbooks are completely useless. Lecture notes and the teacher's PowerPoint slides are more than enough.

Exactly...plus they don't give you shit when you try to resell your textbooks.

[baseline bum]

Yes, I've found that as I move up in college. Textbooks are completely useless. Lecture notes and the teacher's PowerPoint slides are more than enough.

I always found the exact opposite to be true. Textbooks are great and going to class and being bored as fuck hearing someone explain something is worthless. I think it's way easier to learn a concept by doing problems on your own, writing about concepts that catch your eye, etc. as practice rather than zoning out with the other 30 people in the class. Of course, textbooks are best when you have friends who buy bootlegs of them for you in China for $2. :lol

I also have to say I can't stand libraries. They are the absolute worst place in the world for me to study. I can't ever get comfortable sitting up straight in a hard-ass chair, and get distracted way too easily by girls that pass by. You don't learn anything talking to chicks and trying to get laid.

[baseline bum]

- Take breaks. Plan to study for a predetermined amount of time, say, an hour, then take ten or fifteen minutes to go pee, eat some popcorn, check out Spurstalk, etc. It's hard to focus for hours at a time, but if you break up what you're doing, focus won't be as much of an issue.


I completely disagree with this one. If it's me, I'd rather just study non-stop until I'm tired and I want to sleep. I don't find it difficult to study for 12-14 hours straight with breaks only to eat and piss. If I take a break from it I usually end up wasting too much time and having to go back from where I was before I took the break.

I think you should just do whatever feels natural though, because what works for one person usually doesn't for another.

[The sone]

I go to "Bad-Ass McNastie's, School of Ass-Kickery".

[baseline bum]

Oh, and any excellent Cheating advice would help also

This one's pretty easy. Store a bookbag in the bathroom with a good outline of major concepts and the textbook, and use your one trip to the bathroom to check it out when you get to a part of the exam where you're stuck. I never did it, but I knew some really stupid people in my Analysis class who stooped to that level.

[Horry For 3!]

ban me kori...sheyitt im drunk......fuck spurstalk....i love spursreport...not really, but please ban me! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sheyitt
:wtf why are you posting this in the Study thread? Your not studying :lmao

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Sorry boutons.

Every year when finals rolled around I'd go to Denny's or McDonald's or something and just spend 4-5 hours studying there. I didn't do that all semester but it worked come finals time.

It gets you away from distractions like the Internet, tv, the bed, etc. Just go with a friend or two and you're good.

[1Parker1]

This one's pretty easy. Store a bookbag in the bathroom with a good outline of major concepts and the textbook, and use your one trip to the bathroom to check it out when you get to a part of the exam where you're stuck. I never did it, but I knew some really stupid people in my Analysis class who stooped to that level.


We're not allowed bathroom breaks. My prof is kind of strict. For our midterm he told me to "put away my water bottle!" Like I had my answers written on it or something...:lol

[katyon6th]

Classical music. It's like a rush of blood to the head. Good, smart blood. ;)

Good luck on finals everyone! I'm so glad I'm done with that shit.

[CosmicCowboy]

If you study stoned take the test stoned. Your brain stores and looks for information in different places when you are stoned vs. straight. Worked for me. I graduated with a 3.8 in a hybrid archirecture/engineering program. Of course I can't remember a fucking thing I learned now...:lol

[Samr]

[QUOTE]If you study stoned take the test stoned. Your brain stores and looks for information in different places when you are stoned vs. straight.[QUOTE]

How High was a great movie.

[Kdfelicity]

Alright, so I'm at 2 down, 2 to go(1 Mon, 1 Tues) and my worst was last thursday, thank god it's over. With his exam, because for the first time in my life I had no idea how to study for his exam, I emailed him and asked him any tips he could give me and here's what he emailed me back:
1) Make a chart of important concepts, who came up with these, and 2 or 3 important things about the concept
2)When you get to the test, cover the answers when you're reading the question and make sure you know exactly what the question is asking esp. if it has ALWAYS or BEST or LEAST, then uncover the answers.
3) If you see any answer there that you know was never covered in class or in the text, do NOT go with that answer!

As far as anything else, notecards help with terms, DO NOT study in bed, it associates your mind with sleep, I like studying on the floor, I don't go to places like Starbucks or a restaurant, you can't concentrate, too many distractions!

Honestly, even if you haven't studied in the library before, if you find yourself a nice corner without windows, the most interesting thing you have to look at is your material! So I would recommend the library.

Good luck and party hard after they're over!

