<p>In this thread, please contribute any study tips that would be helpful for pre-meds. Help other pre-meds from getting weeded out. General and class-specific tips are both appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks,
TheMK</p>
<p>
[quote]
Help other pre-meds from getting weeded out.
[/quote]
You're right. In the spirit of pre-medical brotherhood, I would like to offer the following tips:
-Never go to class
-Don't study for tests. The flood of information will just make you second-guess your answers.
-Use wikipedia and google to find information; no need to buy textbooks.</p>
<p>Seriously though, "premed" study tips are no different than "regular" study tips. Studying methods also differ greatly between individuals, based on their various strengths and habits. A few things I think are important ...</p>
<p>-Make sure you can answer all the end-of-chapter questions and examples, especially for chem/math courses. You don't necessarily need to actually do all of them, but make sure you know how. Pick the hardest ones and make sure you can do those.</p>
<p>-Don't use flash cards. Writing them out wastes valuable study time, and simply associating one word/phrase with something written on the other side is pretty inefficient. I prefer to read the text/material, memorize terms, then make connections between all concepts. Rote memorization can only get you so far.</p>
<p>-Take effective notes; write down the key points of a chapter and only write down the salient portions of lecture material. I advise against highlighters when going through text, it's more effective to write down what you want in your own words (to make sure you remember and understand).</p>
<p>-Avoid studying in large groups. It tends to be counterproductive, because people start getting distracted too easily. Even in small groups, this can be a problem. What I do is take charge and force everyone to stay on task.</p>
<p>Thanks goldshadow. You had me worried with the sarcasm in the beginning of the post.</p>
<p>How do you make connections between all the concepts? I find that part the hardest.</p>
<p>Just do the work. Here's whats worked for me:</p>
<p>I go to the lecture and take very detailed notes (mostly to make sure I am paying attention at the time)</p>
<p>Then, I read the relevant book material as soon as possible, highlighting always and completing all problems that were assigned or that look relevant</p>
<p>Come test time, I begin to prepare at least 3 to 4 days before my test (if possible). I reread through my highlights, taking written notes only of what I cannot remember or seems especially difficult. Then I look through the lecture materials taking similar notes.</p>
<p>Finally, I make sure I can do all the same problems I could before, I read through the study notes I made, and I try to get a good nights sleep</p>
<p>
[quote]
How do you make connections between all the concepts? I find that part the hardest.
[/quote]
I guess it's just a skill you'll have to work on.</p>
<p>One example I can think of is from general bio last year... we had learned about the endocrine system and the musculoskeletal and nervous systems (including how muscle movement works on a molecular and cellular level). The thyroid gland secretes calcitonin which decrease blood calcium levels, and the parathyroid gland secretes PTH which increases blood calcium levels. We also learned about how calcium is important in the nervous system and for muscle movement.</p>
<p>So if we were asked how overproduction of calcitonin or underproduction of PTH might affect an individual's ability to move or how it might affect the heart or digestive tract (smooth muscle), even though we never learned the answer to that specific question, it's still possible to work through it by linking the several different concepts we did learn about.</p>
<p>textbook = reliable friend</p>
<p>Bump.......</p>