[Education] When Its Just No Longer As Easy As It Once Was

[ILikeHockey]

All through my life, I've been one of those people that never really had to try in school. I wouldn't study, I'd do assignments at the last minute, you name it. And I'd still manage to pull of 70's, 80's, 90's. And that same pattern held up through first year uni last year. Sure, I studied a little more than usual, but for every day I did work, there were at least three that I did nothing. Still pulled off a 75% average (I wish I knew what that translated to in GPA, lol, but we don't have that here).

And then comes this year. Everything just stops being easy for me. I've been told I'd hit this point eventually, but I never really saw it happening. And now its happened, in a big way. My marks are plummeting, in a big way.

I got my Structure and Bonding (molecular chem) quiz back today. 2.5/17.5. Which means I got all of one question right (as there were no part marks). Now, pretty much everyone did bad on that quiz (it was originally supposed to be 17.5% of our final, but now our prof is talking about changing the weighting and adding more quizzes), but still, thats never an excuse. And when most people did bad in the past, I never have. I also got my PhysChem midterm back today. 63%. Not terrible, I guess, but I really wanted better.

Now, I know what you're thinking. I'm just a huge slacker and I'm finally getting whats been coming to me. Thats the thing though, I *haven't* been slacking this year. Its been a solid three weeks of putting in at least 3 hours of work a day. Sometimes up to 6 or 7. Plus classes on top of that. Friends who have known me for a long time keep asking what happened to the old me, who barely even knew where the library was, much less spent time there working.

The time is spent studying mostly, but I've been doing labs here and there, when they get assigned. Getting them done days before they're due, which is something I just haven't done before. At least, not consistently. And the work has been paying off in the labs. I've been doing much better than last year.

Its the studying I don't get. I'm putting in more work and effort than I ever have, and I'm doing way worse? I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've grabbed midterms from previous years, I'm working through all the problem sets, making study notes from my class notes, and yet, no results. I'm usually working with one or two people while studying (a VERY good thing for me, I've noticed, as I get far less distracted when other people are studying the same thing I am), and more often than not, I'm the one explaining some concept or how to do some problem to them. So I'd think I'm understanding everything. And its not like I do terribly on the practice midterms/problem sets either. After working through them a few times, all the questions come easy (not because I recognize them, but because I'm actually understanding them).

I've got a Structure and Bonding midterm coming up on Friday, and I'm starting to get really worried about it, after seeing marks today. And then a Genetics midterm on Tuesday. Genetics has always seemed like my easiest class. Everything in there comes easy to me, all the concepts make perfect sense, I can solve the sample problems and teach others without much effort. But after whats happened with the other midterms, I'm getting really worried.

I'm sure some of you out there have been through this type of thing before. What can I do to start doing well again (and sorry about the essay I've apparently written here. It seems no matter how much I try, I can't avoid making my opening posts ridiculously long).

[redhearts]

Maybe a tutor or study groups? Study groups be better.

[redrose85]

All you can really do now is study as much as you can before the next tests, and remember what not to do next time. I was the same way in high school, but college is so much different. I have to work for my A's, and even B's.

[i_win]

Making education a way of life is really the only way to be that student that you know you're capable of being. It is the art of immersing yourself and the more you do so, the more that you will get out of it. And I hear people all the time saying that they never use their college education once they graduate, and I think that's true to an extent, but the discipline and "world view" you gain from your studies will continue to enrich your life and career the further you go. In any career or profession you will soon realize that it is a constant learning enviornment if you want to be one of the best at what you do; the learning never really stops.

Okay off my soap box a bit. So how do you become immersed in your studies? It's not as hard as you might think but it is just about changing your habits and priorities. When it comes time to interview for jobs the best and the ones that were most dedicated get the best jobs...it's that simple.

