<p>Hi, I'll be an upcoming freshmen soon, and admittedly I don't have the best studying habits or skills. My idea of studying is cramming stuff right before a big test which has gotten me far in high school, but I know it'll kill me when I got university. When I do study I feel as if I'm wasting time going about it too and not getting quality time out of it. I normally reread content from a book at a slow speed. </p>
<p>So does anyone have any specific studying tips, skills?
For exams, quizzes, just knowing the material for a class?
For self studying on your own (Say you want to study how to fix a car or recap on geometry on your own time)
I'm also a bit of a slow reader. VERY slow. I read at a pace that it would take you to read the content aloud. Anyone have any speed reading tips as well?
Please and thank you!</p>
<p>IDK as long as your major isn’t too difficult, cramming should be fine. I always cram for my tests (finance major) and I always do fine but I put a lot of time into studying (2-3 hours the night before normally). My best advice is too make the library your main place to study bc its really effective imo. I wouldn’t even think about studying in my dorm room bc there are way too many distractions (laptop, roomies, etc).</p>
<p>Use a calendar to record all of your big assignments and tests for the semester. You do not need to put homework on it because you can refer to your syllabi.</p>
<p>You can do a Google search for a reading method called SQ3R. It will gives you some suggestions on how to read a textbook. You will not need to use all the steps in every class. but if you get in the habit of using some of them, it will help you. Va. Tech’s site explains it pretty well and the same site has great advice on time management.</p>
<p>If your professor uses the textbook heavily and this varies greatly, get in the habit of reading whatever it is he/she is going over in lecture before the lecture (that’s a hard one to do).</p>
<p>Even though they have been around forever, study cards are still a great way to review, especially for new terms and concepts. They use multiple senses to make and use the cards, so they are good for most people, and you can take them with you to review while you are sitting around waiting for class to start.</p>
<p>Also, check to see whether your textbooks have online companion Web sites. Often there is a Web address on the back of the book and if you look around the publisher’s site, sometimes there is a link. The companion sites sometimes have outlines, interactive flash cards, quizzes, and practice essay questions. Sometimes they are for an older edition of your book, but usually they are still valid.</p>
<p>If you have trouble with a class, go get help immediately. Do not wait to see if it will get better. It won’t. Many, many smart kids just hate to ask for help. Get over that. Every school in the country has some type of tutoring help in place: find it and use it. You can thank me later.</p>
<p>There are many study skills sites on the Internet and there are some good books too. Good luck!</p>
<p>There is a book I recommend to everyone called “What Smart Students Know”. Written by a co-founder of the Princeton Review prep service, it explains how better students study various kinds of material.</p>
<p>Since you are intending to be an engineer, you should know that a good rule of thumb for math and technical classes is that you’ll spend about 3 hours outside of class doing homework and studying for every hour in class. With 2 or 3 math/science classes this means you’ll spend 9 hours a week in class and 27 outside of it, making school pretty much a full-time job. A lot of people find they don’t want to put that much work in, and then they find another major. The real killer is that the classes are cumulative; this week’s chapter in your History 53 class doesn’t really depend on the other chapters, but you can bet that in math and science they do. So once you fall behind it becomes increasingly very difficult to catch up.</p>
<p>For engineering go to classes and do any and all homework that is given to you (whether it be collected or not). Find people who are pretty smart and work with them on any mutual classes. If you don’t understand a particular topic watch video lectures online or read the textbook section that covers that topic or ask your professor/TA. </p>
<p>I would say reading the textbook for engineering, math, or science is not super critical, but it can help. Notes that you take in class I feel are more useful then the textbook in 90% of the cases. I feel the 2-3 hour rule is a little bit overstated, on the absolute heaviest weeks I would spend maybe 2 hours for ever hour in class (and that was because of large lab reports), but generally I spent about an 3/4 hour or an hour per hour of class</p>
<p>Main thing: get the determination to make it through college and get through your major if its hard/easy. Always try to learn something new and think of new ways to use it. If you dont do well in one class or test, get back on the horse and try again.</p>
<p>next thing: be mindful of your classes when you choose them. pay attention to the times, professors, your major, and other classes you have to take or are taking. NEVER leave anything on the back burner when it comes to school (learned too many times the hard way). If a class seems difficult the first day, get out of it and take it some other time.</p>
<p>final thing: dont try to cram. its not usually going to work unless you have the ability to memorize alot in a short period of time and on little sleep. always try to devote a couple days to studying for something if need be. also, if you think studying is ineffective, then stop, do something else, then go back at it. also, GET A TUTOR.</p>
<p>Agree with Magneto on choosing classes. Work with an advisor even if you can schedule electronically. An advisor will tell you if you have overloaded. I have to keep reminding my daughter to take something FUN. Engineering is not as flexible as some majors, but you can take a class or two that should be fun–or at least interesting.</p>
<p>“If a class seems difficult the first day, get out of it and take it some other time.” </p>
<p>Not really sure if I agree with this. I am an engineering student myself, and I’ve only dropped one class before because I was taking 23 upper div units on the quarter system plus working a 20+ hr/week part time job. Dropped the class to lower my unit count to 19 and pulled a 4.0 that quarter, deans honors list, etc. </p>
<p>Now I’m paying for dropping that class, because I’m working at a great company/internship this summer, doing research, AND I now have to make up that class this summer (16+ hour work days…don’t really get good sleep). </p>
<p>The problem with dropping classes, especially if you are an incoming engineering frosh is that you may/probably will get set back. Also, there were many times over my college experience where I’d considered dropping a class due to difficulty or terrible test scores. However, I’ve never scored below a solid B in any of these courses simply because I realized my mistakes and squared my shoulders to work harder in these classes. Classic scenario was my diff equations class. Scored pretty terrible on the midterm along with everyone else (mean was an F), contemplated dropping the class, and ended up scoring top in the class (solid A) after learning EVERYTHING, going to office hours, tutoring hours, etc. Btw, more than half of the people originally in the class dropped it. Pretty nice when your full lecture hall suddenly turns into the first three rows :). </p>
<p>You will soon realize that a lot of engineering is about hard work and perseverance. The best study tip I can give to a prospective engineer is keep working hard. It never gets easier. So don’t give up, and eventually you’ll get the hang of it and nothing will seem impossible to you anymore.</p>
<p>Whatever you do on the drops, be aware of your university’s policy. Some limit how many drops you get and they all have deadlines on when you can drop without penalty.</p>
<p>“thats true. but some income freshmen are late bloomers especially when it comes to engineering and they might need more time to fully get into.”</p>
<p>I was one of those people ;). Never took calc in high school. Failed Calc I, got a B in Calc II, and got solid A’s in everything else from infinite series to diff eq. </p>
<p>Btw, I never studied in high school either, last minuted everything, and was generally lazy. However, I don’t regret any of that. Had I not learned things the hard way, I would not be in the position I am now academically or professionally. </p>
<p>The key is to realize and identify your weaknesses early on. I guess it’s different for certain people, but I’ve never dropped a class with the exception of that one upper div class (time constraints, was doing okay in the class) because I felt like I was giving up/quitting if I did drop it. It’s too easy for me to play the “time constraint” card because I’ve been working part time in industry and doing research for the last 2 years. So typically when I do less than my expectations on something then I look to myself first.</p>
<p>Getting thru engineering doesn’t require being brilliant. If you’re smart enough to get into a good school, you’re smart enough to be an engineer. All it takes is hard work; thing is, a lot of people decide they don’t want to put in that hard work when they see their neighbors in the dorms majoring in history or sociology or whatever having the time of their life in college and then cramming for a day or so before a test in order to get a decent gpa.</p>