Could you help me with university / studying plan?

[Manjushri]

If someone's an expert at studying smart here it would be of tremendous help for me.

I lost a semester (didn't give the 4 exams I needed) so I have extra work now. Which means I need a good strategy and a plan to do this well.

A good plan is half the work. I would greatly appreciate if you gave me some advice, all the study tips, organization etc. I can't do it the classical non-strategical way now with my mediocre study method. Not effective enough.

Any good student here to tell me his secret / method? I basically just wanna pass, I don't care about grades, because I have the extra work. Thank you in advance!

[Aeris]

find a meaning, a goal, and strive to become the best at it even if you have to loose your life for it.

depending the goal, it's mostly bullshit to go at university. Fakery and bullshit everywhere.

my secret is learning, learning, learning more, practicing more, and more and more on the subject I m focused.

 

[Sir Raz]

What do you mean by studying smart?

A good student ,in general, would not be in a situation like this, so they can't relate.

Do you want to learn or do you want a shortcut?

[Manjushri]

@Sir Raz Some things I want to learn of course, for the others I'd take a shortcut so I can manage to pass this year with the extra exams.

I haven't "lost" a semester, I just didn't go out on exams. I was studying the entire semester.

I just need help and advice to make a plan so I can manage this situation . I need to pass idk how much exams to stay on free schooling plan.

[Manjushri]

@Theta Thank you very much. I still haven't made a plan but I'm going to the library regularly. I think that organization is half the effort though so I definitely need to get organi-zized! (taxi driver reference)

[Sir Raz]

In my experience, as long as I study the whole semester, I have absolutely no problem in passing an exam! You shouldn't have any problem either! I usually make summaries of courses to cover core concepts then just practice exercises!

For the shortcuts though, it depends on your circumstances! If you have acces to the previous exam subjects (unofficial sources) and you have an idea about how much subjects change semester by semester, just solve one of those subjects once or twice and you're good to go!

[Sunny J Gupta]

@Manjushri Wow that is rough. At this point you are probably feeling overwhelmed, but definitely make a studying plan and break it down into small specific tasks, focus on one task at a time, and keep knocking them out. Also maybe pick 10 important multiple choice questions after every chapter and try to answer it and read the answer to see what the correct answer is. And since you might be low on time, consider going 80/20. What are 20% of the tasks that will give you 80% of the results. Basically focus on the core parts of the chapters. Good luck!

[Zetxil]

Get a scheduler, WRITE DOWN YOUR PLAN, and stick to it!

Don't waste time. If you are going to the library for 4 hours and really only studying for 30 min and the rest of your time on your phone, you aren't doing anyone any favors!

Never study intensely for more than an hour at a time. Take breaks: 10-15 min stretches or walks help synthesize the info you just learned over the past hour! I find 45 min of intense studying, and I can lay that out a little better if you want, coupled with 15 min of break to get a drink/listen to some light music work the best for me.

Study broadly at first, working into specifics and then back out broadly again to throughly deepen your understanding of the content you are trying to integrate into your head.

GET 8 HOURS of sleep CONSISTENTLY. I cannot stress enough the importance of a goods night sleep on the consolidation and recollection ability of memories.

In order to learn properly, you first have to learn the best ways to learn. Push yourself, but don't allow yourself to burn out in the long run. Find what is sustainable for you! And make sure you leave some time to do/find something you are truly passionate about, you'll find it revitalizes your energy If you ever start running on Empty! 

[zambize]

33 minutes ago, Zetxil said:

Get a scheduler, WRITE DOWN YOUR PLAN, and stick to it!

Don't waste time. If you are going to the library for 4 hours and really only studying for 30 min and the rest of your time on your phone, you aren't doing anyone any favors!

Never study intensely for more than an hour at a time. Take breaks: 10-15 min stretches or walks help synthesize the info you just learned over the past hour! I find 45 min of intense studying, and I can lay that out a little better if you want, coupled with 15 min of break to get a drink/listen to some light music work the best for me.

Study broadly at first, working into specifics and then back out broadly again to throughly deepen your understanding of the content you are trying to integrate into your head.

GET 8 HOURS of sleep CONSISTENTLY. I cannot stress enough the importance of a goods night sleep on the consolidation and recollection ability of memories.

In order to learn properly, you first have to learn the best ways to learn. Push yourself, but don't allow yourself to burn out in the long run. Find what is sustainable for you! And make sure you leave some time to do/find something you are truly passionate about, you'll find it revitalizes your energy If you ever start running on Empty! 

Great advice, but coming from a loser like yourself I'm not so sure I can trust it 

[Zetxil]

13 minutes ago, zambize said:

Great advice, but coming from a loser like yourself I'm not so sure I can trust it 

You speak as if you know who I am.....?

[zambize]

4 minutes ago, Zetxil said:

You speak as if you know who I am.....?

[Zetxil]

2 minutes ago, zambize said:

[JohnnyBravo]

Yes here are 3 secrets:

1. Learn a couple items really well, really deep, really confidently. Its better to know 10/100 concepts really well than 50 loose disconnected ideas.

2. Practise uni work every day. Do not skip a single day. Every day just for 15 minutes. It is so important to not skip a day. 30 days back to back and then for the rest of your university career.