[MannyIsGod]

I'm telling you, the bus. :lol

[lilmads]

^ lol
I can't imagine myself studying on a bus.. Buses here are so damn small and they usually only go to the busy areas.. I'd be soo distracted by people talking non-stop...
The other day, there was a bus in front of my jeep.. and we were stuck in some major traffic... a kid comes outta the bus, pulls down his pants, pees right on the fricking road, and goes right back... I couldn't stop laughing... :)

I have 3 exams left!!! Can't wait to get them over n done with! Good luck everyone!:)

[iminlakerland]

[QUOTE=baseline bum]I always found the exact opposite to be true. Textbooks are great and going to class and being bored as fuck hearing someone explain something is worthless. I think it's way easier to learn a concept by doing problems on your own, writing about concepts that catch your eye, etc. as practice rather than zoning out with the other 30 people in the class. Of course, textbooks are best when you have friends who buy bootlegs of them for you in China for $2. :lol QUOTE]

I honestly think it all depends on the person and the way their mind functions. I learn extremely well when i attend the class and listen to the lecture as well as view the power point slides.

[1Parker1]

I'm telling you, the bus. :lol


:lol That's the weirdest tip i've ever gotten, Manny. Although, have you ever taken a SEPTA bus here in Philly? I doubt you'd be able to study!

Besides, I always end up looking out the window or at people who get on and off the bus every 2 sec...

[TOP-CHERRY]

A bus? I get dizzy reading in any moving vehicle.

[MannyIsGod]

I lived out in teh SA boonies at the time, and we had one route that would pass us. It was DEAD. I swear maybe 2 people rode that bus all day. I got on it and went in circle for a couple of hours. It worked wonders.

[TOP-CHERRY]

I completely disagree with this one. If it's me, I'd rather just study non-stop until I'm tired and I want to sleep. I don't find it difficult to study for 12-14 hours straight with breaks only to eat and piss. If I take a break from it I usually end up wasting too much time and having to go back from where I was before I took the break.

I think you should just do whatever feels natural though, because what works for one person usually doesn't for another.
I don't have enough self-discipline to study non-stop for that long. I need to learn to, though.

See this post here? Another study break. Excellent.

[1Parker1]

I don't have enough self-discipline to study non-stop for that long. I need to learn to, though.

See this post here? Another study break. Excellent.


:lmao :lmao :lmao Same here!


I'm telling you guys, best thing is to wake up at like 3 am and study! You concentrate so much better, cuz ur tired :lol

[TOP-CHERRY]

How do you concentrate better when you're tired? I have the worst concentration when I'm dying to go to bed.

[1Parker1]

^^Well, it's the day of the test so it's craming and you know you have no choice but to study. Plus, you're mind doesn't wander as much since you're too tired to think...

:lol I'm serious, I know it sounds weird, but try it. Go to sleep at a reasonable hour, 10 or 10:30 the night before, and then set your alarm for 3 or 4 am to study. :tu I will be doing it for my exam tommorow, so I'll let you know how I do...haha

[MannyIsGod]

Jess does that shit. Y'all are crazy.

[TOP-CHERRY]

^^Well, it's the day of the test so it's craming and you know you have no choice but to study. Plus, you're mind doesn't wander as much since you're too tired to think...

:lol I'm serious, I know it sounds weird, but try it. Go to sleep at a reasonable hour, 10 or 10:30 the night before, and then set your alarm for 3 or 4 am to study. :tu I will be doing it for my exam tommorow, so I'll let you know how I do...haha
Well, I always wake up really early to do a last minute review... but 6 or 7 am kind of early. 3 or 4 am is usually the time I end up going to bed after studying.

[Jekka]

Yeah, waking up early the day of is always a good idea - you get a cursory review immediately before the test, it's a good way to make sure you retain stuff.

[bowlephant]

I go to UTSA. i have one more tomorrow at 8am. I think i am just going to get up at like 5am and go to school and study before my test... That way it is at the front of my brain. Then again...sometimes i look at the test and think, I remember seeing that but what was the answer. Oh well...I have always done that and it seems to work.

Good luck everyone!!

[Samr]

I am a big proponent of the morning-of studying, for tests/exams where I really don't need to retain the information after I turn it in. Blah blah blah I read the entire Horry for 3! thread so I know the arguement and I don't want to hear it.

But this works pretty damn well for me.

[iminlakerland]

Yeah, waking up early the day of is always a good idea - you get a cursory review immediately before the test, it's a good way to make sure you retain stuff.

it works wonders i picked this up within the last year it works damnit!