Studying & Note Taking Tips?

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Blackout

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I am a new college student. In High School I never studied and never really took notes. In college I can't get away with that. I have a huge test coming up next week and I have no idea how to prepare for it. I have taken notes in class and read the material, but I am having trouble remembering some stuff.

People who are great at studying/former-current college students, what do you guys do? I read about color coding your notes, so I picked up a pack of highlighters. If anyone uses this technique, what colors work well for definitions, dates, important people, etc? How did you guys get into habit of going over all your material for your classes? How long do you review at a time? 30 minutes? 1 hour? 2?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Kind of difficult because people have an easier time learning depending on how the material is presented.

However, what's always worked for me is reading over the powerpoints multiple times, taking a short break, and then going over them and seeing how much I remember.
 
[quote name='Blackout']I am a new college student. In High School I never studied and never really took notes. In college I can't get away with that. I have a huge test coming up next week and I have no idea how to prepare for it. I have taken notes in class and read the material, but I am having trouble remembering some stuff.

People who are great at studying/former-current college students, what do you guys do? I read about color coding your notes, so I picked up a pack of highlighters. If anyone uses this technique, what colors work well for definitions, dates, important people, etc? How did you guys get into habit of going over all your material for your classes? How long do you review at a time? 30 minutes? 1 hour? 2?

Any help would be appreciated.[/quote]
What kind of class? What info do you have about the test beforehand (eg: study sheets/ list of terms)?
 
What I do, is cram a couple of hours before the test. I get with a group of friends, and make up stupid ways to remember certain points. For example, in Government, we had to remember what Article VI, of the US Constitution was. It was the Supremacy Clause. What I did, was think of a Santa Clause, that was supreme, but was the devil. The Dark Supreme Santa, you could say. People knew of him, by the 666 he wore on his shirt. I'm telling you, just make up ridiculous ways, and have fun. Test score? 110. Second highest grade was a 78. If it's a class you could care less about, do that. If it's something you do care about, I'm sure you probably already know it ;)

You could also look into stenography, or shorthand. You could learn true shorthand, which is extremely difficult, but can result in note-taking at up to 200 wpm, must faster than a keyboard. Or you could use simple shorthand, like using an addition symbol, instead of the word "and".

What my friend does, since he has a laptop, is attach this camera to it, and record the lecture. We then alter the voice, to sound like a high-pithced chipmunk, and speed it up. We usually die from laughing, but you do remmeber it, which is kinda sad.

Also, if you know it, don't write it. Also, study before you head to bed. You'll remember. When people ask you what you did at 10:00 AM, you have no idea. But when they ask you what you did right before you went to bed, you seem to know :O
 
[quote name='Canadian_Man']Listen more, write less.[/quote]

Best advice you'll ever receive.

Halfway through calculus, my friend decided to check the habits of the highest scorers in the class. Very few of them bothered to take notes, preferring instead to think their way through the problems on the board. He emulated this and became one of the top ones too.

Me? Well, I just slept. But that's beside the point.
 
I taken a class about memory and enhancing it. I have already graduated from college but here are some useful tips that I learned and have taught to my close friends.

Rehearsal-keep reviewing your notes and make sure you understand them. Don't just look over them, ask yourself questions and ask the person sitting next to you in class if you don't understand.

Study 1-2 hours before you go to bed so your memory will consolidate better.

Same environment effect- Which means if you are taking a class on a desk in a quiet setting, make sure you study using the same setting. Don't study with loud music and etc cause that's not how you will be taking the test. This same environment effect enhances your memory and helps you with recall.

Grab someone smart in your class and start a study group session, most people I talked to during college were receptive. I studied with a cute girl once and it went out pretty well. You should try doing it too.
 
