<p>I find it bizarre that some of you study multiple hours per day EVERY day. I can honestly say that most days I don't even crack open a book unless it is to do homework. I'm a senior and taking graduate courses as well and I have yet to have any problems with my study habits throughout my first 3 years in college.</p>
<p>I agree with the above two posts in that knowing HOW and especially WHAT to study is a great skill that can save you a tremendous amount of time. I know people who know how to do just that and they are pretty successful (plus they have a lot more free time). Nevertheless, I don't discourage studying a lot to deeply understand something if you have a genuine interest in it.</p>
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An important skill you need for survival in college is to learn what's important and what's not. Otherwise, you are going to make life hard for yourself, and get bad grades.
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<p>So, how do you determine (in all of your classes) what is and isn't important? </p>
<p>I remember when I took this computer</a> systems engineering class, it wasn't at all obvious what was not important. I remember on one of the midterms, the mean was a 40/100. There were people who scored in the single digits, including some honors coop students. If you look at the FAQ and grading policies for this class, they don't give much guidance on what to focus on. Also, the course may be taught by multiple individuals (three people taught it when I took it), with different teaching styles and points of view.</p>
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Stop trying to get such a "deep" understanding of the material. At the end of the day, our "flawed" education system does not care what you understand, but rather only how well you can perform on your test.
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<p>There are some who believe our (US) education system is "flawed" because not enough students have a deep understanding of the subjects they take. There seem to be some countries, such as Korea, where the students study a lot. Some of them, I've heard, understand things quite deeply.</p>
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Otherwise, you are going to make life hard for yourself, and get bad grades.
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<p>So true. The key to the game is to do really well for the first few weeks of a class and figure out how half-arsedly you can learn the material to get the grade you want. People that romanticize the learning process might abhor that notion but that's the reality of it. Learning != education, and always remember that universities exist for education.</p>
<p>How are you supposed to half ass memorization? Half assing memorization=not remembering. You have to full-ass memorization.</p>
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You have to full-ass memorization.
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<p>And full-assed memorization is half-assed learning. I'm glad we agree at least. Which takes longer to do: Remember an equation or derive it? I'll never forget how many people flunked the final for the E/M class I was in because they couldn't describe what electrical resistance physically meant after spending a semester using the formulas for it and other basic quantities like capacitance and inductance.</p>
<p>Don't ask me, I failed calc 6 times before switching my major to communications.</p>
<p>Remembering an equation probably isn't that hard. Overcoming the overwhelming resistance to the inherently pointless proved too difficult feat for me. The brain can only cram about 11 items into it. Once you exceed that, or for me it's more like 5 things, actual studying is required. **** outta here with that BS.</p>
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I find it bizarre that some of you study multiple hours per day EVERY day. I can honestly say that most days I don't even crack open a book unless it is to do homework. I'm a senior and taking graduate courses as well and I have yet to have any problems with my study habits throughout my first 3 years in college.
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<p>Either you're very smart or your GPA is low!</p>