<p>just curious about people who get 4.0 GPAs and still have time to become presidents of honors societies. I'm going to be taking English, Chemistry, Biology, and Calculus in college, and I was wondering how do you guys study? Like how many hours a day, how many days a week, What do you do in between, do you take breaks, reward yourself, etc. What are your secrets to studying?</p>
<p>also do you guys take drugs like Adderall or something?</p>
<p>Yes, we take all kinds of drugs because otherwise a 4.0 GPA is impossible. Only performance-enhancing drugs will achieve such perfection, just like only steroids can make you a competitive athlete.</p>
<p>Seriously, is this the common assumption about good students?</p>
<p>you must realize that a 4.0 in college is a rare thing. I went to an undergrad State U with more than 20000 undergrads and there were something like 20 people with a 4.0 that graduated with me. It's not that big of deal not to have a 4.0. Many of the people who did were not that involved in other activities or had very easy majors (like history - which at least at my school is an easy major...it may not be other places). The ones who were involved and had near 4.0's were very good with time management or didnt' sleep as much as others did. This is not to say that you have to be a freak to get a 4.0, just that it shouldn't be an expectation. A 3.8 is a great GPA in college, especially if you are pre-med. I got into med school with a 3.48</p>
<p>Velaen, its just that I read on the washington post that "Almost 90 percent reported at least occasional use of "smart pills" at crunch times such as final exams, including Adderall, Ritalin, Strattera and others."</p>
<p>I my self havn't taken drugs, and i didn't think anyone does them, but that article does make me think otherwise.</p>
<p>And bigredmed, thanks for your post. I feel better knowing you don't need a 4.0 to get into med school. Btw what was your mcat score?</p>
<p>I mean, 3.63 is exactly the average GPA for students matriculating to medical school, so no, a 4.0 was not by any means necessary. Remember, about half of kids who go to med school will be below the mean (!).</p>
<p>it was funny during my graduation they were congratulating a few students on various achievements, such as a 4.0 GPA or if they participated in a lot of what was deemed as meaningful activities or started out some organization -- there were only 3 people out of like 30 mentioned whose majors were technical or science-related</p>
<p>That Washington Post article surprised me. I can't imagine such a large percent of seemingly smart people doing something with such risk.</p>
<p>And although a 4.0 is rare in college, I know at my state U it's not impossible; the larger fact is that fewer people are as anal about grades as they were in high school. And of course, a 3.9 is the same thing when you account for a couple professors who are just unreasonable.</p>
<p>If you're really thinking of taking those memory enchancing drugs..Don't. Rathere take the herbal/natural form called Ginko. It's been around for a very very long time and bascailly it increases blood flow to the brain. Many drug companies/studies show nothing ground breaking about ginko but then again I stopped trusting them awhile back anyway. </p>
<p>As for study habits, It all really comes down to time management. <-- That's what I hear from current students. You want to find out the strategy for your classes on how to get the highest scores with efficient concise studying. (though that may backfire with the MCATS).</p>
<p>Here is one of those studies that show no benefit from gingko from JAMA 2002;288:835-840. jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/288/7/835</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ginkgo for Memory Enhancement</p>
<p>A Randomized Controlled Trial</p>
<p>Paul R. Solomon, PhD; Felicity Adams, BA; Amanda Silver, BA; Jill Zimmer, BA; Richard DeVeaux, PhD</p>
<p>JAMA. 2002;288:835-840.</p>
<p>Context Several over-the-counter treatments are marketed as having the ability to improve memory, attention, and related cognitive functions in as little as 4 weeks. These claims, however, are generally not supported by well-controlled clinical studies.</p>
<p>Objective To evaluate whether ginkgo, an over-the-counter agent marketed as enhancing memory, improves memory in elderly adults as measured by objective neuropsychological tests and subjective ratings.</p>
<p>Design Six-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial.</p>
<p>Setting and Participants Community-dwelling volunteer men (n = 98) and women (n = 132) older than 60 years with Mini-Mental State Examination scores greater than 26 and in generally good health were recruited by a US academic center via newspaper advertisements and enrolled over a 26-month period from July 1996 to September 1998.</p>
<p>Intervention Participants were randomly assigned to receive ginkgo, 40 mg 3 times per day (n = 115), or matching placebo (n = 115).</p>
<p>Main Outcome Measures Standardized neuropsychological tests of verbal and nonverbal learning and memory, attention and concentration, naming and expressive language, participant self-report on a memory questionnaire, and caregiver clinical global impression of change as completed by a companion.</p>
