Help!! What is the best way to study to get better grades??

bujuranks

Senior member
Oct 17, 2000
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I'm tired of cramming the night before a test, what should I do in order to study better?
 

prodigy

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
14,822
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In all seriousness don't cram. It's much better to finish the studying, reading, problems in the book, etc. you need to do beforehand and then REVIEW it the night before.
 

BigToque

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
11,700
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do your homework.

i swear to god, before grade 12, i didnt study at all. i was not gonna pass grade 12 if i didnt.

in grade 12 i totally changed myself, and ended up on the honour roll!

me on the honour roll? haha, my parents were in total shock!
 

GT1999

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
5,261
1
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Don't do like I did:

Slack off for the first half of the semester, and then notice that you're struggling for a C. I never opened the text let alone study at home and I'm regretting it now. Btw, this is college.

Don't let this happen to you.

<shrug> I might have to be in college a bit longer than I wanted to know. There goes some more $$$$.

:(:(
 

Stealth1024

Platinum Member
Aug 9, 2000
2,266
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I'm in 11th grade. Some homework is optional. I never have time to do it. And I have gotten by so far studying a little before the night of the test. By the way I am taking college and AP and CP classes in high school. My GPA is 4.7 and I have all A's.
 

shr00m

Banned
Jul 2, 2000
98
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Make sure you sit next to the smartest guy in class, and cheat off his exam...thats how I made it...:Q
 

kami

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
17,627
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81
set aside some time for studying each day. get it done ahead of time and you'll thank yourself.
 

Impact55

Platinum Member
Feb 16, 2000
2,189
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Partition your homework.
Have ALL homework done before the night of the test and spend the night of the test reading/studying the chapter ( and reading the notes). This work's really well for me, good luck.

Also if your in math/chemistry/physics/etc. try and make up random probelms and solve them with your formulas.
 

Buddha Bart

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
3,064
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From a serious studies perspective, there's a few things you're supposed to hit up.

1.) involve as many of the senses as you can. AKA reading things outloud, seing them in writing, etc.

2.) Personalize the info. Try and figure out a way that it relates to you (as in a possible reason you should give a sh!t)

3.) Sleep on it. Studies show that your brain takes short term info and makes it long term info during REM sleep.

thats all i can remember now. we just went over this chapter in Psyc 101. Can't tell if its true or not, i've only studied for one test in all my life, and I failed it anyway.

bart
 

qacwac

Senior member
Oct 12, 2000
408
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My best friend went through a minute thing in 3rd grade but it changed his life. From that point on he said, &quot;I will be the best.&quot; And he would not give up. He devoted himself to it. And he succeeded. He graduated valedictorian from our class of 400+ with a 99.3 In seminary he was the top student. (Only went one semester) Of course he often cried himself to sleep over trivial things such as not getting a homework done, and nearly drove himself insane thinking, &quot;If I don't get a 100 then it's the end of the world.&quot; This was mainly around Jr. High and early HS but it's really sad to hear him talk about it.

Now I don't think you want to be like this but the principle remains. Commit yourself to preparing before hand (doing the readings, HW, reviews)and then take action. You have to do it. Quit making excuses and make it a priority.

Oh yeah. My friend is much better now and in it's moderated form now it is quite beneficial to him.
 

ltk007

Banned
Feb 24, 2000
6,209
1
0
Do you homework, and don't cram like hell all night. Cram like hell 1 hour before the test and get a good sleep ;)
 

Capn

Platinum Member
Jun 27, 2000
2,716
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Well I had a 3.85/4.0 in highschool (we don't use a magical 4.7 scale :)) Anyways, went to college, decided &quot;Hey I should take advantage of this *tremendous* opportunity I have in front of me&quot; Now I have a 4.0/4.0 and three semesters left. I still slack off, but I pay my dues for it if necessary. My best advice, do the homework ahead of time and make sure you understand the material in and out. Go see your teacher if you have problems (that's what they are there for).
 

montanafan

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 1999
3,551
2
71
Lots of good advice here, just wanted to add something to what Buddha Bart said about involving all the senses. Learning styles include Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic Tactual. Most people benefit from a combination, but you should find which ones are most helpful to you. For example, if you actually learn best by Hearing something, then paying attention to the lecture and then either saying your notes out loud as you study, or having someone go over it with you, or recording the notes and playing them back will be the most effective ways for you to learn. You could read the notes to yourself over and over again all night and it still wouldn't be as successful as the other way. On the other hand, if you're a KT learner you should re-write the notes as you study them.
 

Ranger X

Lifer
Mar 18, 2000
11,218
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Whatever you read, make a cheat sheet for yourself that summarizes everything. This can eliminate the whole re-reading process.
 

Rankor

Golden Member
Jul 10, 2000
1,667
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76
If you're struggling in grades, you may have to adjust your studying habits (or lack, thereof).

Do homework w/out initially checking the back of the book for the answers.

Ask the teacher/professor questions. The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.

Get in a (good) study group.

Practice, practice, practice.

Also depends on the class. W/c class is this for?



The first year of college, I would study in the University Union's Game Room to look at all the chicks. Not good. After a couple of Bs and some Cs, it was time to evaluate real quick.

