Any college students here?

Serendipity

Maybe some of you guys are going through the same thing I am going through, but I can't explain it and it sure is bothering me.

Last semester I studied a little bit for each of my subjects, and wound up getting an A in calculus and engineering. So - I'm thinking, well, my studying has paid off since I was doing well. Decided to study more and more in the same way.

Now this is where it gets interesting. This semester I study like crazy and I'm having some difficulties understanding why I'm not "getting it" like I used to. Especially some concepts in calculus - I'm finding them very difficult. Now I haven't changed my study habits, except for studying more, yet it seems like "less is more" when it comes to studying. I'm getting B's in calculus now and that's the subject I study the most for!!

WTF?

Maybe some of you guys have gone through the same thing.

I-SIG

I would have killed for B's at Tech.

Wes

SolidSqual

I'm in law school and have experienced the same. Studying all the time is not the way to go. You simply become burned out. The trick is to get in and get out. Study hard in a specified time slot.

audiobliss

My study habits have really gone down the drain. I think that's due to the general environment at a community college. I pretty much don't touch any of my material except during class time and then cram for about an hour before the test. That's been good for about a 3.78GPA so far.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

My study habits have really gone down the drain. I think that's due to the general environment at a community college. I pretty much don't touch any of my material except during class time and then cram for about an hour before the test. That's been good for about a 3.78GPA so far.

Wow I study like 6-7 hours a day. Even more on the weekends. Then party once in a while and visit Club Polk once in a while.

audiobliss

appadv wrote: »

Wow I study like 6-7 hours a day. Even more on the weekends. Then party once in a while and visit Club Polk once in a while.

I wish I could do that. I'm burned out. I'm just pretty much burned out on school. But I don't know why...I've had the same poor study habits for the last three semesters. Maybe I'm tired of NOT studying. Hmm...perhaps I should start studying this weekend and see if I can get back into it!

Serendipity

SolidSqual wrote: »

I'm in law school and have experienced the same. Studying all the time is not the way to go. You simply become burned out. The trick is to get in and get out. Study hard in a specified time slot.

I think I am experiencing what you are talking about. Studying all the time proved less effective than studying in blocks of 2-3 "concentrate and study hard" hours.

Maybe I should get back to how I was doing it last semester and see if anything changes.

kingcars66

I remember in high school, i NEVER studied. Well, I studied for ONE test, and I got a 78 on it. Other than that, I got mostly As and a few Bs, and graduated 19th in my class of ~300. Its just how you handle the information. For me, I just need to hear it in lecture, grasp the concept, then use the concept on my own once or twice and that's it. No studying. You just need to figure out how you learn best.

audiobliss

appadv wrote: »

I think I am experiencing what you are talking about. Studying all the time proved less effective than studying in blocks of 2-3 "concentrate and study hard" hours.

Maybe I should get back to how I was doing it last semester and see if anything changes.

Dude, I'm just going to be totally in for a rude awakening when I transfer to a four-year college.

Over the last three semesters, I guarantee you I haven't sat down and actually intensely studied for more than 20 minutes at one go.

I wish I could study for 3 hours straight!

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Dude, I'm just going to be totally in for a rude awakening when I transfer to a four-year college.

Over the last three semesters, I guarantee you I haven't sat down and actually intensely studied for more than 20 minutes at one go.

Haha, I don't think anyone at my school studies for like less than 2 hours at a time or so.

It's just overwhelming and yes, sometimes when you study all the time you get burned out. Then everything blurs together and it's as if you didn't study at all.

bobman1235

appadv wrote: »

Wow I study like 6-7 hours a day. Even more on the weekends. Then party once in a while and visit Club Polk once in a while.

6-7 hours a DAY? That's insane guy. I admire the work ethic, but your brain needs time to breathe and soak in all the knowledge you're throwing at it. You're obviously a smart guy, just give yourself time to absorb the material, and give your brain some time off, you'll do fine.

Serendipity

bobman1235 wrote: »

6-7 hours a DAY? That's insane guy. I admire the work ethic, but your brain needs time to breathe and soak in all the knowledge you're throwing at it. You're obviously a smart guy, just give yourself time to absorb the material, and give your brain some time off, you'll do fine.

I guess this is what I'm experiencing.

