Like, I'm not looking for tips on how to study better; i need someone to tell me how to study at all, period. I'm one of Those Kids who did well enough at school with just 'showing up to class and paying attention' that I never learned how to study, and then crashed and burned horribly when untreated depression + GAD + the ADHD really got my ass. And now i'm trying to go back to college (and to a fairly competitive/difficult subject), but my usual method of ~studying~ gave me a 40 of 60 score on the entrance exams, which is pretty good actually but not enough for my desired course. I need help. Doing the workbooks doesn't give me a structure for data and is also a painful slog that feels like sandpaper on my brain. Can anyone who is at all functioning please help me.
i had to teach myself how to study when i started college too! What are you going after? different subjects sometimes need different approaches. also, what is your current method of "studying"?
I'm aiming for med school - college works different here in brazil than in the US, and I'm in prep school for the entrance exams. The college I want has a general knowledge test that is very heavily geared towards Sociology/Philosophy, Art History, History, and Biology - of the 60 questions of the last exam, four were Chemistry, three were Physics and three were Math; all the others were on human/nature sciences, with soc/phi taking... I think a little over half of those. The last time i tried college I went for Advertising, so Art is my strongest subject of those, followed by History, which is something that just clicks. I have issues remembering who said what in soc/phi, which really sucks when half the questions are comparatives. Sociology, Biology and Chemistry are my Specifics; if I get above cut in the 60 question multiple choice exam, I have to take a written/dissertative exam on these three subjects, so these four are my biggest focus. Biology is a bit of a two way street for me, because I'm really, really good at dealing with meaty bits and genetics and really fucking suck at plants. Chemistry too, because while I can be decent at it when push comes to shove I have a general exact sciences trauma that makes dealing with numbers feel like a dumpster fire. My current method of studying is "showing up to class and staying awake through it", "taking bullet notes", and "reading the material/doing some homework", so pretty half assed really. I've been out of HS for almost ten years, so I forgot a lot already. Doing the workbooks is probably the most frustrating/irritating part of the thing, because the subject is not consistent, and organizing notes on things i have to research to answer a question takes a lot of time and spoons. My best grades were at the times I had someone else to explain things to - i was study group leader pretty much until the first year of HS - but lmao i have exactly zero friends to study with now.
Unfortunately, there isn't really one way to study, and so ultimately you're the only one that can really find a method that works for you, and it will probably involve trying stuff to see what works and what doesn't. I had to learn to study too, and some things that have worked for me: Reading material ahead of time (I don't do this often, but it can help put lectures in context) Looking over lecture slides/materials before class if the prof provides them Taking handwritten notes, not using a comp or taking them on printed slides Having my notes open while reading the textbook to get an idea of the important points (well, important according to prof anyway) YouTube videos for certain things (for me, these helped with getting down the mechanics of things like RNA transcription and DNA replication, etc., but there are videos for everything - if you have trouble with botany, maybe look up videos of the parts that give you issues) For more mathy/chemistry things: practice problems. That's the only way I could do well in org chem and calc. I just had to practice solving problems on my own until I was confident if I saw a problem, I would know how to approach it If you have a TA or if the prof offers office hours, or if there's a study center or something that offers help with the course, it can be really helpful to go, especially if you have specific questions to ask I also like to rewrite my notes when studying for a test, focusing on what I feel weakest in and supplementing with textbook reading/other sources if I'm confused; time-intensive but very good for me, anyway, to better retain info
rewrite notes. one option is to rewrite all of them and make them look pretty. second option is to make them into an outline format (syllabus is pretty helpful for this). third option is to go through, look for important concepts, and make flash cards for them. handwrite notes. it helps you to remember where something is on the page, at least (you don't really get that with computers). if math/science, practice problems. i know it's boring. the point is to make the problems rote and boring for you as well, because you'll know how to solve them.
Reading things aloud to yourself or others is a really good way to work through a concept youre having trouble with as well as solidifying the information in your mind.
A quick addition: 'rewrite notes' doesn't have to mean 'rewrite them in notey format'. That kills me, and it doesn't help cement the knowledge, it just makes me want to stab myself. But going over it again does help. So what I did was I literally turned my notes into dumb sketchy stick-figure comic strips. The information's still there, but the process is more interesting and you can make it funny.
Take breaks. Please. I'm not sure if you have that issue but I personally do. Breaks are needed to make sure you're eating and what not. Helps keep morale up too and also I feel like you have time digest things more? I tend to shoot for hour or two hour long sections with smaller breaks in between. Going to second the repetition mention too. Repeat things. Constantly. Especially if it is something needs to be applied like physics problems or syntax trees. Violent repetition is your key. Also talking to people is a big thing for me. Talk about the things you went over with someone. Even if you're just explaining what you did or read. Gets you sharing the material which means a few things. One, you have to repeat it so yeah. Two, people often have interesting insights. Even if they're dumb stupid things those insights can be very useful. Especially if it's research for like a paper? Other people often have ways of looking at things that you yourself might miss. Other note with papers and research and study for them...You got to stop studying. The important thing and that I find hard is remembering that I actually need to stop studying and just have to actually write. This is weirdly hard for me to remember because wow so much research and OH GOD WHAT IF I FUCK IT UP. Fucking it up is fine though. That's what drafts are for. Fixing a rough draft is a lot easier than pulling out a whole paper the day before though. I usually try to get my roughs done a week before the due dates to help keep me on track. Note wise...Play around with this and find a method that works for you. I cannot fucking stand strict note taking methods like I learned in high school. I'm brilliant with unorganized hellish madness though. Other people cannot do what I do and it's honestly maddening to them. I really, really hated notes prior to finding my hell method. NOW I ADORE IT. Point is though find a method of taking them down and organizing them that really works with you. If you want to learn how to take notes fast and without looking at your paper meanwhile...Do some brief reading on film studies and how film is analyzed. Watch films. Take notes through the entire thing. Note shots, cuts, musical cues, sound effects...Basically everything you can as it comes. You can do this sort of thing with lots of shit but film in particular you're having to jot down a lot very fast due to how dense the medium is. Or find something like this? Film studies really helped me be able to note quickly though.
Also I feel like you need hugs? About the exact sciences and maths thing. Because I really, really feel the it is a horrid awful traumatic dumpster fire feel with that.
Math is especially hard for me - it's legit emotionally exhausting, I can't study for longer than 20 minutes at a time without wanting to cry. It's a really powerful mental block, I just can't think of how to do it, the logical steps or anything. So I just cry a lot. (I don't exactly have a track record of good math teachers) Physics and chemistry get me in a tizzy cause I keep thinking stuff should be more complex than it actually is, so I fuck up the equations. At least I'm okay in biochemistry and organic chemistry.
re: equations, the best thing to do is practice problems without looking at your equations unless you absolutely have to. ive had math classes that gave me a reference sheet for the exam so i didnt worry too much about sitting down and cram-memorizing the equations, but because of just doing hella practice problems you just sorta. end up accidentally memorizing them anyways! also, "reference sheets" are really good ways to study, even if you can't use it on your exam. just sitting down and re-writing the material in a way that can fit on a page or so is very good for cementing general ideas. (since ive seen you in the bujo thread as well, i've found it beneficial to make my study sheets color-coordinated or split up in a pretty way or something)