Subsequent years, I would study in the University Library in three-hour blocks. Some can study in complete quiet. I studied with a cd-player playing anything from Classical to Old Skool to Jazz to Japanese Anime Soundtracks.

I would then break-off for a bite to eat, play a video game, talk to friends, log-in to the network. The break took about an hour, in w/c I would go back and the hit the books. For me, 3 hours was enough to lock-in on a week's course subject matter.

Your mileage may vary. After doing well on a midterm, reward yourself.

After kicking whup @$$ on a midterm, I would reward myself by purchasing a computer game or an anime tape (at the time). If I kicked whup @$$ on all my Finals during Finals Week (w/c I normally did thereafter), I would reward myself with a Computer upgrade, a couple of computer games, a couple of anime tapes, or a combination.

In the end, cramming is not the way to go. Some can get away w/it, some can't.

I knew someone who just purchased a TI-81 and was cramming on how to USE the ah heck and got very little done in studying for a Calculus midterm.
 

Unsickle

Golden Member
Feb 1, 2000
1,016
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I just finished a huge problem set for my &quot;mechanics of materials&quot; course. Started at noon, finished at 9PM. 2 hr dinner/rest break from 4-6. This homework is due not this coming tuesday, but the tuesday following.

That's basically the way I get through college engineering... do all your homework a week in advance and attend all lectures to reinforce what you've learned by doing the problem sets. I typically study for a midterm starting three evenings in advance, pacing myself through the material and doing as many problems as I can. I don't typically work in study groups, as those inevitably degenerate into useless yakking. Just me and my brain and the book.

How do I do? Well I've had all five of my first round midterms and I did above the mean on all of them. On four of them, I got 90% of a standard deviation above the mean. The fifth one was a lemon and I only got a little bit above the mean, but I attribute that to the way the test was graded.

If you're in engineering, make sure you learn how to get partial credit. If you don't know how to solve a problem right away, write down the equations... write down SOMETHING!!! If you leave it blank you'll get a zero. If you write some equations, you might get a few points.

Capn are you a humanities major? No engineering majors have a 4.0 that I know of here at berkeley... funny how the valedictorian is always a history/english major with a sparkling 4.0. This is an engineering school, byeatch. We don't have 20% of our grades based on discussion attendance!$!@!@

RANT!
 

tim0thy

Golden Member
Oct 23, 2000
1,936
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it also depends on what level of schooling you're in.

for me, in college, studying came a lot easier knowing that one subject corresponded with another. for example, calculas 3 formulas and notations worked with my physics and network security class (had to do a lot of crunching of DES, etc, etc encryption).

in high school, i got away with murder, it was too easy.
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
yeah, what kinda school are you in: college or high school? high school is a joke, so i'll tell you what to do in college:
1. read the sections of your book to be discussed that day in class, and get an idea what they're talking about this way you don't go into class cold, and you can think of some questions to ask.
2. go to class and listen to the prof. now since the material is somewhat familiar to you, the lecture will help explain it and give you a chance to ask questions.
3. go home and study that material. this is your actual &quot;studying&quot; time. you hopefully already understand it, and it's still fresh in your mind. now you can work on keeping it there.

the only way to get out of cramming before a test is to do stuff like this: learn it as you go along, then REVIEW for your exam, like some other people said.
 

MustangSVT

Lifer
Oct 7, 2000
11,554
12
81
simple fact. u gotta love what u do or u wont do it or even if u force yourself to do it u will regret. however up to high schoool it should be easy (well college is easy to until u become jr. or seniors and take 400+ level courses). yeah i agree about doing homework, do it first when u get home dont put it aside until u are done with it. good luck kiddo
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
A lot of the other posts in this thread have pointed out the tips that I would provide, so I'll make this fairly brief.

First and foremost, you must find out what sort of study method works best FOR YOU. Not for me, not for your roomate, not for your friend, but FOR YOU.

Follow montanafan's advice and test out the different studying techniques and figure out what one(s) are the best suited for you.

I was lucky, I was an Auditory learner. If I went to the lectures, I had the knack of being able to remember things come test time. You on the other hand may learn best by taking notes, and then re-writing your notes.

Most colleges/universites have some sort of academic support centers that should be able to help you find your appropriate studying method.

A couple other small tips - break your studying down. Small chunks are better remembered than mindblowing yourself and trying to absorb an entire chapter/section.

Also, eat while study. Get somthing like crackers or pretzels because they are fairly healthy, and nibble on them while you study. Eating while you study makes comprehension and memorization easier.
 

lowtech1

Diamond Member
Mar 9, 2000
4,644
1
0

* Review your lesson/s as soon as possible, because the information is fresh in your mind. You will remember more information if you spend 15-min to review your class lesson on the same day than 1 hour a week later.

* Have a routine of doing homework &amp; things to do.

* Keep a calendar.

* Make it fun: homework &amp; studying don't have to be boring. Get your parent &amp; friends involve.

* Be prepare for the next lesson. Read a head so you will have an understanding of what your prof saying &amp; have question for him/her to solve.

* Write down/prepare question for the next class lesson.