<p>Of course i'm not saying we should replace studying with drugs. I do study and sometimes exercise, but I don't see the harm in taking natural herbal suppliments like ginko and Vinpocetine that have no serious side effects. If natural herbs give you just the slightest boost, why not take it once in a while? It won't harm you in anyway. </p>
<p>But drugs that may be dangerous like Adderall or Ritalin is a definite no.</p>
<p>I would take natural herbs/medicine over western medication any day (Personal Preference). Anyway norcalguy's post seems to sum up what motivated students usually do. But my problem comes when taking notes. My handwriting is like chicken scratch and writing under pressure just makes it worse. Any tips on note-taking especailly for the hard sciences? I know for Physics and most of chemistry it's mostly equations and diagrams, So I suppose Bio note-taking is what I'm looking for.</p>
<p>
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I would take natural herbs/medicine over western medication any day.
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</p>
<p>What are you doing on a premed board?</p>
<p>Well then again I'm still a teen so I haven't really gotten any health issues so I suppose my statement was a few years premature =(</p>
<p>You don't need drugs to help you learn - if anything it will only make things worse in the long run.</p>
<p>Here is a tip though: when we learn something new that information is stored temporarily in one area of the brain. In order for it to be transfered to long term memory (in the cortex), you need to review the material as soon as possible. This means, try to schedule your classes with some time in between them so that you can go somewhere with your notes and review them, recopy them for neatness , type them, whatever - do it immediately even though you won't feel like it and I bet your memory will start to improve.</p>
<p>now that i thought about it a little, the class itself and the tests are pretty easy. I ace most of my classes, but what really hurts me are the final exams. I don't know how to really study for them. I'm not going to read my entire text book again to review for the exam. And I have hundreds of pages of notes from the classes. AND I HAVE ALL THE EXAMS IN THE SAME WEEK! I have to review for every single class, everything from the whole semester. During the exams I have to remember things way back from the beginning of the semester, which slows me down and I barley get enough time to finish the exam! Exam week is the most stressful time of the year for me.</p>
<p>And that's why the seemingly 'convenient' testing schedule that most teachers employ--non-cumulative tests--over the semester is in most cases a bane in disguise!</p>
<p>If Profs did toss in a few/many ques. from the previous tests/chapters into every consecutive exam, one would be motivated to review, edit and improve one's 'chicken-scratch' class notes thereby not having to struggle through exam week. </p>
<p>What can you do?</p>
<p>After class, review and edit your class notes; type it all out, if possible; set up a date(s) on your calendar marking this section of your notes as a "MUST REVIEW". Do this for all your notes...</p>
<p>And you WILL finish AND ace your exam on time!</p>
<p>hahahaaha that adderall question is sooooooooooo funny. i actually don't know ANYONE in my high school who takes adderall to get a better GPA, more like to get high</p>
<p>Drugs take for non-medication purposes are always bad.</p>
<p>really? actually i have a couple friends who take an adderall once in a while for mood enhancement. they say it makes them a little more energetic and happy. </p>
<p>(you're being sarcastic right tartheheel?)</p>
<p>I've been drinking Tea since I was seven years old...Simply loved it...
However, now I regret having done that...
Over the years I have developed an unrelenting immunity for caffiene, and Tea/coffee have no effect on my sleep cycle! Now that I'll be a neurotic premed in college, I won't have no caffiene (that I can actually depend on) to turn to, to keep me up when I'm studyin LOL!</p>
<p>Moreover, if I don't drink Tea in the morning, I have a headache throughout the day. And Yes...that sucks.</p>
<p>Ive seen a lot of AP students taking Adderall before the exams. It's terrible what people are turning to these days....</p>
<p>yea ppl will do anything for a good grade, but it isn't illegal is it?</p>
<p>If Adderall is prescription, and you're taking it without one, then yes, it's illegal.</p>
<p>wow taking drugs, I haven't heard that one before, although I've heard a lot of bad things students will try to do to get a better grade.</p>
<p>soon collegeboard and other organizations will have to test students for specific substances in their system before they can take a certain test....kinda like the olympics..or baseball :)</p>
<p>^^^
I hope that does happen, i mean honest people who don't take drugs have to compete with people who have an edge by taking drugs. It would be a lot easier for honest people to get into a good college and get scholarships.
I mean how many admission spots do you think "pure" students were cheated out of because some kid on adderall got an extra hundred point boost on his sats?</p>
<p>But I have nothing against taking natural herbal suppliments. It's just adding more nutrients into your diet. Nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>Coffee on the other hand...im not quite sure if that should be allowed or not.</p>
<p>lol honesty</p>
<p>i don't really get why taking Adderall makes you "dishonest." it's really no different from drinking coffee, or an energy drink, or taking prescribed medications, or eating a carb-laden breakfast. they're all artificial ways to up your test-taking ability.</p>
<p>If sports ban drugs, so should colleges. People should be tested on their actual knowledge and ability.</p>