<p>Results Two hundred three participants (88%) completed the protocol. Analysis of the modified intent-to-treat population (all 219 participants returning for evaluation) indicated that there were no significant differences between treatment groups on any outcome measure. Analysis of the fully evaluable population (the 203 who complied with treatment and returned for evaluation) also indicated no significant differences for any outcome measure.</p>
<p>Conclusions The results of this 6-week study indicate that ginkgo did not facilitate performance on standard neuropsychological tests of learning, memory, attention, and concentration or naming and verbal fluency in elderly adults without cognitive impairment. The ginkgo group also did not differ from the control group in terms of self-reported memory function or global rating by spouses, friends, and relatives. These data suggest that when taken following the manufacturer's instructions, ginkgo provides no measurable benefit in memory or related cognitive function to adults with healthy cognitive function.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Note that while gingkgo has no demonstrable beneficial effect on cognitive function, it does inhibit platelet function and so should be used with caution, especially if other bleeding tendencies are known or suspected.</p>
<p>i did take ginko a while ago but it didn't really improve much of anything. Plus, it's mainly for old people who are starting to lose their memories, and besides ginko is pretty hard to get seeing how its only grown in one place. It was though to be extinct for many years, so I'm guessing the real ginko stuff is pretty expensive while the ginko pills contain very little ginko. Its like cocaine.</p>
<p>btw considering the classes im taking (english, calculus I, principles of biology I, and principle of chemistry I), how should I study? Like how long should I study. Which classes should i devote the most time, and which the least? I should use suppliments to my textbooks?</p>
<p>Dude, this varies completely based on your school and your own personal ability. There's no way anybody else could possibly hope to answer these questions, even with a rough estimate.</p>
<p>Start with what you're really good at to gain a confidence in your 'ability to learn/study', and then move on to studying what you find difficult. </p>
<p>And then do what I would do----Google "study tips efficient study time management skills" etc.</p>
<p>AH man! I thought I had found my special aid for college and now I find out it the memory enhancement is in question. I'll still use them and see if there is any difference personally, I only just started taking a pill every day. Thanks for sharing the side effects though, I completely overlooked that...</p>
<p>I googled something that might be interesting. Have you guys ever tried Vinpocetine?</p>
<p>"Vinpocetine increases blood circulation and metabolism in the brain"</p>
<p>No, but I have tried paying attention in class, taking good notes, and spending lots of time studying. Amazingly, it works!</p>
<p>Since it works for norcalguy, all the people who want an exact count of how long to study should ask him...or just take vinpocentine, since obviously exercise would surely not have any effects on brain circulation or metabolism...</p>
<p>It'll produce 4.0s for sure!</p>
<p>Wow, it's a little scary... the ads on the left side of the page are now displaying ads for the stuff... "only $8.99"...</p>
<p>Guys, seriously. Adderall may be unhealthy, illegal, and unethical, but at least it's western medicine rather than herbal healing and enhancing. What, are we going to start arranging the geometry of our posts to conform to feng shui?</p>
<p>Read the article at <a href="http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/1529-1006.00007%5B/url%5D">www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/1529-1006.00007</a></p>
<p>The studies supporting efficacy of vinpocetine examined cognitively impaired older adults. Generalizing these results to other populations is not justified.
[quote]
In three studies of older adults with memory problems associated with poor brain circulation or dementia-related disease, vinpocetine produced significantly more improvement than a placebo in performance on global cognitive tests reflecting attention, concentration, and memory.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And in the concluding statement:
[quote]
Nonetheless, there are questions about sample size, the generality of the results across different memory tests and populations, and other aspects of the procedures and data. These problems, in conjunction with a general lack of research demonstrating that the effects can be replicated, dampen enthusiasm for the effectiveness of these nutrients in substantially arresting or reversing memory loss. All in all, we believe that the current data do not allow strong scientifically based recommendations for any of these memory nutrients.
[/quote]
</p>