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[quote name='Ugamer_X']What kind of class? What info do you have about the test beforehand (eg: study sheets/ list of terms)?[/quote]

The class is called Christianity through Time. Basically early Christian thinkers/Philosophers, what their influence was, who they influenced, what they believed, etc etc. It meets once a week for 2h and 30 min. The test is going to have multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answers, and passages from certain people's text and we have to identify who, what work, etc. There is no study guide. I think I took pretty good notes in class. I understand the "big idea", it's just the details and stuff I get hung up on.

It's not just for that class though. When I eventually have a mid term, final etc, I don't want to be clueless on the test. For example in my Psychology class, he only is going to grade two things, the midterm and final. If you fuck up one you pretty much fail the class. I need to get in the habit of reviewing my material daily.
 
Certain classes i just listen to the teacher lecture. Some classes just don't lend themselves to note taking very well. I'd say you need to take notes if you can't remember a thing the teacher said after class is over. If you can, then maybe your memory will be enough.
 
Avoid taking notes on a computer. At least for me, the temptation was too great to check my email/play a game/browse forums. With a pencil and notebook, the only real distraction is to doodle. This also makes it a lot easier to recreate figures/maps/charts/equations.

Get together with a bunch of people, and see about starting a Notes Wiki for the class. Wikis are easily editable websites that allows multiple users to work on them. Something like this benefits all involved, as each person's notes allows for people to catch stuff they might have missed, or to get a different perspectives on the teachings. Coupled with my first word of advice, it also means you'll be copying your notes onto a computer, helping to drive them into your brain. Look to www.pbwiki.com for a free wiki solution.
 
[quote name='infinitepez']Avoid taking notes on a computer. At least for me, the temptation was too great to check my email/play a game/browse forums. With a pencil and notebook, the only real distraction is to doodle. This also makes it a lot easier to recreate figures/maps/charts/equations.

Get together with a bunch of people, and see about starting a Notes Wiki for the class. Wikis are easily editable websites that allows multiple users to work on them. Something like this benefits all involved, as each person's notes allows for people to catch stuff they might have missed, or to get a different perspectives on the teachings. Coupled with my first word of advice, it also means you'll be copying your notes onto a computer, helping to drive them into your brain. Look to www.pbwiki.com for a free wiki solution.[/QUOTE]

I agree and disagree. I definitely browse the web while taking notes, but my typing is so much more efficient (both quicker and more legible) that the time I spend on CAG during class is countered by my faster typing skeelz.
 
Type up the notes after each class and study about a week before the exams a little bit at a time. I was never good at cramming
 
Alright, first of all take a Learning Theory class. Should be hosted by your university's Psychology department. Since I took that class, I've only got 2 B's, the rest A's, (this was like 6 semesters ago). Second of all, you gotta understand that everyone learns differently, although there are many universal patterns.

If you take this to heart, you'll do great in every class. Now, I'm not gonna tell you not to take notes... cuz for some people that works. I don't take notes though. Memorization can help in certain situations... such as short term cram learning, but when that final comes you're fucked. The only proper way to actually soak up the information for a fairly sufficient amount of time is to elaborate on it. Think about what it is you're supposed to know. Try to understand the logical connections between your past knowledge, your current knowledge, and what you think it might lead to further down the line. READ THE TEXTBOOKS that you have to pay like $500 for. I can't stress that enough. Read everything, don't skip sections you don't think you'll need. Also, don't just read, understand. Take breaks every paragraph (or every few sentences if you come upon something that confuses you) to sit there and just think about what it is you need to know. Also, why do you need to know it? How does it fit into the bigger picture?

Lastly, I'll say this. To get an A in a class, all you need to do is learn what the instructor tells you. If they say, "You need to know chapters 17-21 and all the lecture slides from last month to now", then well, that's all you need. But, if you're concerned that you're just not sufficiently ready. Look up whatever topic you're shaky about somewhere else. A second source can (usually) only help you. I swear by wikipedia. I mean yeah some people say it's bullshit, but fuck them wikipedia has given me many breakthough revelations before when I was having trouble.