Will be studying less from now on - plus there's this girl at school who knows a lot about cars...

Serendipity

You know what? Now this makes sense. Sometimes you just have to take some time off from studying, clear your mind, and then get back to it - I find that I get really tired when studying for hours and hours...

audiobliss

Demiurge at least used to have this in his sig...not sure if he still does...

"Sometimes the mind ought be diverted, that it may return the better to thinking." - Phaedrus

I have no idea if I quoted that accurately or not.

exalted512

How the hell do you study 6-7 hours a day? I study maybe 6-7 hours per week...

Do you have any local tutoring places around your college? I know at A&M theres a couple and they teach in a classroom like setting, but with people you can understand and theyre able to teach you the concepts. It was like 150-250 per class/per semester for the "Season pass" Absolutely worth it in my opinion. Made at least a letter grade difference, if not more, in all the classes i got tutoring in, with a lot less studying...
-Cody

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Demiurge at least used to have this in his sig...not sure if he still does...

"Sometimes the mind ought be diverted, that it may return the better to thinking." - Phaedrus

I have no idea if I quoted that accurately or not.

This stuff is quite a diversion:

Serendipity

exalted512 wrote: »

How the hell do you study 6-7 hours a day? I study maybe 6-7 hours per week...
-Cody

I do it in 2-3 hour blocks. Sometimes I have two hours between classes, so I'll do some practice problems for calc during this time. And sometimes I get up early and study a little before my first class in the morning.

But usually it's from 3:30PM to 9:30PM, when I'm most adept to studying.

audiobliss

From 3:30 to 9:30 I'm either eating, with friends, online, or sleeping.

Gaara

Not a current student but a recent grad and still going for masters courses. I personally didn't study much and ended up graduating with a 3.56. When I did study I never did so for more then a couple of hours at a time, because more then that my brain would just shut down.

The farther you go along the more advanced courses are, and the harder it is to absorb the info. There were two techniques that worked for me really well, especially when I "didn't get" the course material.

The first was to study at night before bed, usually for no more then one hour. I would wake up thinking about what I had studied and many times this helped with memorizing certain information, or solving difficult problems. It also helped because I wasn't on the computer or watching TV before bed, which messes up my sleep patterns.

The second was to study with other people, as long as they are not a distraction. If they are then you wont end up studying much, and will end up worse off then if you studied alone. I like studying with others because I would stay focused for longer, and also because sometimes a different perspective made things click that wouldn't otherwise.

BaggedLancer

I'm in my last year and I don't really study. Sure I'll cram for 30 minutes before a test but I NEVER study. However, I do not miss a class either. My theory is if I don't understand the material from going to class and doing the homework, I am not going to understand the material at all.....even if I study it.

In my opinion memorizing crap out of a textbook is not learning.....it's memorizing and you forget a large majority weeks after the exam. If you find yourself unable to understand things from going to class and doing the homework, maybe you aren't in the right major....

jdhdiggs

Wow, apperantly everyone's college experience is completely different...

I'd agree with Bagged, if you have to just memorize the book to pass and aren't "getting it" then you probably want to switch majors. In engineering, all of the concepts were really easy for me to get and I didn't need to really study until digital processing and heat transfer classes. The Econ stuff was always really easy so that's why I kept on with it.

Also, keep in mind, most of the time your second semester sophmore year to the first semester of your junior year are going to probably be the hardest as they are the last "weed out" classes until you really focus on the major.

If you are already struggling, find a major that REALLY interests you. If you are interested in your field and enjoy your career you'll make a lot more money and be happier than forcing your way through something that might start at a higher salary.

Also, I'd suggest drinking more and making more friends as they can really help the whole learning process.

bikezappa

appadv wrote: »

Last semester I studied a little bit for each of my subjects, and wound up getting an A in calculus and engineering. So - I'm thinking, well, my studying has paid off since I was doing well. Decided to study more and more in the same way.

Now this is where it gets interesting. This semester I study like crazy and I'm having some difficulties understanding why I'm not "getting it" like I used to. Especially some concepts in calculus - I'm finding them very difficult. Now I haven't changed my study habits, except for studying more, yet it seems like "less is more" when it comes to studying. I'm getting B's in calculus now and that's the subject I study the most for!!