Study groups or surrounding yourself with people that study on a regular basis will be your first need. Second, take advantage of any office hours, tutors, and clubs that focus on that study. I've found that office hours are particularly helpful because you become a face that the professor can associate to the hundreds of tests and I can guarantee that it can factor into play if the professor knows you are in his office a lot. I was once passed on a final exam I surely failed because the professor saw my dedication first hand and needed to pass the class to graduate. I've also had professors practically give me the kinds of questions or similar questions that will be on the test during office hours that certainly weren't covered in normal class. Labs or tutors that offer help(TA hours perhaps) will just further your learning. The clubs and study groups will help to get your brain thinking about the subject and perhaps discuss the big picture better which will help when it comes to the individual problems. I've even had some clubs that had past tests that were useful.

Stop treating it like a job and start treating it like a privledge that will give you more choices come graduation time. And it seems like you're on the right path...but mixing those hard hours of studying with an increasing the quality of those hours with some other ways should do the trick and help you give it your best shot.

It's kind of like the old saying work smarter, not harder. I think that is the message I'm trying to give you. Putting in the hours is undoubtedly going to help, but you also need to make sure that the learning and understanding is coming into your brain in different ways as well. And attitude is key and if you have some study groups where fun and friends mix with some hard studying and having some one on one time with a professor or TA will make it seem like less of a chore.

[fragmint]

i think you just need more practice doing problems over and over again. it might feel like a waste of time but exams test you over your mastery of solving the problems and even if you understand the concept if you dont have enough experience things can trip you up and ruin your grade.

i guess you can also try different study tactics and maybe looking into your library for other textbooks on the sme subject and seeing if it can give you better example problems to work out or a different way of seeing the same concept.

i think this is hitting you extra hard because you apparently DID NEED to try in school before, just not this much. the people id put into the category of not 'needing to try' all get ONLY A's. not 70's, 80's AT ALL. an average of 75%? that sounds terrible to be honest but if that is your goal and thats considered 'good' to you then i think a few changes in study habits will help get you back to around that area of the grading scale. if you want close to all A's though its going to take a lot more dedication

[Syntax1985]

i think motivation is the main problem here, sorry but t me it seems like you feel you've been giving it 110% and not getting anywhere.

i would suggest spending tomorrow not studying as much ( obviously still do your home work ), and set up yourself a study area, organise all your work, and create yourself a study plan. map out what your gonna study everyday of the week for how long, giving yourself at least a 15 min break between each subject.

also, talk to your teachers. ask them what they feel are your weak points, they should know from your previous grading in certain topics. and also ask them for advise about a study plan.

now once youve set all that up, everyday, you need to stick to it, when you think " oh i can put off today, they guys wanna go out " = try to picture your future if you dont study?, you need to make studying like brushing your teeth, you dont not brush your teeth with the attitude "oh i brushed them yesterday", because your breath is going to stink, and you know it.

i think a little bit of structure and clear thinking would do you a world of good in your situation. cramming and cramming and cramming doesn't help anyone to much.
i wish the best of luck to you with your studying.

[Anthropic]

Originally Posted by fragmint

an average of 75%? that sounds terrible to be honest but if that is your goal and thats considered 'good' to you then i think a few changes in study habits will help get you back to around that area of the grading scale. if you want close to all A's though its going to take a lot more dedication

Harsh! 75% is above average, it's far from terrible. If you want to go on to grad school you'll need to do better though. It's all about studying smarter, not harder. You can put in endless hours but there will be diminishing returns, using the time more efficiently will be more effective. Good advice in previous posts on how to go about that. Don't let a couple of bad grades rattle you, no good comes of second guessing yourself.