Oh yea you also asked about reviewing. I'll tell you what I do. I gauge where I need to be and take it from there. If I have like a 95 in the class and the final is only worth like 10%, I probably won't study at all. I usually aim for around 91-92% in every class. Every semester I fall into the same pattern. At the beginning of the semester, I don't really do much studying at all. Then, I fuck up all my first tests. That's when I pick up the studying hardcore, I usually level my grade up to that 91-92% range I mentioned, or sometimes higher, depending on how easy the class is. Now, if my grade definitely depends on how I do on the final, I usually stay up all night and study (Adderall helps). The way I study is like this, I read chapter summaries, look over old tests, identify problem areas, and thoroughly view and review those areas. That usually helps me.
 
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For me, it's a simpler process. You may not want to hear it, but it's more of a matter of hard work and effort than little tricks that sound nice in theory.

To get into the habit, start reading like crazy. Don't skip a word and find lighter books to read outside of class. This will help you read faster and more efficiently. That's all there is to it--read more and your skills will get better. There's no special trick to it and it's not easy at first but a few weeks of diligence will make your semester that much easier to handle. The best benefit is that you'll eventually get to a point where you know what to read and what to skip. This can chop down a college reading immensely.

Also, I use a regular yellow highlighter, but I take notes in the margins with a pencil--I jot down important topics, concepts, and questions I have about the material. It's not specifically for memorization-- it's to help me find sections easily when I refer back to the text. but it helps me memorize the big picture easier, since I write down all the main concepts.

I should mention that I'm in the social sciences and humanities. Other courses require flash cards flash cards flash cards and more fucking flash cards. I'm telling you, those things are a life saver in language courses, science courses, and even some math courses. Anything that has knowledge that can be itemized. A few run throughs of your stack of cards for a few days and that shit will be ingrained in your head.
 
If you are studying for a test study over a set amount of days and don't cram the day before.

It is best to study at night before you sleep, because when you go to sleep your brain filters all the stuff you did that day and decides what to remember and what is useless, if the knowledge is still fresh in you head then you are more likely to remember it.

Try to have friends or make them in your classes so you can confer with them about homework and studying. Get into study groups.
 
Things that have worked for me in getting a 3.93 GPA coming into senior year of college:
1. Keep up with the homework and readings even if you aren't graded on homework or class participation. You'll learn the information better and won't have to spend nearly as much time studying for the test. Read the book even if it isn't required. It will help you learn better. For some classes I have stopped reading the book halfway through because it was useless, but start out by reading the book and see if it helps you. You'll be able to tell a few weeks in after you get a few tests/quizzes going.

2. Go to class. Only skip class if you are ill or have an important appointment such as a doctor's appointment or job interview. Let the professor know ahead of time if you'll be away and ask what you'll be missing. If you go to class all the time, you won't have to learn nearly as much shit on your own and thus will be able to study less. This only works if you prof is any good though. You'll know if the prof is good or shit within a few weeks. Feel free to skip if you feel they are completely useless and class participation isn't a factor. But it is only VERY RARELY that the prof is completely useless. I would say this has happened to me only once or twice in my entire college career, even though I've had a fair share of bad teachers. Even some crappy teachers can be useful. I would have skipped this one accounting class if he didn't count class participation or collect homework every class. I think he implemented this policy after everyone would skip his class because he was the worst teacher ever. To get by in these classes, read the book like it's a bible.

3. Don't cram the day before the test. Spread your studying out over a few days, for an hour a two a day, focusing on a few concepts/chapters each day, and reviewing the next days if you still think you're rusty.

4. Rewrite important concepts/formulas/notes down again even if you already have them written down somewhere. This seems to help a lot of people retain information better.

5. Don't procrastinate.
 
Studying?
For love of god, don't do it anywhere near a computer. I thought the temptation was great in '02-'06, I can't imagine what it would be like now.

