Intense Study Guide- Part 1

After 4 years of undergrad, and one year of grad school with a semester to go, I have come to be a ~somewhat~ expert on study routines. About one year ago, I posted my study methods, and you guys seemed to like it, and find it helpful! In the past year, I have made a few adjustments, but really honed in more on what works for me. I have survived grad school (so far, haha), and will graduate with a really good GPA (not to brag, just to appeal to you that I have some great study tips!). Since it has been about a year, I thought that I would give my most detailed, updated study tips/guide I can give you. I still want to emphasize that what has worked for me, might not work for you, so if you need some study inspo, this is perfect. Or, if, you are totally lost in the study game like I was once, this could give a great starting point!

*Also this is part 1 of 2!! Part 2 will come out shortly after this one, and I will be answering your study questions, so send them my way please! I put a question box on my Instagram story a week ago, and have some good ones, but would LOVE to answer more!!*

One // Preview Lecture before going.

If you take away anything from this, please let it be this. Previewing has been a life and time saver for me. It is helpful to know what lecture is about to prime your brain and thinking about the topic before going to class. It can help you stay engaged during lecture, which also means you can hold your attention span for all of class. 

*How to Preview= I usually look at all of the slides, and make an outline of the lecture/notes on Google Docs. But you can also just look at the slides/handouts/reading, and write down questions you may have. Preview can be as long or as short as you want it to be. I do a more extensive preview because it saves me time after class when I am putting notes together, and actually studying.

Two // Go to lecture.

This is pretty easy. Just attend lecture, especially if you school does not record them for you to listen to later. If you are paying for tuition, get your money's worth and just go to class! It is better to go than to rely on a classmate for what you missed, trust me!

Three // Take Good Notes!

Like preview, good notes can save you, AND your really good preview should encourage good note taking 😊. With this said, it can be difficult to navigate what are good notes to take. This is something that took me a long time to work on. You might have the urge to write every single thing down that your professors says. This will just not work; you will miss important things while you right random details down, and you will get behind during lecture (at least I have). 

*How to take good notes= I have an iPad and Apple Pencil, and I download the slides to my iPad using Notability, and take notes directly on the slides -this has not changed in the past year-. When taking notes, do not write down anything that is already on the slides in front of you.
- I always try to hand write notes in some way because I feel like it helps you learn it better.
- For the actual notes to write- you honestly may not need to write much because everything you need to know should be on the slides/handouts/readings etc.
- Underlining and highlighting the points on the slides that the professor emphasizes or spends a lot of time on is good because that is most likely important!
- If you have any figures in you lectures, this is when you SHOULD write everything down because a figure/graph etc., has a whole story that needs to be understood, and you need to know how to interpret and read said story.
- You should also try to figure out and know how your professor tests because they might like to test on minute details they say in lecture, so may need to pay close attention to them and note taking.

Four // Post lecture organization.
Since I like to do a thorough preview, and make an outline of notes, this part is easy because I just fill in the gaps with notes/images/details from lecture. At this step, I try to condense note: subtract anything that was not a main point or helps to clarify a learning objective, and add things that the professor emphasized, or actually added, during lecture. If the order of topics in lecture did not make sense to you, i.e.- how your prof organized it is not how you would have-- absolutely rearrange the notes so it makes sense to you!! After you are done with this, print off that lecture, or have it in a form where you can mark it up.

Five // Reviewing- a lot. 
After I print off of a lecture, I go back to it with multiple colors of highlighters, and a pen to annotate the notes. This is simply giving me another pass at the information. This also starts to condense the information in my brain because I have seen it so many times, and am now adding color and a few extra details. This is done for each lecture. You essentially review each lecture more this way, so when it comes close to exams, you will have more info in your brain than you think! This is where I will also make tables or flashcards if I am trying to straight up memorize facts. (This was helpful for microbiology and pharmacology for me.) So you have notes AND flashcards or tables to review, review, review and this= seeing the information in different ways many times= it will stick in your brain. If you took any quizzes during the unit, review those too/incorporate them into your notes!
*Tips on color coding= When going through the notes, each topic gets a new color highlighter to highlight with. After I have cycled through all of my colors, I just start at the top again. SO some topics will have the same colors, but the fact that is colorful is more helpful for my brain than to stick to one color per general topic that may have many sub topics because this will end up looking all the same if you use the same color and your brain will not be able to tell the difference.

Six // Exam time.
When it is crunch time for exams make what I call "study sheets." This is the most condensed form of notes that you *hand write* on a blank sheet of paper. I first like to test myself and do it from memory, and then go back and fill in things I missed. I will write concepts, draw my own figures, and make lists. Again, this is so you have the information in a variety of different ways (and hopefully colors!), so that you will retain it, and know it, and know how to use and apply the knowledge.
This is also the time to do ALL of the practice questions. This is how you practice application! Also, do not just do the questions, but REVIEW them in depth. Look at what you got wrong, and why you got it wrong, and the reasoning behind each question and answers. But, do it for the ones you got right too; you should be able to logic through why the wrong answers are wrong, and why the right answer is right. Thinking of questions you think could be asked is also good to put yourself in the mind of the test maker, which can be half the battle. Re-taking quizzes, if you can, is also super helpful for more questions. On more than one exam, a professor has re-used quiz questions, so those can be easy points for you!
By the the time the exam comes, you should be ready to use your knowledge!

*General tips during the whole process=
1. Ask questions if you feel stuck and do not understand something.
2. If a study method is not working, tweak it, but do not completely change, and do a 180 in the middle of studying because you can waste time, and will not retain as much. Make big changes after an exam, for studying for the next one.
3. Your classmates are usually the best resources.
4. Make sure to learn about yourself, and what works for you along the way.
5. Studying for a shorter amount of time every day is more beneficial than studying for hours and hours less often (I am so guilty of doing this, ahah).
6. Cramming 30 minutes before an exam usually does not work. At that point, you know what you know, and have to accept that.
7. Make it fun!! That's why I use a lot of colors, and methods, and have a study playlist to listen to!
8. Coffee helps, but do not forget to fuel your brain well and drink water.

Wow, this a long one, but worth it!!

As always,

#dontforgetyourpearls