[fragmint]

Originally Posted by Anthropic

Harsh! 75% is above average, it's far from terrible. If you want to go on to grad school you'll need to do better though. It's all about studying smarter, not harder. You can put in endless hours but there will be diminishing returns, using the time more efficiently will be more effective. Good advice in previous posts on how to go about that. Don't let a couple of bad grades rattle you, no good comes of second guessing yourself.

some people are okay with 75% but to me and to a lot of people that is terrible. its 'above average', but a lot of times i see 'average' as around 60-70 so having a 75 isnt such a great thing to brag about in my opinion. also in the real world there are WAY TOO MANY People ABOVE average and if you are the 'bottom' of the 'above average' group its not going to help you get very far if your goals are high. PLUS, most classes you have to make OVER a 60-70 to even get credit for those classes, so having around 75 or less is like barely passing and i would consider that pretty terrible.

a lot of post grad programs will require at least a minimum of 2.5 or 3 out of 4 gpa. thats like a B average or above (4 is A, 3.6 is A-, 3.3 B+, 3.0B, 2.6 B-..) a 75 is normally considered a C so besides getting you credit for that class it pretty much takes you nowhere.

im just saying that if you are not trying and youre thinking youre good for still 'pulling off' a 75% then you should get a wake up call cause 75% is not impressive at all to most people who are going to compete with you for post grad programs and internships later on. if youre just trying to get your credits and get out with a degree though, then its fine as long as youre cool with it and know that its limiting your options later on

[ILikeHockey]

Originally Posted by redhearts

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I've been studying with a group of people for the most part (size differs based on the subject, since I'm in a relatively small major, and few people have all of my classes), and while its been keeping me focused, I still feel like there has to be a better way for me. It seems that I'm always the one explaining things to everyone else, and helping other people through questions, and my marks still turn out bad. I've tried finding people who do well for the group, but it seems that anyone who does really well on their tests prefers to study alone, and its almost impossible to drag them out to study groups.

Originally Posted by i_win

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I've always felt like you needed to be stuck on a problem, or have a really specific question to go to office hours. Although I see what you're saying about going more often, and maybe getting more sample questions from the professor. I just wish that office hours were more convenient, as 90% of them end up falling during my class times. I can always make appointments with professors, but I'd feel like I was wasting their time if I were only there for 5 minutes or so.

I've looked for the study clubs like you've suggested. They had them for almost every course last year, it seems. This year though, only two of my five courses have them, and those just happen to be the two that I'm finding to be easiest. I think I'll start going to them next week and see if they seem helpful at all.

I do everything I can to grab old midterms, which does help a lot, as professors tend to reuse questions. Profs will often post old midterms on the internet (obviously, they don't reuse questions from those ones), but there are some people from previous years sell, and they end up being extremely helpful. The study clubs here actually have their own midterms, made by the people running them (people who took the class last year, and are in it again this year to help run the study group).

Originally Posted by fragmint

if you want close to all A's though its going to take a lot more dedication

How extreme of a change would you suggest? I have no problem with starting to work harder and more frequently (as in, every night, not just when there's a week until a midterm) that I have in the past, but if its going to take 5 hours a night, and more when midterms/finals come around, I'm not sure I'd be able to pull that off. I'd go crazy.

Also, I think our grading scale up here is a little different than what you mentioned (75% is a B for us), but I can see your point. I've always justified my marks to myself as being fine where they are, but its time to stop doing that, and to make them as high as possible.

Originally Posted by Syntax1985

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I like this idea very much. How much time do you think I'd need to take to study outside of class each day? Should it be a work/study time for each course, or should I study for the full time, and then do any assignments on top of that?

I don't think any of my classes are small enough for the profs to know anything specific on my weak points and where I need to put in more work though. My smallest class is ~100 people, and my largest is more than 500. For the larger ones, the profs don't even grade the midterms themselves, they just get the TA's to do it. And most of them only have a handful of assessments (one or two) throughout the entire semester.

Originally Posted by Anthropic

If you want to go on to grad school you'll need to do better though.

This is what I've been realizing lately. My new study habits of, well, actually studying started before my first test this year. And have kept going constantly since then, even though I just got the bad grades back yesterday (one of which wasn't as bad as I had thought originally. My friend checked the marks that had been posted for me, while I made sure I was on time for our next class so at least one of us got the notes. We got the papers back today, and it was better than I had been told). I'm still hoping to improve more, and hopefully get off to a good start on things next semester (and not have things start the way they have so far this semester).


Thanks to everyone for their replies/suggestions so far