In terms of notes: I agree that writing EVERYTHING down is stupid. However, writing nothing down is equally stupid. Everyone's different, so you will need to figure how much you need to write down to remember. If it's engineering, I'd definitely draw the picture/write eqns. Then write down specific steps you'd probably miss/get confused on.

Though engineering is probably a place you should write everything done in the first place...but only if the prof is giving you sufficient time. If he gives handouts, write notes on that instead of your notebook (b/c switching between the two will waste time).

For anything with eqns/formulas - try making up your own question.

Yeah you heard that right. If you _truly_ understand the concepts, you should be able to do the process in your sleep. And that would including creating a problem and then solving the problem. Plus, if you can design your own problems, then you will have a better understanding of how the numbers/eqns work. Hrmm again, my advice is more towards engineering though, hrm.
 
What works is obviously going to be subjective, but for me... I go to class, but I take down notes and never refer to them again. When I write something down, I remember it. Though most of my studying comes in the form of highlighting (in yellow, not those other, $$$gy colors) in the textbook and going over that shit over and over and over. Another thing that really helps is to make sure you don't procrastinate... I'm talking like... if you go over a chapter in class, really take the time then to make sure you go through the book and know that shit cold. Hell, reread through a previous chapter too, just so you know you remember what that was about as well. This way, when you have a week before the test, you don't really need to study any more than usual. You should already know that shit. It's worked for me in both of my majors (economics and business admin.) I've never needed to resort to making flash cards or other study techniques that people who are all gung-ho about academics go on and on about.
 
[quote name='CrimGhost']Talk about the material out loud, explain the material to a sibling, friend, or parent.[/quote]

Just don't overdo it. Yelling at a two year old about the LHC isn't going to do you much justice.
 
If you're permitted to bring in drinks during your test (like coffee) a great way help remember things is to study while drinking coffee (or any other scented beverage). Scent is a powerful trigger for memory so you'll often find it easier to recall what you've learned/read if you link your studying and test-taking to a distinctive smell.

Sounds crazy, but trust me, there is a biological basis for this and it works.
 
Go to a quiet place. Get away from your tv, laptop, music players and whatever else distracts you. I find it a lot harder to study with my laptop, PS3, and other shit right infront of me then it is with just the book or worksheets. It also helps to stop a lot so you can actually think about what you read instead of reading it in one burst and memorizing only partial elements of it.
 
Efficient, worthwhile studying depends not only on personal preference and habits, but also on the material itself. I'm a hard science dude (chemistry and mathematical sciences), so I can usually just go over my notes from class one time, look over any assigned homework problems, and correctly work out the most difficult ones in order to be prepared for an exam. It really helps to study graded work, like homework assignments and quizzes, because then you'll remember the stuff you didn't get the first time around.

In general, though, you need to study as you go along. Most course material builds, so it's difficult to cram before tests.

Also, a word about cramming for tests: Avoid it! I used to do this all the time, and while it might get you an 'A' on the test, you'll forget everything immediately afterward. For instance: I crammed my way all through two semesters of organic chemistry, and I only remember the really broad, important concepts. Specific reactions? Nada.

[quote name='CrimGhost']Talk about the material out loud, explain the material to a sibling, friend, or parent.[/quote]


Very good advice, this. If you know the material well enough to teach/explain it to someone else, you'll know it well enough for the test. Works every time.

(My current cumulative GPA: 3.954)
 
wikipedia.com...I'm serious.

Well, I suppose it depends on the type of course you're taking. I passed all of my literature courses, even though I hardly ever took notes. I would go to wikipedia.com a few days before mid-terms/finals, and study up. xD


P.S. I wouldn't recommend my studying method if you want a good grade. I'd usually pass with a grade around the 2.8-3.6 GPA range. That, and wikipedia's material isn't always accurate.
 
Just write the answer on your hand or put a note card in your sock and conveniently scratch yourself when your stuck. Trust me this work, I have two Bachelors and working on my Master. I got a 4.0 gpa all my college year! Oh yeah!
 
