Study Prof

Need some extra help figuring out that pre-calc?  Need a little review on Pi?  Take a look at this helpful site.

Trying to decide where to go to grad school or college?  Take a look at the U.S. News and World Reports rankings!

Did you know that reading over your notes repeatedly is one of the LEAST effective ways to study?  Psychology research has demonstrated repeatedly that you remember much more effectively when you work with information rather than just reviewing information.

Solution: Teach your study materials to a partner.  Look briefly at a main heading in the notes, then try to teach the rest of that section (from memory) to your friend.  Go slowly.  Explain carefully.  Devise illustrations and examples to help make your point.  This method is much more effective than just rereading your notes!

Did you know that the GRE test questions get harder or easier based on your performance?  Initially the computer will give you questions that half of test takers get right and half get wrong.  Based on your performance it will give you harder or easier questions to home in on your score.  That means questions are worth more at the beginning of each section (verbal or quantitative) and worth less and less as you go on.

Solution: Spend  a little extra time (if needed) on the first seven or eight questions to get those right if at all possible.  As you get to the end of the sections, the questions are worth less, so that’s the time to work faster if necessary.

You spend a lot of energy making graduation plans, but do you have a plan of action for after graduation to jumpstart your career? Many people struggle with career choices before making that important life-changing decision that will define who they are for years to come. It is hard to imagine that a new graduate would still struggle with what they want to do with their new college degree. Even if they know, they might not know the next step to take. This article will give a few pointers on how to get started with a plan of action. (more…)

Did you know there are math problems on the SAT that only 3% of test takers can get correct?  All test takers should take that into account because it means–for most of us–there are problems we can’t get right no matter how much time we spend on them.

Solution: Learn to spot those problems quickly, make your best guess, and keep moving.  Don’t waste time on questions you can’t answer.  Save it for the ones you can get correct!

Want to see my latest video study tips?  Come visit my channel at YouTube.  Make sure and subscribe so you’ll be automatically updated when I post new videos!

Wouldn’t it be nice if next semester was super-simple and actually required much less work than this semester?  What if you could make that happen while still taking all the classes you need?

Many of you are now starting your winter vacations, traditionally a time for students to decompress and forget all about THE HELL THAT WAS FINALS.  But most good study skills boil down to NOW-is-better-than-later.

A tiny bit of study during the holidays can save you HOURS a week next semester (and beyond)!  Do a quick assessment of your classes this past semester.  Which ones had content that you’ll be expected to know in the future?  Examples…

• You took the first semester of Calculus this semester and the second semester is this coming spring
• You took Statistics and will be applying those concepts throughout your future career
• Your Paleo-ethnobotany course was mostly useless, except for those two weeks you spent on palynology

Anything you studied last semester that might come up again you should take home with you and study over the break.  It is fresher in your mind now than it will ever be again!  This is prime time to study it.  Just reviewing it for thirty-minutes or so once a week will help move that info into your permanent long term memory!  Do it while driving too and from relatives’ houses or while waiting in line at the mall.

Next semester, when everyone else is playing catch-up at the beginning of that second semester of Biochem, trying to relearn all the stuff they’ve forgotten from the first semester, you’ll already know it all!  No studying for you!

Do a little now and you’ll avoid doing a lot later!

Are you overwhelmed with way to much work/study during finals?  Ever waited too late to start a big project?  Have a week in which there just isn’t enough time to do everything you need to do?

All of these can be fixed by properly using a very simple tool.  The humble calendar.  When used regularly and well, it prevents you from ever ending up with too much work and not enough week.

The perfect calendar?  First and foremost, the perfect calendar is one you will actually use!  It doesn’t matter how fancy, detailed, attractive, or expensive a calendar or day timer is, if you don’t have it when you need it, it’s no good!

I personally go for cheap but effective.  At the beginning of each semester, I print out a calendar from a site such as this one, and fill it out for the coming semester.  I usually punch holes in it, put it in my binder or a left over folder.  Then I use it!

Add…

1. Exam and project due dates from your course syllabi as you get them
2. Holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, and Festivus
3. Special events, such as the Spring Formal or Dead Week
4. Anything that will take extra time, like crunch week at the place where you work, or that one week in April when three of your immediate family members have a birthday.  Nothing should catch you by surprise.

Then I make sure to check it and update it once a day at least!  I have to put it somewhere where I can’t avoid it, like over my computer keyboard are on the mirror above my bathroom sink.

I don’t, however, carry the calendar around with me.  That’s where my daily to-do list comes in.  More on that later.

According to the College Board, makers of the SAT…

Testing rooms must have proper lighting, ventilation, and seating. According to SAT requirements, they must have:

• A working clock and no visible study aids (for example, maps, charts, and so forth must be covered up or removed)
• Seating with a minimum of  four feet between test-takers side to side and front to back, facing in the same direction
• Unimpeded access to every desk by staff
• Desks with a minimum writing surface of 12 by 15 inches
• No partitions, dividers, study carrels, or booths

Make sure the place where you take the test has these things, especially the working clock and minimum desk size.  If it doesn’t, you’ve a right to complain.

At the very least, have a test proctor sign and date a statement saying exactly what was wrong and why.  You might also bring it to the attention of other students taking the test.  Get their contact information so they can back you up later.

There’s no reason you should let a poor test score be recorded for you because the clock was broken or you didn’t have enough room to write!