Poll of the Day > How do/did you study for big exams?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Finals coming up for me so I got a little curious.

I'm subject to some organized Chaos myself. I like to sprawl and have all my papers for the subject I need strewn about in (what I think) are tactical positions.
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I didn't study, I just... y'know, retained things from the lesson
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For the USMLE and MCAT I made a schedule and stuck to it no matter what, making sure to cover all the topics and giving myself 1-2 months to do practice tests prior to the test.
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JanwayDaahl posted...

For the USMLE and MCAT I made a schedule and stuck to it no matter what, making sure to cover all the topics and giving myself 1-2 months to do practice tests prior to the test.

Yeah I could definitely understand why you would want to be rigorous about that. The sheer volume of information to retain is incredible. I'm interested in the medical field as well, about how early did you start even preparing to study?

Lokarin posted...

I didn't study, I just... y'know, retained things from the lesson

You've never had a bad/textbook professor? That's really lucky actually haha.
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These days, it feels chaotic. All my exams have been open notes and open book this quarter, so I just print out as much as I can and hope I can solve the questions with what I know and have in front in me.
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123pizza2 posted...

Lokarin posted...

I didn't study, I just... y'know, retained things from the lesson

You've never had a bad/textbook professor? That's really lucky actually haha.

Nah, I only did up to Highschool - we all memorized the textbooks and the tests were always OF the textbooks so it was really easy.
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Lokarin posted...

I didn't study, I just... y'know, retained things from the lesson

This. Maybe I'll look over the study guide once or twice but I don't usually spend more than like an hour or so.

I look ove all my notes and assignments related to the chapters covered in the exam.
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I never did back at school. Probably why I didn't do that well.
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I didn't study. I was pretty good at retaining information for the semester and after exams I would forget the information. I did take notes so I could use the information in other classes (history minor so it made it easier for papers).
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High school: didn't really study

College: crammed

Grad school: crammed

I don't have to do extra study. I actually listen and do my prep/work.
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I always just read the book the night before.
Not the best method but it worked for me..

completely depends on the course. some courses, attending class is good enough and "studying" is pointless. other classes, the class itself is pointless and all you need to do is read the textbook and make sure you understand everything. figuring out which way your course leans is critically important to do well in the course. (or you can just do everything, pointless or not, if you're that kind of person.)
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I voted cram. But it's either cram or chaos(both organized and complete. More so complete).
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What I did last semester was basically do practice problems from the book and review my notes and crap from the class I was taking the test for.

This time around, I have so little energy to do anything at all, so I think it's possible I'm just going to go over the notes and do just a little less hands-on practice, hopefully.
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Looks like the voting settled down now. To be honest I would've thought more people would cram than not study at all.

I couldn't imagine not studying for Organic Chemistry haha
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barely study.

had a teacher in high school who wondered how i aced tests. we had to turn in notes and he graded them. after the first semester i had a C. he said "you don't do the homework and you don't take good notes, but you get A's on all the tests"... just did crappy bullet points on stuff i thought he wanted to hear after that.

thats how i take notes in college, i listen to the lecture and only take notes on info i feel i need. pass all my tests with little to no studying
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d74_5af_Dzs

Studying is dumb and unnecessary if you pay attention.

If you didn't learn about it in class it shouldn't be on a test.
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who needs to study?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaSUOFleNRU
(jump to 0:31)

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXlfXirQF3A
(written and performed by a harvard professor) (also jump to 0:31 if you can't wait)
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123pizza2 posted...

JanwayDaahl posted...

For the USMLE and MCAT I made a schedule and stuck to it no matter what, making sure to cover all the topics and giving myself 1-2 months to do practice tests prior to the test.

Yeah I could definitely understand why you would want to be rigorous about that. The sheer volume of information to retain is incredible. I'm interested in the medical field as well, about how early did you start even preparing to study?

Lokarin posted...

I didn't study, I just... y'know, retained things from the lesson

You've never had a bad/textbook professor? That's really lucky actually haha.

The MCAT and Step 1 usually require anywhere between 3-5 months for people to study for it adequately. Some people can do it in a shorter or longer period of time depending on their background and commitment to studying.
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Crammed a few minutes before the class in question.
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In high school I never studied and still pulled off a 90+% average.

In university, I could no longer get away with that shit and had to learn how to study in a hurry.
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