WTF?

Maybe some of you guys have gone through the same thing.

I liked calculus and took it for 4 years at college. It's a very powerful tool to understand science. Calculus is to me the laugauge of science.

The only way, IMHO, to study calculus is by doing/solving problems and more problems. You can look and think you undertstand the concepts of calculus in about 5 minutes but to use the concepts by solving problems is what studying calculus is all about. I don't think you even need to take the college course in calculus, just get a book with example problems and a list of problems with answers and try to solve all of them. You can be told how to pitch a curve ball in 5 minutes but it will take many hours of practice to really pitch a curve ball. Same in calculus, 5 minute concept, many hours of problem solving to learn how to use and apply the concept to solving problems.

Just my $0.02.

Serendipity

jdhdiggs wrote: »

If you are already struggling, find a major that REALLY interests you. If you are interested in your field and enjoy your career you'll make a lot more money and be happier than forcing your way through something that might start at a higher salary.

I'm not really struggling, I'm just wondering why studying more doesn't always produce good results.

And yes, I love my major. Working with circuits and studying physics is something that I always wanted to do.

BaggedLancer

Drink more, study less. Problem solved.

Serendipity

BaggedLancer wrote: »

Drink more, study less. Problem solved.

Haha, 3 more years.

shack

appadv wrote: »

I'm not really struggling, I'm just wondering why studying more doesn't always produce good results.

I am a bit of an expert since I have 2 kids currently in college. How you study is as important as how much you study. At the University of Tennessee they have a Student Success Center to help with issues such as you are experiencing. One of my kids is a 3.8 student, ready to graduate from a 5 year major. The other is a hard worker but doesn't do quite as well and is not a good test taker. She went to the Sucess Center at the end of her freshman year and they spent some time with her on time management, methods for studying, tips etc...

Here is a tip I found interesting. According to the head of the department, typically when a student reads material from a textbook or whatever, after 48 hours they retain less than 20% of what they read. After a week that is down to 10% and two weeks is 5% or less. Their suggestion was to always take notes when studying, jotting down the important information or facts in a condensed format. Re-read those notes at a minimum before each subsequent study session for that subject and optimally every day. Often when using this techique a student will have to do little cramming prior to the test as they will have excellent retenion of the material. I know it has helped my daughter.

Also with any type of math....practice problems....over and over and over.

You might want to check and see if your university has a department such at this. They were very pleased that my daughter came early on when she was not in trouble, but wanting to do better. They say often freshmen will have isssues and just write it off as "just being freshmen and learning the system" (which often it is). Then they wait until it's a real problem and it is much harder to help.

danger boy

drink more and get laid more.. problem solved.

shack

danger boy wrote:

This message is hidden because danger boy is on your ignore list.

And keep practicing....

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Would you like to Supersize that combo?"

or

You could become a news video cameraman....;)

danger boy

shack wrote: »

And keep practicing....

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Would you like to Supersize that combo?"

or

You could become a news video cameraman....;)

Hey, Hey HEYYYY! ok. so cameramen don't get laid, so what's your point? ;)

hey i thought I was on your ignore list? what gives?

shack

danger boy wrote: »

This message is hidden because danger boy is on your ignore list.

Sorry, I've been having computer problems....It's fixed now.

Mike682

audiobliss wrote: »

My study habits have really gone down the drain. I think that's due to the general environment at a community college. I pretty much don't touch any of my material except during class time and then cram for about an hour before the test. That's been good for about a 3.78GPA so far.

As you get deeper into your studies, cramming will become less and less effective as a method of studying/learning the material. Many subjects requires a certain level of basic knowledge in order to learn more difficult material. Cramming is least effective in building a solid foundation for learning more difficult material, and it will catch up to you!

Most material is forgotten quickly if not reviewed after exposure. You should take notes during class, review those notes that evening. Then review notes a few times during the week. Also, ALWAYS read the chapters ahead of time. This gives you the opportunity to be exposed to the material and bring any questions regarding material to class. Follow professor's reading schedule as to what is due for each class.

In addition to studying frequently, the type of studying should be specific to the material. For example, if studying for a Math test, then you should be solving practice problems, etc.

Also when reading, read with the intent to understand the material, NOT to memorize it.