3. Try Photoreading. And dont just dismiss it. Investigate it.

[Elisabeth]

@Manjushri First thing to do might be to talk to the study department of your university. They could help you make adjustments. At my university it's called an "individual study plan", meaning, you can add a year and retake subjects next year. That means you'll take longer, but they don't throw you out, and you don't crash and burn from overexertion. (Maybe they have another method, too.)

The second thing, talk to the teachers, and do your exams as soon as possible before you forget everything you've heared in class. Only works if you can do it without your current workload sliding.

Third thing, sure, just learn the basics. I don't know what you study (you should tell us). For me in my second year, when I had to repeat my mathematical analysis exam, that meant just learning the definitions and claims, skipping most of the proofs, and barely passing. Be warned though, if you want to stay in your field in the future: years later, I really regret my limited understanding of complex analysis. We don't always see the importance of the subject we study until well into work. 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Elisabeth

[Manjushri]

On 22/03/2019 at 5:37 AM, zambize said:

In order to learn properly, you first have to learn the best ways to learn

@Zetxil thank you for the awesome advice!

questions:

scheduler for a plan : does that mean a loose plan or a defined schedule? how far ahead? should i plan out how much i do each day and calculate to make it all fit until exam time?

since atm what I'm doing is go to the library and do as much as I can each day, without a solid schedule or a plan. I think I can make it this way too, and it's less taxing because I just do the work.

On the other hand, i could damn use a plan.

Second question : best ways to learn?

thanks again!

and everybody else, I went to the library every day for 4 or even 5 weeks straight! I'm gonna make it . really proud of my comeback.

 

[ajasatya]

@Manjushri go practical. find a way to apply what you're learning and you'll learn very quickly.

[Zetxil]

@Manjushri

21 hours ago, Manjushri said:

@Zetxil thank you for the awesome advice!

questions:

scheduler for a plan : does that mean a loose plan or a defined schedule? how far ahead? should i plan out how much i do each day and calculate to make it all fit until exam time?

since atm what I'm doing is go to the library and do as much as I can each day, without a solid schedule or a plan. I think I can make it this way too, and it's less taxing because I just do the work.

On the other hand, i could damn use a plan.

Second question : best ways to learn?

thanks again!

and everybody else, I went to the library every day for 4 or even 5 weeks straight! I'm gonna make it . really proud of my comeback.

 

? loosely but as rigid as you can make it! (Make a schedule where you are studing an amount that you would think would be best for you!) If you can't stick to it everyday, don't beat youself up over it, but there is a reason that you would think it would be the most useful! Do what works for you! If you listen to someone else and plan around their study plans you wont enjoy what you are doing and will burn out quickly!

Some were stated previously, creating a "map" around your room/house/living area that you can remember key points by mentally walking or visualizing that area! (Idk if I explained that well, but I use sticky notes on a wall behind my computer in correlated areas of the body to help learn anatomy!)

I know there are people who study how people learn best, you could look into them! Jim Kwik (you could look him up) is a name that popped into my head for methods of learning and comprehension.

Good luck on your journey!

Edited March 29, 2019 by Zetxil

[BKH]

For the exams from the previous semester, I would analyze my results and look for what I lacked and make a plan to study to fill in any large holes if I have any. I would also do some short reviews every week to maintain the knowledge fresh (practicing on old exams are great), in this way you won't have to study much (or at all) when the exams come again.

[anastasiia]

A study plan is an effective way to help you navigate through your college education in an organized way. There are 4 steps:

• Create a time chart of your current activities
• Develop a schedule
• Determine your study goals
• Stick to your schedule

One way to ensure you follow through with your plan is to schedule time for other activities. By achieving a balanced schedule, your mind will be more receptive during time devoted to studying. There is one online service that helps me with college essay cancer.  Great service to save your time!

[Draconis Chaser]

In my last year of Uni, I had 14 classes instead of regular 10, and that was a NIGHTMARE to navigate, so I understand you very well and the struggle is real! A lot of my classes had many tests and practical examinations, lab work and such.

Lab work demands time and understanding, so if you have those, and if they are big on your grade, definitely invest some time there.

As far as tests go, I usually crammed what I could. There is so much time in a single day, you sometimes physically can't manage to go over everything more than once. The cramming sometimes paid off, sometimes failed ridiculously, but it's still better then not even reading  the materials once. 

Exams are a different bird altogether. My exams were almost always oral exams, so there was quite a bit of presentation involved.
In the nightmare that was the finals week(s), this is what I found helpful.

Make a schedule and try to stick to it. But also be a bit realistic. 20 pages a day is doable. 100 might not be. Also, try and mix classes that are varying degree of difficulty. For me that was molecular biology (hardcore) and ecology (fairly easy). Some classes you cant mix and they need their own time. 

Also, i got really excited to study whenever I got new stationary dedicated to a single subject. And I tried to make a bullet journal and track my studying. That I think helped as well. For the harder exams I would write out flashcards by hand, make posters and hang them all over my walls and draw A LOT of mind-maps. 

Make sure you are sleeping enough, drinking water (although I mostly ran on coffee) and if you feel a technique is definitely not working for you, customize it so that you get the most juice out of it. 

As a side-note, this might not work for everybody, but in the dark of the finals week, i really dug deep in my ego and made it work overtime ("there is NO WAY I will fail if a dumbass like that passed", "I managed worse shit than this, I can do a stupid exam", "I am going to dominate this thing tomorrow and everyone will be impressed" - stuff like that), just make an effort to be conscious about it.   

I hope that helps, and good luck with your exams!