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What is your study style + grades?
Just curious...I generally never ever ever study more than 3-4 days before an exam unless I'm really worried and generally my GPA falls between 3.0 - 3.5, with this semester quite possibly being the lowest with 3.0 even
I'm worried about devoting a semester to studying ALL the time a little bit at a time, but fear having my memory fail on me and wasting 3 months to achieve the same result.
The above generally applies to classes that are mainly based on exams, cause when papers are involved its usually an A for me because they dont require me trying to stuff my memory full
I'm just curious as to the difference between someone like me, someone who gets near 4.0, and someone who gets below 2.5 Also, the above mainly applies to arts cause I assume it'd be a different ballgame in the sciences, or performing or creative arts. So mention which department you are in also
I'm worried about devoting a semester to studying ALL the time a little bit at a time, but fear having my memory fail on me and wasting 3 months to achieve the same result.
The above generally applies to classes that are mainly based on exams, cause when papers are involved its usually an A for me because they dont require me trying to stuff my memory full
I'm just curious as to the difference between someone like me, someone who gets near 4.0, and someone who gets below 2.5 Also, the above mainly applies to arts cause I assume it'd be a different ballgame in the sciences, or performing or creative arts. So mention which department you are in also
Comments
Basically, I suck at everything which involves solving complex equations.
study 3-4 days before exam, do 90% of practice homework (this applies to math classes only), review old exams
as for papers: this semester i wrote 3 papers, each between 11pm and 4am the night before it was due
i ended up getting a B+ in that class. LOL History.
2.33 gpa
Semester GPA 3.0 - 4.0
1-3 days (depending on the exam)
Attend all lectures/do all assignments
Study the prof's notes only (no textbook, unless some parts aren't so clear to me)
Do all practice work the prof gives out
This sem my GPA ranged from 3 - 4.00
I always attend lectures and do all the assignments, and go to almost all my tutorials.
I never read my textbook unless it's assigned or if I need it to do my homework lol.
Oh, and I think I study like a day or 2 before finals... Not much.
My overall GPA is 3.-something.
Oh and for BUS courses, we're all scaled so sometimes it doesn't matter how much you study, either way if you're not above the average (even if it's freaking 96% *shakes fist*) you're screwed-d-d.
up until this semester (got 2.85)
i missed a lot of lectures, never read, hardly studied, did papers the night before.
Every exam is based on a varying combination of lectures/lecture notes/textbook/skill. The earlier you can figure out the optimal combination, the better you will do on the exams.
For arts classes, I usually do all the readings and I can get away with not going to the lectures. Which is what I do for all my psych classes. But for science type classes, you definitely have to go to class to hear the concepts being explained and on top of that you have to practice/apply the concepts for them to stick in your head.
So I guess my answer is that my studying techniques vary according to the type of class I am taking. Sometimes I guess right, and sometimes I guess wrong but for the most part this is the easiest way to maintain a 3.0 gpa. If you want any higher than that then you have to be a keener.
i do try to do all the assignments and keep up with readings.
this semester i got 3.78. my usual gpa ranges around there...usually a little bit lower lol. oh and, i'm in business
Anyways, here's what I do:
Math courses - hate 'em.. I go to every class and pay attention. I do the bare minimum assigned work so I don't lose marks. I study 1-2 days before a midterm or exam. I usually get C's to C+'s. I know I could do better if I put more effort in, but the time/grades trade off isn't worth it for me.
Arts courses - love 'em.. I go to class and pay attention if the subject matter is interesting. I play with my laptop if it isn't. I write papers on the day before they're due without any preparation or planning. I study *maybe* 1 day before an exam or midterm. I barely put any effort into the courses at all and I usually get B+'s to A's
CS courses - Sometimes I keep up with the course for the whole semester and barely have to study at all. Other times I just don't pay attention and wait till 1-2 days before an exam or midterm then cram. I get B's - A's usually depending on how much I like the course.
edit: and I find that I never open textbooks when I buy them, so I only go to the bookstore if the texts are absolutely necessary for the course. A lot of the time the texts are public domain, or available online in some dark corner of the internet.
GPA: 3.160
Never do readings for ANY courses, do ALL my homework, and studies two to three days or so before exams. This only works if the material are stuff I am VERY familiar with. Since I am being quite adventurous this semester, none of the material are familiar to me, I therefore got slaughtered on my exams.
My method of writing papers consists of weeks of research and planning and then a week of writing, followed by a week of editing.
When I get home, I read the thing for an hour, and then sleep. Wake up the next day, read the same thing for an hour.
For Arts/Humanities.. I Read quite a bit 3 -4 days before the exam mainly cause it bores the hell out of me..
MBB
I'm just happy that I survived organic chemistry
Basically I wrote all my papers the night before, made my presentations the weekend before (earlier for group presentations), read (if at all) the book maybe one or two days before exams, depending on the amount to read, reviewed the night before exams (midterm and final), and attended all lectures and tutorials (and actually paid attention).
But it won't work much longer (as the papers get longer) so I'm trying to change this habit and get things done earlier...
For me for my crim classes I do my weekly readings, go to class and lectures and make sure I say something at least once a tutorial. I spend a few days before the exams just memorizing my notes for the exams.
For my CS part I just do my homework when I get it, do my best to figure it out / say to Ether over and over, "but I don't get in the part how..." and depending on the exams if they are theory or not then I will study that a few days before depending on time.
For math I find that professors always have similar exams as previous ones so I just take their old ones, find patterns, learn to do those questions and similar questions and just grind them.
Studying habits are terrible, to be honest. I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me.
This past semester was definitely better than my first semester at SFU. I slowly (and I mean slowly) transitioned between highschool and university. But now I think it's safe to say, I have a good understanding of profs' expectations and the workload in SFU. I honestly need to work on doing my readings... I haven't done any ever since I started university, atleast not daily. More like cramming everything and making a summary a night or two before the exam.
I take quite a bit of notes and highlight them afterwards. In different coloured pens. Yes, I think I have colour-coded memory or something. But hey, it works!
Ugh, I fricken hate that.
my major is econ if that makes any difference
normally i spend 1-2 days max per class
this semester was a lil different since it was my last, the fear definitely got to me for my 400 level class and i spent prob 3-4 days instead (was afraid i might fail since i failed the midterm :x.. ended up with a solid B)
other classes did ok even for a day of studying b4 finals (got really burned out and barely studied at the end), a- a-
my gpa in upper division is about >3.3
my lower division is too low to speak of lol, oap rtw were acronyms i got to know all too well :x
It ruins the condition AND value of the book.
$300 --> turns into $50 used crap.
highest mine has been was 130, lol