Everyone has different things that work for them. For me, the most valuable study skill I learned in college has been scheduling. I found that when I schedule big gaps between my classes I do much better. I tell myself not to leave campus, and I spend the time studying. My first couple quarters, when I had back-to-back classes then went home, I got absolutely nothing done because I procrastinated waaay too much... then I had a quarter where I was forced to have big breaks between classes, and ever since then have chose to schedule my classes that way because I get more done.
 
[quote name='Koggit']Everyone has different things that work for them. For me, the most valuable study skill I learned in college has been scheduling. I found that when I schedule big gaps between my classes I do much better. I tell myself not to leave campus, and I spend the time studying. My first couple quarters, when I had back-to-back classes then went home, I got absolutely nothing done because I procrastinated waaay too much... then I had a quarter where I was forced to have big breaks between classes, and ever since then have chose to schedule my classes that way because I get more done.[/quote]

Agreed. Right now, I'm done classes for the day... but I have jiu-jitsu at 7 and then again at 8:30. I'm probably gonna procrastinate for about an hour. Go out to each which will take an hour, and then have a good 3 hours left to study. Not bad.
 
Well, I'm an engineer, so my classes are almost really math intensive, so this may not apply, but whatevs.

Generally, I don't pay a lot of attention in class and I don't take a lot of notes. Usually, what I need is in the books. Where I really focus is understanding the problems. I just learn much, much better by seeing the concepts applied to a situation rather than just sitting there in the ether. Having a solutions manual is an absolute godsend. If I don't see how a problem works, I can usually take apart the solution in order to understand it.
 
So if I'm studying, the best time to do it is the couple hours before/right before going to bed?

I think I take good notes. I don't wrote too much and only jot down what I think is important (or stuff the teacher seems to repeat a lot, big ideas, etc)

How long does it take to get in the habit of staying focused and studying? i think that's my biggest problem right now.
 
Flashcards work well for definitions and shit.

It helps to over-prepare for exams.

Don't put studying off till the last minute, and don't cram.

I used to use outlines, rather trying to copy lectures down word for word.

That Christianity through Time class doesn't sound too enjoyable.:D I took a Medieval medicine/astronomy class in college, and it totally sucked.
 
What really helped me prepare for a lecture was to read the material that was going to be covered in that lecture beforehand. Just knowing what the professor was going to cover helped me focus on listening to the lecture to reinforce what I had read. It also minimized the amount of notes I took.

Also, I tried to go over the notes as soon as I could after class because the longer I waited, the less information I retained.
 
[quote name='Canadian_Man']Listen more, write less.[/quote]

That's what works for me in High School. I always laugh in AP Government when everyone is trying to copy down the 6 pages of notes on the board, and I just sit and listen. What really gets them though, is that I do better on the tests. :D
 
[quote name='beguile']Don't just look over them, ask yourself questions and ask the person sitting next to you in class if you don't understand. [/quote]

do NOT bother the person next to you in the middle of class. This drove me insane and I began giving out misinformation to people who did it constantly to me.

I learned through paying attention, following the general 'principle' of the lecture and noting down what I needed to look up later in the book. When I got my BA I can look back and say that there were only 3 classes I truly had to study for my entire educational career. (Intermediate 1 and 2, and Advanced Accounting because the teacher used questions from old CPA exams for tests) My cumulative is 3.10 and I can say that I attained that without trying very hard at all (even taking up to 6 classes a semester while working).

Everyone learns different, and you'd be wise to figure out what works for you while you knock off the intro classes during freshman/sophomore year. You'll be weeded out as you approach the high level courses of your major if you still have no clue by then. I would still say that I have no clue how to study and when I absolutely had to do well on an exam I would force myself to sit in the library until I got what I needed done (probably 1/2 of the time I spent in it was wasted).

Essentially, there is no easy way to do it and it's surprising how many people cannot accept the fact that you will actually have to work hard to get by.
 
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