I personally feel that once you get the hand of study methods that work for you, that is when you can truly succeed in your classes and become the ultimate well-rounded student. Over the years many people have asked me, “How do you do it?” referring to how I achieve academic excellence while at the same time getting involved in extra-curricular activities and leadership.
Don’t get me wrong, it was not an easy path, I tried methods that worked and some that didn’t work. It was simply a trial and error situation, till I found out what truly worked for me.
First, to truly determine the best study method for yourself you must know if you are a computer person or a read-write person. For example, I find it very difficult to study off a computer as I feel it hurts my eyes and I find myself getting distracted easily. I prefer to write notes and look at paper physically.
Next you must determine if you are an auditory learner. Do you learn better by listening or by reading or by both? Most people including myself I feel are a mix of both. They need a combination of listening and reading to learn and truly understand the information.
Keep what I mentioned above in mind when looking at the following study tips to help you discern what will help YOU succeed as a student.
Record the lecturer
This is perfect for the auditory learners. Invest in a good quality voice recorder and record lectures for playback while studying. You would be surprised that most of what a teacher or professor says in class is usually on their exams. Being able to listen back to lectures enables you to pay attention to concepts that may have been emphasized or to concepts you may have not truly understood. Also we are all human and sometimes we may not be able to catch everything a professor says in class so this helps you stay on top of every detail. The downside to this is that it can increase your studying time re-listening to lectures.
Also…. while we are on the topic of recording, having a reliable set of noise cancelling headphones is a MUST! Reviews.com did some research consulting with audio engineers and audiologists testing 13 highly respected noise-canceling headphones which you can check out by clicking here (I will personally have to try that Sony MDR1000X).
Form a team with other students and take notes on the computer
I witnessed this method while in undergrad and found it genius. Simply you form a team with other students you trust and during class everyone takes notes on their computer and combines it together at the end resulting in truly golden notes. Doing this helps to make sure you didn’t forget any little detail a teacher may have expressed. It also helps save time from re-listening to lectures and if you are sick and can’t make it to class, you will feel relaxed knowing you will get a set of golden notes for the class.
Print out notes instead of studying notes from the computer
Trust me I have tried countless times to study notes from the computer and personally it did not work for me. I found I scored way higher on exams when I printed out my notes and studied from a physical copy. I’m curious if there is studies on this, but if you are a read write person like me, please print out your notes, you will thank me later.
Give yourself a week prior to an exam day to study material
Staying organized is essential to success as a student. With my planner, I count a week prior to an exam day and mark that day as the day to start reviewing material for the exam. This is a general rule of thumb but you can tailor it for different classes. If you feel there is a class like calculus for instance you truly understand and don’t need a week to study, simply mark 3 days before the exam to start reviewing. If it is a class you struggle with, perhaps give yourself a week and a half to provide yourself time to immerse yourself into the material and get help if needed.
If there is anything you did not understand in class, see the professor or teacher before you leave the class
Whenever a concept is not clear to me I always see the professor after class. I ensure I don’t leave till I understand the material, because the last thing you want is being confused while studying for the exam the night before and regretting not receiving any help.
If a professor uses PowerPoint for his lectures, print out the slides
A lot of students don’t like when professors have PowerPoint slides as notes but that is usually the norm these days. I highly recommend printing the slides. I usually like to print 4-6 slides a page, I specifically print as pages per sheet so the font is clear and readable. When I print like this I find the information flows easy and it helps me connect important points.
The day before an exam should be used as review instead of learning new material!
I always try to set a goal for myself to ensure I am not learning new material the day before an exam. The day before an exam should be used only for reviewing purposes. I feel if you are learning new material the day before, it creates anxiety and lack of confidence when you write the exam the following day
Form a study group where everyone tests each other and discusses the material for the exam a day before
I find study sessions like this very valuable because you learn new things that other students caught on, that you may have not. Also the best way to truly see if you know your material, is by being asked questions to help you critically think. This I feel is a must in your study routine and helps you go into an exam confident. I have been able to answer difficult questions on exams because it was reviewed at a study session the day before.
If you struggle with memorization, create flashcards
Being in pharmacy school there is a lot of memorization needed as there are soooo many drugs. I have found flashcards to be very helpful in helping me to memorize concepts. In fact for my oncology course, I found flashcards incredibly helpful in remembering important adverse effects for all cancer related drugs. Living proof this works was the smile on my face after I saw my final exam grade!
Overall I hope these tips help throughout your education. Please feel free to comment below and share other tips you have found helpful as a student.
–Ms Rx Geek
Kgrant